UNITED KINGDOM
Catholic Herald
by David V Barrett
posted Monday, 1 Jun 2015
But Church denies cardinal’s book was censored before publication
The publisher of Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’Connor’s memoirs has said it was “regrettable” that the prelate had made cuts to his book.
He spoke after Guardian newspaper claimed that the cardinal was forced by the Church to censor his book, An English Spring, published last month by Bloomsbury Continuum.
According to the Guardian, un-named “associates of the cardinal” said that the former Archbishop of Westminster was made to remove sections concerning the convicted paedophile Fr Michael Hill. Cardinal Murphy-O’Connor faced calls for his resignation over his handing of the priest when he was Bishop of Arundel and Brighton. Despite being warned that Hill was a danger to young people he moved him to the chaplaincy at Gatwick airport.
The Guardian said the cardinal was made to cut a section defending the right to protect priests when they have erred, and replace it with “a lament about bishops’ failure to prioritise abuse victims over their priests”.
In another section that was cut the cardinal accused the church of not being prepared to root out systemic paedophilia, the Guardian said.
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