Scottish bishop says sorry to pupils allegedly abused by monks in Highlands

[theHandpuppet]

Source: The Belfast Telegraph, NI

04 August 2013

One of Scotland's most senior Catholics has apologised to pupils amid claims of sexual and physical abuse by monks at a former boarding school in the Highlands.
Alleged victims who attended the Catholic Fort Augustus Abbey school told a BBC Scotland investigation that they were molested and beaten by monks over a period of three decades from the 1950s.
It has also been claimed that abuse was carried out at Carlekemp, its feeder school in East Lothian. Both schools are now closed.
Five men said on the Sins Of Our Fathers documentary, screened last Monday, that they were raped or sexually abused by Father Aidan Duggan, an Australian monk who taught at Carlekemp and Fort Augustus between 1953 and 1974....


Read more: http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/local-national/uk/scottish-bishop-says-sorry-to-pupils-allegedly-abused-by-monks-in-highlands-29471597.html

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For more on the BBC documentary concerning these abused boys, "Sins of Our Fathers, see: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-23483307
BBC Scotland Investigates: Sins of Our Fathers will be broadcast on BBC1 Scotland on Monday 29 July at 21:00, and for a week afterwards on the BBC iPlayer

[tabasco]

1. Why is there so much religious kookery in the world?

Last edited Sun Aug 4, 2013, 07:18 PM - Edit history (1)

A - because people are afraid of death and have not evolved sufficiently to deal with the knowledge of death. So, they make up fairy tales to believe in.

[theHandpuppet]

2. I don't really care what belief system people choose

As long as they don't use their religion as a basis to oppress or abuse others.

[happyslug]

3. 90% of all abuse occurs within families

I use to do Children and Youth Work, and you would be surprise how much does occur. The reason you do not hear of it is that Children and Youth hearings are closed to the public.

The next biggest group of abusers are Schools, in the US Public Schools. You do not hear of them for in such cases no lawyer will take the case. Lawyers want to be paid, and Sovereign Immunity protects Public Schools from lawsuits where their employees abuse a student. The victim can still sue the abuser, but no lawyer will take the case for they is no way to collect on any judgement. If the abuser is married, his house is martial property and as such can not be sold for the debt of one spouse. If the abuser is actual caught most schools will fire him, so there is no wages to attach. Lawyers want paid and suing someone who is Judgement proof is one thing they try to avoid. Thus it is rare to hear of a Public School Teacher being sued.

In the case of the Catholic Church, the Catholic Church can NOT claim Sovereign Immunity and thus CAN BE SUED FOR THE CRIMES OF ITS EMPLOYEES. The rate of such abuse within the Church (or other religions) is the same as the general population, the difference is the Catholic Church (and other Churches) have assets that can be sold to pay off a Judgement. Thus the biggest impediment to bring such a suit on a public school teacher (i,e, no way to sue the employer) disappears when it comes to the Catholic Church (or other churches and now the Boy Scouts).

I am NOT defending the actions of the Bishops (they should NEVER have dropped some of the rules that prevented such actions after Vatican II, rules most are re-implementing today) just explaining why such abuse become common over the last 20 years.

[Sunlei]

4. same thing w/ some remote Alaska villages. Every child was abused.