William Jackson has apologised for historical abuse against students at Rosmini College. [7][8], Although Cunningham's abuse was known about by the Rosminian order before his death in 2010, it was covered up[9][10][11][12] and knowledge of it only emerged publicly in 2011 in the BBC documentary Abused: Breaking the silence. In my obituary of him in January, I wrote as I found. FOUR Rosminian Order members were removed from duty at St Patrick's Industrial School, Upton, Co Cork in the 1950s after allegations of sexual abuse, the Commission on Child Abuse heard yesterday. Or consider Mary Kenny, longtime Catholic Herald columnist, writing in the Irish Independent of Fr Kit's many qualities -- his kindness, his outreach to the poor, his ecumenical friendships -- which she is now trying to reconcile with the man she has discovered abused six boys as young as eight. The Rosminians of the Irish Province were appointed by the Archbishop of Dublin to run services for the blind in St Joseph's, Drumcondra, Dublin in 1955, the School, originally called St Joseph's Asylum for the Male Blind was founded by the Carmelites in 1859, and moved in 1870 to the lands of Drumcondra Castle. - through the needs themselves being seen. We were absolutely furious that Collins had been transferred. The program brings us into the appalling, lonely, shameful world of the sexually abused child in the grip of a power that is as absolute as it is ruthless. He now lives in a retirement village with other Rosminian priests and will not face charges in New Zealand. Independent.ie. The subject was Father Kit Cunningham, the Catholic priest who had married us, baptised my son (who shares his Christian name) and was a family friend for 20 years. Then I found out about Father Kit and it has shaken me out of my complacency and shaken my faith shaken it because here is a religious order still reluctant to own up to the damage its members have done. This principle was soon put to the test when the Marchioness di Canossa asked him to establish an institute for the education of poor boys. Copyright 2023 America Press Inc. | All Rights Reserved. Jackson has sent Tim two apology letters, the first after his police interview, starting with: "To Whom it may concern". First, to apply himself to correct his faults and purify his soul by prayer and living a life as close to the teaching of Christ as possible. If he kept his "dark side" so well hidden, if the church authorities allowed him to keep it so well hidden that even the Queen awarded him an MBE, what of all the other priests I admire for their work with the poor and marginalised? Jones told the boy he was checking his genitals for cancer as an excuse for tge abuse. Still, as Rosmini believed that God would do the necessary prompting, he did not seek out anyone to join the new society he planned to establish. The Rosminian Order was criticised for delays in making written reports of allegations of child sex abuse to the authorities until recently. Fr Pierce said he was struck by how well-funded other schools were when compared with Ferryhouse. A statement from Fr David Myers, leader of the Rosminian order in Britain: "I apologise without reservation on behalf of the Rosminian brethren in the UK to all those who have suffered. Emotions boiled over during the eight-hour standoff involving a barefoot man. Mr MacFaul, now a barrister in Newcastle, said that until 2009 and the revelations from Soni he had assumed that Collins had been sent away from children. The spirit of the Rosminian community is strongly characterised by the belief that God speaks to people in a variety of ways, and makes His will known according to the abilities of each person. In one sense the story of Soni is another appalling example of a by now sadly familiar tale. There have also been repeated public expressions of regret by the Catholic authorities as these scandals have emerged all round the globe, revealing this as an endemic problem in the church rather than, as Pope John Paul II originally suggested in 2002, a case of a few bad apples. Such abuse was a grievous breach of trust to them and to their families. Father Myers declined to appear on the BBC programme, but quoted a Biblical passage from Lamentations: "It is good to wait in silence.". However, Frenkiel points out in her film that on the day that Pope Benedict XVI, during his visit to Britain last September, was in Westminster Cathedral expressing his "deep sorrow to innocent victims of these unspeakable crimes", the Rosminian order was writing to refuse to pay any compensation for what it has openly acknowledged are the crimes of four of its own priests. In September 2009 they approached Fr Myers with the dossier of claims relating to the two schools and in November were invited to St Etheldredas, where Fr Cunningham had been rector for almost 30 years. A Reflection for Saturday of the First Week of Lent, by Christopher Parker. William Jackson was questioned. You can also manage your account details and your print subscription after logging in. Four of the priests who taught there, all members of the Rosminian order, and including Fr. Now, 22 of the 35 victims are suing for compensation. Thank you, Ed Draw, for your note to David Smith. He wrote regularly for The Catholic Herald. "You could be beaten by a priest who would hours later be fondling your penis", one of them recalls. 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"[1], Cunningham was appointed a member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) by Queen Elizabeth II, advised by the Prime Minister, Tony Blair, in the 1998 New Year Honours. At the end of 2009 several priests were confronted with the complaints by the order and apologies were sent to victims, but no formal public apology has been issued. It heard of the extensive and far-reaching reforms he introduced to the school including a total refurbishment, a massive increase in funding from the Department of Education and the employment for the first time of 16 lay staff with training in child-care. It was not until March 1837, that Rosmini submitted the constitutions of his religious society for papal approval. ", He added in a statement: "Such abuse was a grievous breach of trust to them and to their families. "A Technicolor eccentric, and widely loved as a consequence," the obituary read. "I find this," Poppleton said, brandishing the newspaper cutting to camera as if it were contaminated, "offensive. Father Myers declined to appear on the BBC programme, but quoted a Biblical passage from Lamentations: "It is good to wait in silence.". Some tips for making the most of your twilight years. The order was formally approved by the Holy See in 1838, and took its name from "charity" as the fullness of Christian virtue. THE Rosminian Order acted against a number of its members accused of sex abuse as far back as the '50s but did not inform the relevant State authorities at the time, the Commission on Child Abuse was told yesterday. On these occasions Mass was followed by supper with a generous supply of alcohol, before the guild's prayer of St Francis de Sales (the patron saint of journalists) was said. A group of 22 former students from two Catholic prep schools have started legal action against the Rosminian Order over abuse. A Mediahuis Website On 20 December 1838, the Vatican's congregation met again and gave its opinion that the society should have the status of a religious congregation; the pope immediately ratified this decision. His vices appeared pretty obvious drink, obsessive attention to restoring his church, and what looked like an overly close friendship with the (female) parish secretary, who shared his love of wine. The Leicestershire school, which accepts students from all faiths, is still owned by the Rosminian order and has one Rosminian priest on its staff. ", Newcastle barrister Donald MacFaul, who attended the Leicestershire school from 1954-59, said: "What was created by what happened at school was a permanent sense of fear and dread.". One by one they discovered that what they thought had been their own private hell had been shared by others. Cunningham was said to have remarked of one newspaper executive: "The only way Im allowing him back here is if he comes crawling into the confession box. Melton to get new MP at next General Election, Houses shake across the Harborough area following 'sonic boom' that was heard and felt across the region, New data reveals train commuters spend up to 2450 more a year than car-owning colleagues, Houses shake across the Harborough area after mysterious loud 'explosion', Upp have a 'flipping' delicious afternoon at Pepper's - A Safe Place, RENTAL PROPERTY OF THE WEEK: 3 bed apartment above Rutland Laundry, Street fighting in Bakhmut but Russia not in control, Saving Private Ryan actor Tom Sizemore dies at 61, Alex Murdaugh's legal troubles are far from over, The children left behind in Cuba's mass exodus, Xi Jinping's power grab - and why it matters, Snow, Fire and Lights: Photos of the Week. Cooper was confident the school had robust procedures to deal with any allegations that may arise in the future and would back any student who came forward after suffering historical abuse. A welfare helper at a Rosminian-run Catholic boarding school has been jailed for sexually abusing a pupil, in the 1980's. Francis Belt (72) pleaded guilty to two counts of gross indecency at Ratcliffe College, Ratcliffe on the Wreake, Leicestershire, when the boy was between 13 and 15 years. (available 24/7) Better Blokes which provides peer support throughout Auckland, including a specific Pacific group. Two or three people who knew his thoughts joined him by their own request, and the three began to live according to the principles Rosmini had established. Fr O'Reilly mentioned two members of the congregation who, in the '50s, were removed from their duties at the Rosminian-run industrial school at Upton, Cork, and two more who, in 1963, were removed from their duties at Ferryhouse. A prominent United Kingdom member of the order, Fr Kit Cunningham, together with three other Rosminian priests were exposed after Cunningham's death as paedophiles. The matter has had a significant impact on the Charity's finances with payment of their legal and settlement costs amounting to a total GBP 1,746,523 for the year. At first the Upton Rosminians were not told of his record, but when informed later they allowed him to remain as choirmaster. Again, Rosmini saw the hand of God in this request. [3] The School which became known as St Joseph's School for the Blind, and Visually Impaired, was residential for boys and was officially opened in 1960 by the Dept. Within a few months Father Collins left for the order's St Michael's School Soni in Tanganiyka - now Tanzania. He has full powers except for a few exceptional cases. Mr David Hardiman SC was addressing the investigation . Fr Cunningham was a high-profile and popular figure in London, often called the unofficial chaplain of Fleet Street, as well as being the founder of the Westminster diocesan newspaper and chaplain of the Catholic Writers Guild. Thus did Peter learn, earlier than the rest of us, what the priest had done. Fr Collins and Fr Raynor also physically abused the children, who described them as sadists. As part of that correspondence, I saw the letters of apology written by Fr Kit before his death, and by the other accused (all of whom are still alive, and living in a comfortable retirement home run by the Rosminians in the home counties). All confessed to abuse in signed letters witnessed by the Rosminian provincial Fr David Myers. A series of reports published yesterday . All journalists like seeing their articles discussed on television, even when they're being challenged, but the sight of John Poppleton holding a copy of an obituary I wrote earlier this year for the Guardian made me feel profoundly ashamed. The program records how, when the victims first contacted him in 2009 with a dossier of abuse they had compiled, he was deeply shocked and took the accusations to those they had accused (by now old men).