Buckfast ‘correct’ to destroy indecent images
A BENEDICTINE monastery acted correctly when it destroyed inappropriate images belonging to one of its dead monks, Fr Edmund Stewart, more than 30 years ago, according to the man who conducted an inquiry into the matter, writes Christopher Lamb. Some have said Buckfast Abbey should have
alerted the police about erotic material fea- turing naked adolescent boys belonging to Fr Stewart, against whom an allegation of abuse has recently been made. But Gary Gunby, formerly of the National
Society for the Protection of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC), who conducted an inde- pendent investigation into the allegations for the monastery, said that Fr James Courtney was right to destroy the material and acted with integrity when he volunteered the infor- mation to Mr Gunby’s inquiry. After Fr Edmund’s death in 1979, books belonging to the abbey, borrowed by the monk, were returned to Buckfast. The inappropriate images were found in the sleeves of the books by Fr James, who was the monastery’s librarian at that time. After seeking instruction from the then Abbot Leo Smith, Fr James, who is now the abbey’s safe- guarding coordinator, was ordered to destroy the material. “Why would you keep those kind of images
in a monastery?” Mr Gunby said. “The man [Fr Edmund] was dead, there was no com- plaint, the boys couldn’t be identified, so destroy them.” He added that Fr James had shown courage and integrity by revealing the incident to the inquiry.
IN BRIEF
Bishop of Derry resigns The Bishop of Derry has tendered his resig- nation to the Pope, citing ill health which he said left him no longer able to fulfil his duties. Seventy-one-year-old Dr Seamus Hegarty announced he was standing down on Monday. His resignation means there are now seven dioceses awaiting appointments in the Irish Church, a situation which some believe will result in the merger of a number of dioceses.
Priests ‘not always available on call’ The Archbishop of Liverpool, Patrick Kelly, has said it is becoming difficult to find a priest on call in times of emergency. In a pas- toral letter written in tribute to Fr Michael Williams, a hospital chaplain in the arch- diocese, who died suddenly in September, Archbishop Kelly said that “it is increasingly difficult to guarantee a priest will always be on call”, due to a decline in clergy numbers. He said that Fr Williams’ death was a “wake- up call to us all”.
36 | THE TABLET | 12 November 2011
Oona Stannard replaced as head of CES
Christopher Lamb
THE LEADER of the Catholic Education Service (CES) has left her post as the Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales reviews all of its operations.
Oona Stannard, chief executive of the CES
who has been in her post since 1999, is on a leave of absence “for personal reasons” accord- ing to a church spokesman. It is not clear, however, when or if she will
return. Fr Marcus Stock, general secretary of the Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales, has taken over as interim director of the CES in her absence. Fr Stock, a former director of schools for the Archdiocese of Birmingham, has been asked by the bishops of England and Wales to review the work of the bishops’ conference secretariat. The bishops at their biannual meeting in Leeds next week will discuss the allocation
of “scarce resources” for their mission in England and Wales over the next five years. According to the CES’ latest accounts, Ms Stannard is being paid a salary of between £70,000 and £80,000 a year plus pension contributions of over £11,000. The CES operates as a separate charity although it works out of the bishops’ confer- ence’s headquarters in Eccleston Square, Victoria, central London. One church observer said that it had been suggested that the CES come under the formal structure of the bishops’ conference. Ms Stannard recently lobbied for concessions for church schools wishing to become academies. Joseph Hughes, director of education at the Diocese of Hexham and Newcastle, said: “I rate the CES who work with very limited resources. Oona is a very capable person who has forged links with all the political parties. She is doing an excellent job and is very strong on the core of what is Catholic education.”
‘Mentality’ behind embassy closure criticised Archbishop Martin said it was “equally
THE IRISH Government’s decision to close its embassy to the Holy See has been con- demned by the Archbishop of Dublin, who said it was part of a trend to push religion out of the public sphere, writes Sarah Mac Donald. Last week, Deputy Prime Minister Eamon Gilmore said it was a cost-cutting measure made “with the greatest regret and reluctance”. On Monday, Archbishop Diarmuid Martin of Dublin hit out at the “mentality” which reduced the function of diplomacy “to what is quantifiable in economic terms, as if some- how spiritual matters did not belong to the real world”. The embassy is due to close in the new year with relations between the two states to con- tinue via an ambassador based in Dublin. The closure of the mission to the Vatican along with those in Iran and East Timor will save €1.25 million (£1m) a year.
strange” that the Government’s decision was made at a time when there was “growing awareness in international diplomatic circles of the importance of the factor of religion in an understanding of international security and peaceful co existence among people”. Cardinal Seán Brady also expressed disap- pointment at the closure. Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny insisted the motivation for the closure was not linked to the Irish Government’s row with the Vatican following the publication of the Cloyne report that catalogued clerical sex abuse and Rome’s response. The decision has “nothing to do with the issue of Cloyne”, Mr Kenny said and added: “It’s part of the comprehensive spend- ing review and reorganisation of our diplomatic corps.”
(See Seán Donlon, page 12.) Assembly to respond to ‘crumbling’ Church
THE ASSOCIATION of Catholic Priests (ACP) is planning a national assembly of the Irish Church to further its reform agenda, writes Sarah Mac Donald. The meeting to be held in Dublin in May 2012 will bring together lay and clerical groups to debate key issues such as the shortage of priests and the damage caused to the Church in Ireland by its
handling of clerical sex-abuse cases. “The crumbling of our
Church in so many different ways demands a clear response,” said Fr Brendan Hoban, spokesman for the ACP which has more than 500 members in Ireland. “For too long we have
waited for a real conversation to start in the Irish Catholic Church,” he said. Many had
waited also “for the wisdom of the Second Vatican Council to be translated into the kind of change that would resonate with the lived experiences and needs of our people”. Fr Hoban said the ACP was
not attempting to organise a synod, which had specific ramifications in canon law. The ACP plans to meet
interested parties in January 2012 to plan the assembly.
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