UNITED KINGDOM
BBC News
The Catholic Church says it will carry out an investigation into how one of its priests carried out child abuse for more than 30 years.
Francis Paul Cullen, 85, admitted 21 counts of child sex abuse in Derbyshire and Nottingham from 1957 to 1991.
The Association of Child Abuse Lawyers has questioned why the priest, who evaded arrest for 21 years in Tenerife, was not investigated sooner.
The church said it received no complaints of abuse at the time.
‘Absolutely confident’
Cullen, who pleaded guilty to the charges on Monday, will be sentenced at Derby Crown Court on 24 March.
Father Andrew Cole, of the Diocese of Nottingham, said an internal disciplinary procedure would start after Cullen’s court case was over.
The matter will ultimately be reported to The Vatican, he said.
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