Archbishop to answer 'child abuse by priests' claims

The leader of the Catholic Church in England and Wales Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’Connor was today due to answer detailed questions about allegations of child abuse by priests in his former diocese.

The Archbishop of Westminster was due to give a press briefing in London following a review of 11 cases of alleged child abuse by priests under his care when he was Bishop of Arundel and Brighton.

A spokesman for the Catholic Church said the press briefing was being held after a solicitor’s review of the Arundel and Brighton child protection file. The cases date back to the mid 1990s.

He said: “The Cardinal is now confident that he can answer detailed questions. The essential point is that it is about transparency.

“This is about the Church and the Cardinal not only saying thus far and no further but also ‘you asked me detailed questions – here are the detailed answers’.”

The Archbishop was due to be joined at the briefing by Bishop Kieran Conry, the current bishop of Arundel and Brighton.

The Cardinal was expected to answer questions about his handling of the case of Fr Christopher Maxwell-Stewart.

A 1995 case against Fr Maxwell-Stewart in relation to a nine-year-old girl collapsed, according to The Times newspaper.

Accusations of abusing two other children were also made against the priest but were dropped. All three allegations were investigated by the police.

The decision to hold the press briefing comes after weeks of allegations made in the Cardinal’s handling of allegations of child abuse by priests when he was bishop of Arundel and Brighton.

Last month Fr Michael Hill, 68, was jailed after admitting six charges of indecent assault against three boys between 1969 and 1987. It was his second jail sentence for similar offences.

The Cardinal has admitted that he made a “very serious mistake” when he appointed Hill to the post of chaplain at Gatwick Airport in 1985 when he had been advised that the priest posed a threat to children.