Scottish Catholic Church Abuse Probe Spreads to Australia with Two Monks Implicated

By Charles Miranda
Daily Telegraph
July 31, 2013

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/national/scottish-catholic-church-abuse-probe-spreads-to-australia-with-two-monks-implicated/story-fni0xqrc-1226688916932

A PROBE into claims of serious physical and sexual abuse at some of Scotland's most prestige Catholic boarding schools has moved to Australia with at least two Aussie monks implicated in the scandal.

And in an unfortunate twist, some of their victims who left Scotland to get away from the memories recently discovered they unwittingly had relocated to the same Australian cities as their former tormentors.

An investigation by the BBC has found systemic abuse and cover up at several Scottish boarding schools and in particular abuse by seven monks in the 1950s, '60s and '70s including Australian priest Father Aidan Duggan who allegedly abused five boys.

Fr Duggan returned to Sydney in 1974 and became a parish priest in Bass Hill after claims against him were made to his Benedictine order in Scotland. He died in 2004, but there is now evidence the claims were known but covered up by the church in the UK.

A second monk from Australia, now aged in his 70s, also allegedly abused boys in Scotland before his order sent him home to Australia as boys began to speak out. That priest has declined to comment.

Prominent British lawyer Alan Collins will travel to Australia this weekend to speak with three victims of both priests. The victims were British who moved to Australia not realising their abusers had also moved back here.

But Mr Collins said he suspected there could be a number of Australian victims too and questioned whether authorities here were ever told of the abuse suspicions in Scotland or suspicions locally.

"I am speaking with three victims this weekend in Sydney and Brisbane, but I think there will be many more there, they will just keep on coming as we look further at the issue, there will be more," Mr Collins said.

Mr Collins will also interview another Australian man who was abused in the mid 1980s by a now convicted English-born paedophile Jesuit priest.

When News Corp tracked down this still practising clergyman last month he openly bragged a statute of limitations for prosecution had now passed and he would be unlikely to face his accuser, now aged in his 40s, or have to pay him compensation.