Viewpoint: 'Abused - breaking the silence'

Jo Siedlecka
Jun 27th, 2011

Soni School, Tanzania

I am still feeling shocked, sad and angry after last Tuesday's TV programme, 'Abused - breaking the silence' on BBC1, which revealed that four Rosminian priests physically and sexually abused boys at schools in England and Africa 45 years ago.

It is horrifying to think that priests committed these crimes and I find it difficult to imagine the hurt they caused. The photographs of those small boys in the film were heartbreaking and the interviews with them now showed people who had been emotionally broken by that childhood trauma.

What a pity the Rosminian Order seems to have only perpetuated the pain by their response to the allegations that came to light in 2009. I understand they did go to the police, but did not follow the appropriate safety policies and procedures that have been in place for more than ten years.

If they had contacted the National Safeguarding Commission immediately, impartial psychotherapists, doctors, lawyers and mediators could have met all the parties concerned straight away. There could have been a thorough comprehensive investigation and support offered to the victims some time ago. Instead it seems that they opted for the DIY method. To be fair I understand they did work very hard, holding many meetings with the different parties, trying to bring reconciliation - but in a piecemeal fashion and without the support of the NSC. This so infuriated some of the men, I suppose, that they eventually went to the BBC.

The resulting programme was very powerful, but had some quite large gaps, and was pretty one-sided. Why? Because the Rosminians refused to speak on television. They were concerned their interview would be edited. It is a pity they couldn't have offered a detailed written response. If they had worked more closely with the NSC, I think they could have had a voice in the programme. I would liked to have heard the NSC speak as well.

It is cases like this that make some people outside the Catholic Church (which is 90% or so of the UK population) think that we are all paedophiles, or condone paedophilia. Most people don't read beyond the first few lines of any story and this just reconfirms the stereotype.

I was particularly sad to see Fr Kit Cunningham as one of the alleged perpetrators. I worked with him on the diocesan newspaper for more than ten years and during that time found him to be a most generous and kind person. While we edited the paper on his kitchen table, the doorbell would ring every few minutes with another 'friend' asking for sandwiches, passport forms to be signed, advice or money. Kit knew everyone by name and never sent anyone away empty handed. He was always doing funerals for homeless people - paying for a choir and giving them a proper burial. "They deserve a good send off" he used to say.

Kit is dead now and cannot answer any questions. But he did write letters of apology to his former pupils, so we must assume bad things happened. And while they may have taken place 45 years ago, in the minds of the victims, the memories are painfully fresh.

Many of the former pupils said they just wanted to be listened to and taken seriously. One of them, Don, who met a very frail wheelchair-bound Fr Kit at his nursing home a few weeks before he died, said in the film, that after the meeting he felt his feelings of anger and bitterness lift for the first time.

Other former pupils, even those who never met Fr Kit, have completely demonised him. I hope they find peace and a satisfactory resolution now the case is out in the open.

A rather more sinister character in the documentary to me is Fr Bernard Collins, who allegedly abused several boys at both the school in England and in Africa. There is quite a dossier on him. He smiled condescendingly and had answers ready for every question and denied everything. Living comfortably in his retirement home he will probably keep that up until he dies. And he isn't so newsworthy as he always kept a low profile.

There has been a great deal of lamenting by some journalists over the fact that they wrote glowing tributes to Fr Kit when he died in January this year. We've had dozens of messages, some very abusive, complaining about the obituary we posted on ICN. Well I am sorry, I wrote in good faith, and I don't apologise. I didn't know everything about his past and based it on generally-known and public examples of the good work he performed during his last 45 years of life, as a prison chaplain, parish priest, writer, confessor and friend to many.

Like Profumo or Oscar Wilde, he will be probably always now remembered for this terrible scandal, and that shame will be borne by his community, family and friends for years to come.

It is easier to love someone who is blameless and pure I suppose, but as a Christian I believe we especially have to love those who behave badly and are unloveable.

I believe: "For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him."

Watching the film I kept thinking: what on earth were the Rosminians doing sending young priests (who probably had their heads stuffed with Latin and Greek and knew nothing about education or children) to a school for little boys? Those kids needed their Mums or at least good matrons and women teachers looking after them.

This was the 1960s and the teachers had probably been to similar harsh schools themselves. I know education is very different now. Boarding schools, (Catholic and secular ones) I have visited recently, offer a very homely and caring environment.

But I'm afraid, however well intended, the way the Rosminians have handled this case, still shows an old-fashioned and unprofessional approach to safeguarding in which it appears they did not use the policies and procedures agreed by Catholic Bishops Conference and the Conference of Religious; and showing that they did not understand the complexity of safeguarding.

If you have information about this case or any other concerns, please contact the National Safeguarding Commission now. Their address is: www.catholicsafeguarding.org.uk/

If you would like to see the programme Abused - breaking the silence go to: www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0124y7n