Parishioners were left in the dark for years over reasons for Father Michael Higginbottom’s absence

UNITED KINGDOM
Northern Echo

PARISHIONERS were left in the dark over why their priest had been suddenly suspended – and the wall of silence went on for several years.

In 1998, Father Michael Higginbottom arrived in Darlington and, as priest of St Augustine’s Roman Catholic Church, quickly became popular with parishioners, establishing a reputation as a respectable and hard-working man.

Sparking a mystery that lasted more than a decade, the popular priest and former teacher was unexpectedly banished from his parish in 2004.

Church authorities had learned that an ex-pupil of his claimed he was abused by him as a child – but this was not made public at the time.

At Sunday service on December 12 that year, Fr Higginbottom was absent and in his place, Canon Seamus Cunningham told the congregation that their much-loved priest was spending time away from the parish because the diocese had received information that required investigation.

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