Catholic Church to appear before Goddard inquiry

The Catholic Church’s handling of abuse will come under scrutiny this week when representatives of the English Benedictines and the Archdiocese of Birmingham appear before the Goddard inquiry.

The preliminary hearing on the inquiry’s investigation into the Catholic Church was due to take place on Thursday morning at the Royal Courts of Justice in London. The investigation is part of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse headed by New Zealand judge Dame Lowell Goddard.

As well as its hearing on the Catholic Church the inquiry was this week due to hold preliminary hearings for six other investigations, including into the Anglican Church. The investigation into the Catholic Church will examine the prevalence of child sexual abuse in the Catholic Church and the adequacy of the Church’s response to it.

It will also consider the extent to which the culture within the Church inhibits or inhibited the investigation, exposure and prevention of child sexual abuse. It will consider safeguarding practices, disciplinary procedures and the Church’s approach to reparations. The English Benedictine Congregation and the Archdiocese of Birmingham are to be scrutinised as case studies.

With regard to the English Benedictines, the inquiry will consider the extent of abuse including that by teachers in its schools. A number of Benedictine schools have been caught up in abuse allegations, including those connected to Buckfast, Ampleforth, Downside and Ealing Abbeys, plus Fort Augustus Abbey in Scotland.

In a statement last year the English Benedictine Congregation said it was committed to proper safeguarding and welcomed the inquiry. Abbot Richard Yeo, Abbot President of the English Benedictine Congregation, said: “Good safeguarding is essential if we are to fulfil our mission of spreading the Gospel. We share and support the goal of the inquiry: to ensure that children are given the care and protection they need.”

Birmingham Archdiocese, where a priest, James Robinson, was jailed for 21 years in 2010 for 21 sexual offences, will form the second case study.

As Dame Lowell’s investigation into abuse in the Church of England was due to start, the Guardian reported that a Church of England priest, who wished to remain anonymous, had accused the Archbishop of York and four serving Anglican bishops of misconduct after they failed to act on allegations he was raped by another vicar as a teenager.

All five have contested the complaints, which they said were made after the Church’s one-year limit, and spokespersons said they could not comment on a police investigation.

The Goddard investigation will conclude with a report that will set out its conclusions on institutional failings and identify  recommendations for change.