For the Church Sorry Is the Hardest Word
By Steve Lowe
IT is time for the Roman Catholic Church to apologise for past child abuse by Catholic priests and its own failure to prevent it.
This week the Church of England made just such an apology.
Revelations of abuse at the former St Francis Boys Home, Shefford, run by the Catholic Church until 1974, grow every week.
Only this week another former boy contacted Bedfordshire on Sunday to tell of how he suffered extreme physical abuse, as well as sexual abuse, at the home.
He described the home as ‘a living hell’, from which he has never really recovered.
He said: “All the boys suffered but some more than others. It seemed the priests had favourites, who escaped the worst beatings. Perhaps they offered other services.
Father John Ryan was the worst. I know I should not say this about a priest, especially as I am still a Catholic, but he was evil.”
We have agreed not to name any victims as there are both criminal and civil cases pending, a nd they have the right to anonymity under the Sexual Offences Act, 2003.
The home was investigated by the police at least twice before, in 1997 and 2003.
Father John Ryan was interviewed but never charged and the records of that interview have now gone missing.
A BoS reporter visited St Francis Children’s Society in Milton Keynes and Bishops House, Northampton but no-one could speak to us and we contacted the Roman Catholic press officer several times this week but our calls were not returned.
Two former boys, Damian Chittock and Tony Walsh, have already won substantial damages and Bedfordshire on Sunday believes it is now time for the church to apologise for the abuse suffered at the former boys’ home.
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