BishopAccountability.org
	Vatican Orders Abbey Abuse Inquiry Press Association October 25, 2011 http://www.google.com/hostednews/ukpress/article/ALeqM5joG3SolQ1iiDu5hj3_wEOKOyEhHA?docId=B8046241319547891A00 The Vatican has ordered an inquiry into historic sex offences at a London abbey. St Benedict's School, a private independent Catholic school which is part of Ealing Abbey in west London, has been the focus of allegations of abuse. The apostolic visitation, as the inquiry is known, is reported to be the first of its kind in Britain. It will be conducted by Bishop John Arnold, an auxiliary Bishop of Westminster, and Father Richard Yeo, president of the English Benedictine Congregation. A spokesman for the Diocese of Westminster said they had visited Ealing Abbey and met members of the community in September as part of the inquiry. He added: "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." In October 2009 a Catholic priest referred to as the "devil in a dog collar" was jailed for eight years over a string of sex attacks on boys at St Benedict's. Father David Pearce was jailed at Isleworth Crown Court after pleading guilty to a series of indecent assaults and sexual attacks on five young boys, four under 14, over a period of 36 years. Meanwhile earlier this month police revealed they were hunting a Catholic cleric wanted over allegations of child abuse reported to date back to when he taught at St Benedict's. Father Laurence Soper, who was abbot of Ealing Abbey from 1991 to 2000, failed to return to a police station for questioning.
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