By Nadia Gilani
Daily Mail
October 25, 2011
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2053106/Vatican-action-Pope-orders-inquiry-child-sex-abuse-claims-London-abbey.html?ITO=1490
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| Investigation: Pope Benedict XVI has ordered the first inquiry of its kind in Britain |
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| Under scrutiny: The investigation is looking into claims of abuse at St Benedict's from as far back as the 1960s |
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| The Vatican has seen fit to step in to the scandal surrounding Ealing Abbey |
The Vatican has ordered an inquiry into claims of decades of sexual abuse at a London abbey and school.
A number of monks and teachers at Ealing Abbey and neighbouring St Benedict's independent school in west London have been linked to alleged abuse from as far back as the 1960s right up until 2009.
The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith - which oversees the Church's doctrine - has ordered a top-level investigation into the mistreatment of children there.
The apostolic visitation, as it is called, is the first inquiry of its kind in Britain and could be the first step towards disclosure of other sexual abuse by clerics that have been covered up.
It is being led by Bishop John Arnold, an auxiliary Bishop of Westminster, and Father Richard Yeo, president of the English Benedictine Congregation.
The move, which is acknowledgement by the Vatican that this is a serious issue, comes after an investigation by The Times last year revealed four decades of abuse by Father David Pearce, a priest at Ealing Abbey and a former headmaster of St Benedict's junior school.
It sends a message to Ealing Abbey that a previous inquiry it commissioned by Lord Carlile of Berriew QC into the school will not be the final word on the scandal.
The report by Lord Carlile - a senior government adviser - will be published at the end of the month and given to the Department for Education, Charity Commission and Independent School's Commission.
He was asked by the abbey last year to look into 'past mistakes' at St Benedcict's.
Such an unprecedented move may also be interpreted as a high-level rebuke for the Catholic hierarchy in england, who regularly insist that it has very strong child protection policies.
Bishop Arnold said that recommendations following the visitation will be sent to the the Doctrine of the Faith who will decide whether they should be implemented. But the Vatican has come under fire after it emerged the results will not automatically be made public.
After the revelations about Fr Pearce came to light, allegations of abuse were made against other former priests and teachers at St Benedict's and other schools over the decades as further victims came forward, prompting police to begin a fresh inquiry.
Victims have said offenders were allowed to leave the school without a warning issued to future employers, leaving them free to go on and abuse pupils at other independent schools, The Times reported.
Father Laurence Soper, former Abbot of Ealing Abbey, is being sought by police after he jumped bail before he could be charged with child abuse offences.
He disappeared without trace from the the headquarters of the Benedictine order in Rome, where he had been treasurer of the Benedictine Confederation.
A spokesman for the Archbishop of Westminster said that Bishop Arnold and Father Yeo had met senior members of Ealing Abbey last month.
'The effective safeguarding of children and vulnerable adults is a priority for the Catholic church and Ealing abbey's safeguarding policies and procedures formed part of the remit of the apostolic visitation.
Father Martin Shipperlee, Abbot of Ealing Abbey told The Times: 'The visitors and the holy See will want to know that child protection is a priority here and that we've done all we can to ensure that what has happened in the past does not recur.'
The Pope called for a similar apostolic visitation to Ireland last year after reports were published into abuse in Catholic institutions in Dublin.
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