SCOTLAND
Herald Scotland
Monday 5 August 2013
David Leask
Reporter
ONE of Scotland’s most senior Catholics has issued a heartfelt apology to victims of child abuse in a move described as a landmark step in the church’s attitude towards the issue.
Leading experts and a child abuse victim praised yesterday’s announcement by Hugh Gilbert, the Bishop of Aberdeen, that the allegations surrounding Fort Augustus Abbey in the Highlands had shamed the church.
His comments marked a new direction for the church, which has previously faced accusations of dismissing such claims.
During mass at a church near the school, which shut in the 1990s, he said: “It is a most bitter, shaming and distressing thing that in this former Abbey School a small number of baptised, consecrated and ordained Christian men physically or sexually abused those in their care.”
Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.