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Child Abuse Survivors Take Their Former Catholic Diocese to Court

Lancaster Evening Post
January 26, 2016

http://www.lep.co.uk/news/regional/child-abuse-survivors-take-their-former-catholic-diocese-to-court-1-7696039

Survivors of child abuse within the Catholic Church are taking their former diocese to court after allegations of an institutional cover-up going back decades.

The claims - dating back to the 1950s and featuring pupils at a church school in the north west of England - mirror those in the recent Spotlight film, tipped for Oscars success for its real-life depiction of similar allegations in the Catholic Church in Boston, US, in the 1980s.

Lawyers acting on behalf of the British victims, who were aged between 11 and 15 at the time of the abuse, said they hope the positivity met with Spotlight's release will help give other victims the strength to come forward and make allegations.

Thomas Beale, representing victims with London-based child abuse lawyers AO Advocates, said there were "significant" similarities between Spotlight and the allegations of abuse at St Bede's Catholic school in Manchester decades ago.

He said: "I hope society is moving in the right direction and the film can only help that.

"In our clients' case, knowing there are other people suffering in the same way gave them strength to come forward. I hope the film only adds to that. The church is not dealing with this in the way it says it will.

"In one case, my client complained against a member of staff, and he was simply moved elsewhere, we are seeing the same happening in Boston in Spotlight."

The film, starring Michael Keaton and Mark Ruffalo, tells the true story of how the Boston Globe's journalists uncovered the massive scandal of child molestation and cover-up within the local Catholic archdiocese.

 

 

 

 

 




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