More Claims of Abuse at Former Catholic Boarding School As Victims Promise Legal Action

By Auslan Cramb
The Telegraph
August 6, 2013

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/scotland/10224790/More-claims-of-abuse-at-former-Catholic-boarding-school-as-victims-promise-legal-action.html

Fort Augustus Abbey in the Highlands

A former nurse who claims he was assaulted at a Catholic boarding school has rejected the church’s apology to victims of physical and sexual abuse and said he was determined to pursue legal action for compensation.

The former pupil of Fort Augustus Abbey said he was unimpressed by the apology offered in a mass in the Highland town, and said he believed a group legal action was increasingly likely.

Andrew Lavery, who lives in the north-east of England, attended the school in the mid 1980s and claims he was beaten, sexually assaulted and psychologically tortured by monks when he was locked in a room for days on end.

He spoke out as Police Scotland confirmed that more victims had come forward since the screening last week of a television documentary on abuse by monks at the Benedictine abbey.

Mr Lavery alleges that he was beaten unconscious by a monk and master, and accuses a monk who is now a priest in England of physical and sexual assault.

The Rt Rev Hugh Gilbert, Bishop of Aberdeen, spoke in Fort Augustus on Sunday of the “bitter, shaming and distressing” physical and sexual abuse of boys at the school by a “small number” of monks.

But according to Mr Lavery, he was wrong to suggest only a small number of men were involved, and should have mentioned his own link to the school.

He added: “He was at Fort Augustus in the late 1970s and early 1980s. I am not accusing him of anything, but he should have mentioned that.”

A spokesman for the Roman Catholic Church said the bishop undertook training at the abbey, but was not a monk, and made the statement on Sunday because Fort Augustus was part of his diocese.

He added that the church was not responsible for what happened in a Benedictine abbey, which was the abbot’s responsibility, and knew nothing of the allegations until they appeared in the media.

Police launched an inquiry into allegations of abuse at the fee-paying school in the Highlands earlier this year, after speaking to Mr Lavery, 41, in Newcastle.

He said he was unable to work after suffering a serious injury last year that brought back memories of his time at the school, and has been diagnosed as suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.

Cameron Fyfe, his Glasgow-based lawyer, said an action for damages could be raised in Mr Lavery’s case within weeks, and he expected other victims to follow suit.

Five men told the BBC Scotland documentary last week that they were raped or sexually abused by Fr Aidan Duggan, an Australian monk who taught at Fort Augustus, and at Carlekemp, its preparatory school in East Lothian, between 1953 and 1974.

He died in 2004, but a number of those accused of abuse, including several accused by Mr Lavery, are still alive.

Mr Lavery said he was frustrated by the “slow” pace of the police inquiry, and claimed the Catholic Church had done “absolutely nothing”.

He added: “My life is a living hell. I refused to go back to the school when I was 16 or 17. I was a victim of torture but nobody is doing anything.

“One of my main concerns is that I am a father and I don’t want my child to suffer. Some of these men are still alive, in this country and abroad.”

Another victim, Christopher Walls, who is in his 60s and was abused at Carlekemp, said he was “less than impressed” by the apology, adding: “My brother and I have been complaining since 2010, officially, and I've mentioned it to other clergy in between, several times, always getting a 'shushing' response, 'keep quiet about it and offer it up', presumably not to disturb the unity of the church.”

Mr Walls said he was pursuing legal action and would be seeking financial compensation, thought to be of around pounds100,000.

Meanwhile, Police Scotland said: “Further reports have been received from former pupils in the past week.

"This remains a live inquiry. We are investigating reports of alleged abuse from pupils, and inquiries will extend to liaising with a number of law enforcement agencies both across and outside the UK."