Catholic Church Rocked by Fresh Sex Claims

By Rod Mills
The Express
March 9, 2013

http://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/382967/Catholic-Church-rocked-by-fresh-sex-claims

Cardinal Keith O'Brien stood down over allegations of sexual contact with young priests

An academic, who compiled a report for the church on how to deal with abuse, has claimed not enough was done to tackle the allegations.

The fresh claims come days after Cardinal Keith O’Brien, 74, formerly Britain’s most senior Roman Catholic, stood down after being accused of sexual contact with young priests.

The Roman Catholic Church is no stranger to scandal, but until now, Scotland has not been engulfed by allegations of abuse. In the mid-1990s, Dundee University ethics lecturer Alan Draper was appointed to advise the church on sexual abuse and how to respond to it.

Mr Draper, chairman of an abuse survivors’ group In Care Abuse Survivors (Incas), asked Scotland’s eight bishops how much they knew.

Last night, the BBC said it had seen the letters the bishops sent in reply to Mr Draper, which refer to 20 allegations of child abuse by priests.

Mr Draper said: “I was very concerned about their unwillingness to actually expose individual priests who were leaving double lives. They were very reluctant to do that, and I felt that was totally inappropriate. It’s not what your sexuality is, it’s how you’re managing it.

“There’s strong evidence to say some priests were out of control sexually, whether they be homosexual or heterosexual. The file should be made open to an independent group, preferably chaired by a judge.”

The church said Mr Draper was involved “at an early stage in the development of policies and procedures but was replaced when others with greater competence were engaged”. The letters seen by the BBC suggest some priests were reported to police and removed from parishes, while others were not.

Now more alleged victims are coming forward after Cardinal O’Brien’s confession and his resignation as Archbishop of St Andrews and Edinburgh. He does not face criminal allegations.

Lawyer Cameron Fyfe said: “I’m acting for six clients who allege abuse, two of whom have come forward in the last few weeks since the

Keith O’Brien scandal.

“Some go back to the early 1980s, but two have been within the last 10 years.”

He said two of his clients claimed to have been raped while they were children, with the attacks taking place in the late-1980s and mid-1990s. Mr Fyfe said that, under Scots law, cases should be brought within three years. But he said that was “totally unrealistic because victims of sexual abuse often lock away the memories of the abuse”.

In a statement, the Catholic Church in Scotland said it had applied nationally agreed guidelines on abuse since 1999.

It said: “All allegations are notified to the police. All necessary steps are taken to remove anyone in danger from situations of risk.”

It added a “national co-ordinator” for child protection was a key part of its “safeguarding structures”.

Yesterday, an alleged abuse victim, named only as Chris, said his life had been ruined by sexual abuse at the hands of a priest from the age of nine or 10 until he was into his early teens, in the 90s.

“He would get me to perform sexual acts on him and he would perform sexual acts on me,” he said.

“Away from the family home, in the family home, in the church, in their vehicle. There’s many people out there who have been abused.”

The church says it removed the priest involved from his parish as soon as the allegations were made and the police were informed.

It insisted the case had been “handled in complete accordance with the guidelines”.