BBC News
November 9, 2011
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-15650420
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| Ealing Abbey had run St Benedict's School for about a century |
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| Father Laurence Soper skipped bail and is wanted in connection with child abuse allegations |
The head of a west London Catholic school has apologised for its "terrible legacy" of sex abuse.
Christopher Cleugh, headmaster of St Benedict's school in Ealing, said the school would adopt the recommendations of an inquiry, led by Lord Carlile.
The report listed 21 abuse cases since 1970. It said Ealing Abbey monks must lose their control of the school.
Lord Carlile of Berriew said the form of governance was "wholly outdated and demonstrably unacceptable".
He added: "The abbot himself has accepted that it is 'opaque to outsiders'."
The inquiry began last year after a former head was convicted of abusing five boys.
Father David Pearce was jailed for eight years in 2009 for the abuse over a period of 36 years. Four of the victims were under 14.
'Conflict of interest'
Two trusts should be set up to remove "all power from the abbey" while maintaining the Benedictine connection for the parents, Lord Carlile said in his report.
The new governing body must create a clear accountability between school management, governors and trustees, Lord Carlile said.
It should be transparent and understandable to outsiders and deliver effective monitoring, safeguarding policies and procedures, the report recommends.
The new governors must include representatives from constituent parts of the school community and diaspora, alongside qualified individuals from outside the school, the QC said.
The report added: "In a school where there has been abuse, mostly - but not exclusively - as a result of the activities of the monastic community, any semblance of a conflict of interest, of lack of independent scrutiny, must be removed."
At a meeting with parents on Tuesday night to discuss the report, Mr Cleugh said: "Past abuses at the school have left a terrible legacy for those affected and have tarnished the reputation of St Benedict's.
"I offer my heartfelt apology for past failures. The school could have, and should have, done more.
"Consequently, St Benedict's will move immediately to put into action all the recommendations of this report in order to meet Lord Carlile's suggested implementation date of 1 September 2012.
"We are determined that safeguarding procedures at St Benedict's should in future be exemplary and the appalling abuses of the past should never happen again," he said.
'Angry questions'
Philip Catterall, whose 11-year-old son currently attends the school, said the findings were "very, very, shocking" but "most parents felt at the end pretty positive" about the recommendations in the report.
He added: "There were some tough questions for both the head and the abbot - some very hard questions.
"There was anger in the meeting... there were some raised voices. Not shouting, I would say, but certainly some very direct, angry questions.
"There's a bit of uncertainty and anxiousness about what else may come up because this obviously doesn't put the school in a good light."
The Vatican has also ordered a separate inquiry into the historical sex offence allegations.
The National Secular Society contributed to the report.
Executive director Keith Porteous Wood said: "Our evidence to Lord Carlile stressed that in future, no-one connected to the Church should be permitted to be a child protection officer.
'Labyrinthine procedures'
"We also advised that a dedicated telephone number should be set up for concerns to be reported to organisations independent of the Church.
"The absence of such elementary controls and labyrinthine child protection procedures both contributed the prolongation of abuse."
Police are looking for Father Laurence Soper, 80, former abbot of Ealing Abbey, who failed to answer bail in March 2011 following arrest on suspicion of abuse. He taught at the school from 1991 to 2000.
Lord Carlile urged him to surrender to police, saying: "I regret very much the difficulties he has caused."
Another former employee faces a Crown Court trial over sex abuse charges.
The abbey has run the co-education school for about a century and famous alumni include BBC Trust Chairman Lord Patten and comedian Julian Clary.
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