British cardinal under fire over sex priest

A ROMAN Catholic priest was allowed to continue in ministry despite admitting incidents of sexual abuse with a teenager, the BBC reported yesterday.

The church said the victim refused to take his complaint to police, and that the case was handled within the church's new guidelines.

The case came to light less than a week after Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’Connor said in a letter to The Times newspaper that in instances of well-founded allegations of abuse, “action would now be taken to remove a priest from active ministry”.

Murphy-O'Connor, the leader of Catholics in England and Wales, has been under fire because, as a diocesan bishop, he had allowed another priest to continue in ministry despite allegations of sexual abuse. That former priest, Michael Hill, 68, was sentenced to five years in prison last Thursday for indecently assaulting three boys aged between 10 and 14 between 1969-87.

BBC radio yesterday reported on the case of a man who was 17 when a priest, then in his 30s, “inappropriately interfered” with him at a seminary in 1986. When confronted via e-mail in April by the victim, the priest responded within hours, admitting the accusation and asking forgiveness, the BBC said.

The priest, who was not identified, has remained in his post and continues as governor of a local school, the program reported.

The Catholic Church said it had followed the guideline adopted last year, following an independent inquiry by Lord Nolan into the church's handling of sexual abuse cases.

The church issued a statement saying that once the diocese learned of the case, “both parties were interviewed within 48 hours by a diocese child protection team. The diocese then reported the matter to police for investigation against the wishes of the complainant who preferred not to pursue any complaint. He declined to co-operate with police.”