Former Altar Boy Abused by Paedophile Priest Breaks His Silence to Reveal His Despair at How Crime Was Covered up
By Marion Scott
PAUL SMYTH, who says he was 11 when paedophile Father Paul Moore sexually assaulted him, wants an apology after the clergyman was never brought to trial despite his victims co-operating with police. THE victim of a paedophile priest who escaped being prosecuted even though he confessed to his crimes has broken his silence over his ordeal and his despair. Paul Smyth, who says he was just 11 when Father Paul Moore sexually assaulted him, reveals his anger that the priest was never brought to trial, despite his victims co-operating fully with the police. In the 1990s, Moore admitted to former Bishop Maurice Taylor that he had abused children over several years. But prosecutors decided not to pursue a criminal case against the pervert priest. Instead, he was sent away to a special centre in Canada for treatment before returning to Ayrshire, where he now lives in a church-owned house. Moore’s victims are now demanding to know why the priest was not brought to court despite overwhelming evidence against him. Paul spoke out yesterday, just weeks after another priest – a former colleague of Moore’s – revealed that he was also sexually assaulted by him. Both men believe the Catholic Church and prosecutors failed to deal with their complaints seriously enough and have condemned them for continuing to support Moore, now 77. Paul, 44, who has mild learning difficulties, says he was abused twice by Moore while serving as an altar boy at St Margaret’s Church in Irvine. He claims the priest indecently assaulted him during two trips to the beach in the early 1980s. He was interviewed by police after they approached him during an investigation into claims made by other victims in 1997. Paul, who still lives in Irvine, said: “I had been an altar boy at St Margaret’s and Fr Moore was our parish priest. “He always appeared to everyone as a nice guy, full of stories and friendly. “The abuse happened when Fr Moore took me to the beach at Irvine. “I was around 11 years old at the time and my parents were happy that the priest had taken me for a nice day out. “He said he was taking me for a swim but when we came out, he went to dry me and he touched me. He was touching me and touching himself. “I was shocked but I just didn’t know what to do. “Another time, he took me to the beach again and we were supposed to be playing a game where he was burying me in the sand. Then it happened again. “I could tell he was aroused but I didn’t really understand what was going on. I was too young and embarrassed. ‘When it was over, he got dressed and so did I. There was silence in his car all the way home. “After that, I knew that I never wanted to be alone with him again.” Moore was parish priest at St Margaret’s in the 1970s and 80s before he was transferred to St Quivox Church in Prestwick in 1996. It’s believed he was interviewed by then Bishop Maurice Taylor after his fellow priest, known only as Father Michael, raised the alarm. At that point, police contacted Paul after his name emerged during their investigation. He was told they had taken testimonies from at least two other victims. He said: “I suspected what they wanted to speak to me about – though I had never told anyone else what Fr Moore had done to me. “The police interviewed me three times, in London, Irvine and Saltcoats. “When they were in London, they told me there were two others they had spoken to, but I don’t know their details. “I had to tell my parents what had happened and that was upsetting because we had all gone to church regularly and they were angry and heartbroken. None of us go now.” Despite Moore’s confession to the bishop, he was moved to Southdown, a treatment centre in Ontario, Canada, for priests with pyschological problems. The Crown Office said in 1999 that they had decided not proceed with action against him. He was later allowed to return to Scotland, where he worked for a time at Fort Augustus Abbey School, which was at the centre of fresh sex abuse allegations in July. Moore now lives in a church-owned house in Largs. Both Paul and Fr Michael have questioned the Catholic Church’s handling of the affair. Michael said he brought the matter to the attention of disgraced Cardinal Keith O’Brien in 1996 and again earlier this year, but nothing was done. Last month, it emerged that O’Brien – who resigned in March amid allegations of inappropriate sexual conduct with junior priests – had blocked a full inquiry into sex abuse claims against the clergy while still in office. Care home worker Paul said he heard nothing more from the police and when he returned to Irvine in 2000, he went to the police station to inform them. He said: “They took my new address and told me that if I saw Fr Moore in the street, that I was to walk away and not get involved or I would get into trouble. “He has tried to stop me in the street to speak to me several times since 2004 but I do not want to speak to him. “I just cannot understand why he has been allowed to get away with that he did to me and the others. ‘The church have never tried to protect me or any of the other victims and that is wrong. “It has been hard for me to try and get on with my life and hold down a job, but I do. I often think about the other victims and how they are coping. “I get angry that the church have not told the truth about what happened to us. Maybe there are other victims out there too. I hope they have the strength to come forward now so the case is re-opened and we can all get to the truth. “What I want most of all is an apology, but I don’t think the church will ever say sorry. That makes me very sad.” Paul now plans to take a civil action against the Catholic Church. His lawyer Cameron Fyfe said: “This was a distressing case involving a child with learning difficulties. I am writing to the police to ask whether any others have since come forward with information which may now lead to a fresh inquiry.” Police Scotland said: “We can confirm that on February 9, 1998, a 61-year-old man was reported to the procurator fiscal in connection with sexual offences.” When we confronted Moore yesterday, he told us: “I will not say anything. It has all been dealt
with through the appropriate channels.”
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