MOTHERWELL (UNITED KINGDOM)
The Times/The Sunday Times [London, England]
June 18, 2025
By Grant McCabe
Thomas Millar attacked the teenager at his home, on church grounds and in his car. He was eventually confronted by the victim’s wife
A former senior Catholic priest has admitted molesting a child after the victim’s wife confronted him about the abuse 40 years later.
Thomas Millar, who was honoured with the title monsignor by the pope, targeted the boy who was in his mid-teens after a game of badminton at a sports centre in Baillieston, Glasgow, in the early 1980s.
The abuse went undiscovered until 2021 when the victim summoned the courage to tell his wife, who texted Millar with allegations of the sexual crimes.
The High Court in Glasgow heard that when he was asked about the incident by his bishop, Millar, 71, replied: “It is true”.
He pleaded guilty to the repeated indecent assault of the victim between 1981 and 1984 and was remanded in custody by the judge Lady Hood.
Millar, of Hamilton, Lanarkshire, had been the parish priest at different chapels in Lanarkshire at the time of the attacks.
The court heard how the young male victim, who was attacked for a second time while sleeping at the priest’s parish home, had never told anyone what had occurred with Millar but “knew that it had been wrong”.
A further five or six sexual assaults occurred also on church property. Millar lured the boy to his home having told the teenager’s mother that he “needed assistance”. The court heard more abuse took place in Millar’s car including near Strathclyde Park.
There was another incident after the boy got into trouble for drinking at a school disco. His mother sent him to Millar in the hope he could “offer him some guidance” but the priest molested the child again.
Michael Macintosh, the advocate depute, said the boy did not know how to tell the priest to stop. After Millar relocated to a different parish, the abuse escalated to the extent that it felt like the “norm” for the teenager.
“He reports that he felt afraid that his parents would be ashamed of him if they were to know what was happening,” said Macintosh.
The final attack occurred in Millar’s private living room before he drove the distressed boy home. The victim told Millar if he contacted him again he would report what happened.
“He told nobody for several decades, first disclosing to his wife in October 2021,” said the prosecutor.
“This prompted her to send a text message to Millar challenging him about the abuse. Millar contacted his bishop [that month] and advised him that he had ‘bad news’. He told the bishop about the text message and he stated: ‘It’s true’.”
The victim first contacted the Catholic Church, but did not go to the police until late 2023. Millar was arrested in February last year.
Sarah Livingstone, in mitigation, said that Millar had latterly held a “senior role” in Birmingham, but had since resigned.
The advocate said: “He accepts his culpability and the effect that it had on the victim. There are details which he cannot remember — whether that is a coping mechanism or the passage of time — but he is prepared to accept the account given by the victim.
“Without his admission, there would be no case and that is an example of the remorse he has displayed.”
Millar was placed on the sex offenders list and will be sentenced next month.