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	Catholic Church Liable over Priests Grantham Journal November 8, 2011 http://www.granthamjournal.co.uk/news/catholic_church_liable_over_priests_1_3225534 The High Court has ruled that the Catholic Church can be held liable for the wrongdoings of its priests, in a case involving an alleged sexual assault at a children's home in Hampshire. A judge in London announced his decision in the case which has been described as being "an issue of wide general importance in respect of claims against the Catholic Church". Although the point to be decided arose in a damages action over alleged sex abuse by a priest, it is understood that the decision will affect other types of claims made against the Church. Mr Justice MacDuff gave a decision in favour of a 47-year-old woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, who claims she was sexually assaulted as a child by the late Father Wilfred Baldwin, a priest of the Portsmouth Diocese, at a children's home in Hampshire run by an order of nuns. Giving his decision on a preliminary issue in her damages action the judge held that, in law, the Church "may be vicariously liable" for Father Baldwin's alleged wrongdoings. The trustees of the Portsmouth Roman Catholic Diocesan Trust - the defendant "standing in the shoes of the bishop" - were given leave to appeal.
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