Catholic school apologises for abuse by monks

[Ahimsa]

LONDON — A Catholic school in London apologised Wednesday for abuse of pupils by monks over 40 years, and accepted recommendations to fundamentally change the way it is run to protect children in the future.

Chris Cleugh, the headmaster of St Benedict’s School, expressed his “heartfelt apologies” following an independent report detailing 21 incidents of abuse by monks dating from the 1970s until last year.

“Past abuses at the school have left a terrible legacy for those affected and have tarnished the reputation of St Benedict’s. On behalf of all at the school, I offer my heartfelt apology for past failures,” he said.

“The school could have, and should have, done more.”
…
Meanwhile Father Laurence Soper, a former abbot of Ealing Abbey, is on the run after skipping police bail. He faces accusations of abusing five pupils, and is believed to be abroad.

Despite his recommendations about governance, Carlile says the school has learned its lessons and is these days “an excellent place for boys and girls to be educated in safety”.

 

[Aelred_Minor]

Ahimsa:
Until last year?! Multiple monks including a former abbot?! I think we should send monk-ninjas to catch this abominable runaway abbot, apply the instructions on corporal punishment in the Rule of St. Benedict in the harshest way, then send him to the police and ask them to throw the book at him. I guess that would probably be illegal though.

Let the Church’s mercy be generously bestowed if the person expresses repentance, but let the penance be harsh and the temporal sword swift.

 

[BVM_1221]

Sigh…40 years…about time…and probably too late.uch:

 

[monastic_cell]

If the vetting of teachers was as lax as it is for monks there would be an instant public outcry. Why does the donning of a dog collar and habit herald the presumption of moral rectitude? Only once the assessment and monitoring of these men is undertaken, from the outset, by lay staff that are trained accordingly, will the faith be rebuilt.

Sorry for rant but it needs addressing and when ‘problems’ come to light the lay authorities need immediate access. A crime is a crime is a crime.

 

[wisdomseeker]

My God My God, why have You forsaken us? that is my prayer.

 

[Te_Deum]

My God My God, why have You forsaken us? that is my prayer.

Might as well finish that prayer:

[1] Unto the end, for the morning protection, a psalm for David. [2] O God my God, look upon me: why hast thou forsaken me? Far from my salvation are the words of my sins. [3] O my God, I shall cry by day, and thou wilt not hear: and by night, and it shall not be reputed as folly in me. [4] But thou dwellest in the holy place, the praise of Israel. [5] In thee have our fathers hoped: they have hoped, and thou hast delivered them.

[6] They cried to thee, and they were saved: they trusted in thee, and were not confounded. [7] But I am a worm, and no man: the reproach of men, and the outcast of the people. [8] All they that saw me have laughed me to scorn: they have spoken with the lips, and wagged the head. [9] He hoped in the Lord, let him deliver him: let him save him, seeing he delighteth in him. [10] For thou art he that hast drawn me out of the womb: my hope from the breasts of my mother.

[11] I was cast upon thee from the womb. From my mother’s womb thou art my God, [12] Depart not from me. For tribulation is very near: for there is none to help me. [13] Many calves have surrounded me: fat bulls have besieged me. [14] They have opened their mouths against me, as a lion ravening and roaring. [15] I am poured out like water; and all my bones are scattered. My heart is become like wax melting in the midst of my bowels.

[16] My strength is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue hath cleaved to my jaws: and thou hast brought me down into the dust of death. [17] For many dogs have encompassed me: the council of the malignant hath besieged me. They have dug my hands and feet. [18] They have numbered all my bones. And they have looked and stared upon me. [19] They parted my garments amongst them; and upon my vesture they cast lots. [20] But thou, O Lord, remove not thy help to a distance from me; look towards my defence.

[21] Deliver, O God, my soul from the sword: my only one from the hand of the dog. [22] Save me from the lion’s mouth; and my lowness from the horns of the unicorns. [23] I will declare thy name to my brethren: in the midst of the church will I praise thee. [24] Ye that fear the Lord, praise him: all ye the seed of Jacob, glorify him. [25] Let all the seed of Israel fear him: because he hath not slighted nor despised the supplication of the poor man. Neither hath he turned away his face from me: and when I cried to him he heard me.

[26] With thee is my praise in a great church: I will pay my vows in the sight of them that fear him. [27] The poor shall eat and shall be filled: and they shall praise the Lord that seek him: their hearts shall live for ever and ever. [28] All the ends of the earth shall remember, and shall be converted to the Lord: And all the kindreds of the Gentiles shall adore in his sight. [29] For the kingdom is the Lord’s; and he shall have dominion over the nations. [30] All the fat ones of the earth have eaten and have adored: all they that go down to the earth shall fall before him.

[31] And to him my soul shall live: and my seed shall serve him. [32] There shall be declared to the Lord a generation to come: and the heavens shall shew forth his justice to a people that shall be born, which the Lord hath made.

 

[Santi2]

Update:

**
Ealing Abbey to hand over control of school**

A report commissioned by St Benedict’s Catholic Independent School in Ealing, west London, has concluded that monks from the neighbouring Ealing Abbey should no longer be involved in the running of the school, following allegations of clerical sex abuse said to have occurred over the past 20 years.

At a press conference on Wednesday the report’s author, Lord Carlile of Berriew, said that in essence his recommendations “remove all power over the school from the abbey, while still retaining the Benedictine connection which is important to many parents”.

…
catholicherald.co.uk/news/2011/11/09/ealing-abbey-to-hand-over-control-of-school/