Catholic Church Suffering "Institutional Paranoia" over Abuse Allegations, Claims Former Pupil of Suspended Darlington Priest

UTV
April 9, 2013

http://www.darlingtonandstocktontimes.co.uk/news/10342939.Catholic_church_suffering__institutional_paranoia__over_abuse_allegations__claims_former_pupil_of_suspended_priest/?ref=nt

Ed Devlin, who was taught by suspended priest Father Michael Higginbottom.

A FORMER Catholic school pupil taught by a priest suspended from his parish for almost a decade says the case highlights the church’s “institutional paranoia” over abuse allegations.

Blogger Ed Devlin was taught by Father Michael Higginbottom at St Joseph’s College, near Wigan, in the early 1980s.

He said he never had a problem with the priest and never witnessed any inappropriate behaviour towards pupils from staff while at the school.

“He was an excellent teacher although very strict, but he never enforced physically punishments or needed more than the odd acerbic put-down - certainly nothing that could merit complaint,” he said.

The Northern Echo revealed on Friday how, after suspending Fr Higginbottom from his post as parish priest at St Augustine’s Church in Darlington in 2004, the Catholic Church - without admitting liability - paid ?35,000 to a former St Joseph’s pupil who alleged he was sexually abused by the priest.

Police interviewed the priest about the allegations, but he was never charged with any crime.

Mr Devlin, originally from Richmond, North Yorkshire, but now living in Newcastle, blogs on-line at edmunddevlin.com After being taught by Fr Higginbottom at St Joseph’s, he later attended St Augustine’s in Darlington before Fr Higginbottom’s suspension.

He said the priest had become trapped in a “Kafkaesque” ordeal created by the Catholic Church, adding: “The church has swung from a laissez-fair attitude to grievous wrongs committed by its clergy to one of almost institutional paranoia that combines the inefficiency of the old bureaucracy with the hypersensitivity of an organisation on the back foot.”

Mr Devlin said as a boy he had found St Joseph’s a “creepy place”.

“When I was there it was starting to close down. It was a bit like a big haunted house with lots of long corridors.”

The writer said he believed nearly all the staff had the best interests of the pupils at heart.

The Diocese of Hexham and Newcastle, which suspended the priest, has declined to comment on the case. Fr Higginbottom, who is now living in Jesmond, Newcastle, also said he could not comment.