Catholic Church Was Responsible for Rape of a Girl, 7, by a Priest in the 1970s, Judge Says in Landmark Ruling, by Rob Cooper, Daily Mail, November 8, 2011

Catholic Church Was Responsible for Rape of a Girl, 7, by a Priest in the 1970s, Judge Says in Landmark Ruling

By Rob Cooper
Daily Mail
November 8, 2011

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2058946/Catholic-Church-responsible-1970s-rape-girl-7-priest-Wilfred-Baldwin.html?ito=feeds-newsxml

Landmark ruling: Mr Justice Macduff said the church can be held responsible for priests charged with child abuse

Ruling: The decision by the High Court could have far-reaching implications for the church. It is subject to appeal

The Catholic Church can be held responsible for crimes committed by paedophile priests, the High Court ruled today in a landmark judgment.

The decision came in the case of a 47-year-old mother-of-three who claimed she was raped by a priest in a children's care home when she was seven.

In a ruling which could have far-reaching implications, a judge said the church is liable to pay compensation to the 'abuse victim', who said she suffered repeated sex attacks at the hands of Father Wilfred Baldwin.

Lawyers for the Bishop of Portsmouth, Crispian Hollis, argued that priests are self-employed so the church cannot be held responsible for what they do.

The decision – if upheld on appeal – could open the doors for hundreds of other alleged child abuse victims to bring civil claims.

The then Bishop, who appointed the late Father Baldwin at the Firs Children's Home in Waterlooville, Hampshire, in the 1970s, denied any responsibility for the alleged abuse.

The woman, identified only by the initials JGE, alleges that Father Baldwin - who was 40 at the time and died aged 75 in August 2006 - repeatedly raped and sexually abused her.

She claims he once attacked her in the robing room of a church on the day of her first Holy Communion.

The Bishop's counsel Lord Faulks QC said he wanted to make it clear 'the Catholic Church takes sexual abuse extremely seriously and is entirely concerned to eradicate it '.

He said they were concerned here only with whether they were legally liable 'and not that the Catholic Church is seeking to abandon responsibility for sexual abuse'.

Elizabeth-Anne Gumbel QC for the woman said the 'wider issue' for the judge was whether the Bishop could be held vicariously liable for the conduct of priests.

The Trustees of the Portsmouth Roman Catholic Diocesan Trust 'standing in the shoes of the Bishop' deny there was any wrong-doing.

The alleged victim is also taking action against the English Province of Our Lady of Charity who ran the home.

Ruling that the church can be liable, Mr Justice Macduff said today: 'Whether or not the relationship may be regarded as "akin to employment", the principal features of the relationship dictate that the defendants should be held responsible for the actions which they initiated by the appointment and all that went with it.'

He added: 'There is effectively no control over priests once appointed.

'Within the bounds of canon law, a priest is free to conduct his ministry as he sees fit, with little or no interference from the bishop, whose rule is advisory not supervisory.

'A bishop has a duty of vigilance, but is not in a position to make requirements or give directions.'

JGE only realised she may have a claim when police came cold calling in May 2006 on her and others they suspected may have been abused, while investigating Father Baldwin.

She was at the home for two years from age six to eight between May 1970 and May 1972.

She also alleges that the nuns who were supposed to be looking after her saw the priest sexually abusing her but did nothing.

The 47-year-old, who married in 1982, claims that previous allegations of abuse by the priest against two boys had been ignored.

She is seeking damages for the pain, injury, humiliation and hurt to feelings she suffered as well as loss of past and future earnings.

JGE claims that as a result she suffered post-traumatic stress disorder, has a borderline personality disorder, has attempted suicide, and it has had an effect on her self-esteem and career prospects.

Others allegedly abused by Father Baldwin as children are also seeking damages.

One identified only as Anne said in a statement: 'As children, we weren't given an innocent, carefree and safe environment. We weren't given a peaceful structure in which to grow and develop normally.

In October last year, the Appeal Court ruled that a Catholic institute which supplied priests to a Middlesbrough-approved school could not be held responsible for the alleged abuse carried out unchecked for over 30 years.

Some 150 former pupils of St William's School in Market Weighton, Middlesbrough have launched an £8million claim - still to be heard - against those who ran the school in what has been described as the biggest ever abuse case in Britain.

The appeal judges unanimously backed the decision of Judge Hawkesworth QC in the High Court in November 2009 that the Institute had no legal responsibility for the alleged abuse.