Victims of sexual abuse by priests will no longer be able to sue
the Catholic church for damages if a landmark judgment rules that
priests should not be considered as employees.
In a little
publicised case heard this month at the high court, the church claimed
that it is not "vicariously liable" for priests' actions.
The church has
employed the argument in the past but this was the first time it had
been used in open court and a ruling in the church's favour would set a
legal precedent.
The use of the defence raises further questions
about the church's willingness to accept culpability for abuse.
It
follows a damning report into abuse at the diocese of Cloyne in Ireland
which prompted the Irish president, Mary McAleese, to call on leaders of
the church "to urgently reflect on how, by coherent and effective
action, it can restore public trust and confidence in its stated
objective of putting children first".
Those
planning to bring claims in relation to the high court case expressed
dismay.
"As children, we weren't given an innocent, carefree and safe
environment," said one. "We weren't given a peaceful structure in which
to grow and develop normally. By some miracle, some of us are still here
to voice the words of so many who can't. Only a small number of victims
ever come forward. The full potential of who we could have been as
adults has been stolen."
The church's defence has been condemned
by lawyers.
"I think the Catholic church's attempt to avoid
responsibility for the abhorrent actions of one of its priests is
nothing short of scandalous," said Richard Scorer of the law firm
Pannone, which specialises in abuse cases.
"The Catholic church would be
better served by facing up to its responsibilities rather than trying
to hide behind spurious employment law arguments."
The ruling is being made as part of a preliminary hearing
into the case of "JGE", who claims to have been sexually abused while a
six-year-old resident at The Firs, a children's home in Portsmouth run
by an order of nuns, the English Province of Our Lady of Charity.
"If we
fail, it would mean that no other victims of Catholic priests would be
able to be compensated," said Tracey Emmott of Emmott Snell, a
specialist in working with sexual abuse claims who is representing JGE.
JGE
alleges that she was sexually abused by Father Wilfred Baldwin, a
priest of the Roman Catholic diocese of Portsmouth and its "vocations
director", who regularly visited The Firs during the 70s.
Her legal team
claim the nuns were negligent and in breach of duty, and that the
diocese was liable for Baldwin's alleged abuse as he was a Catholic
priest engaged within the work of the diocese.
Previous hearings
in the House of Lords and the court of appeal relating to other church
organisations have found that ministers should be treated as employees.
But there has been no judgment yet on whether the relationship between a
Catholic priest and his bishop is akin to an employment relationship.
"They
claim that the relationship between the bishop of the diocese and the
parish priest in question does not amount to anything akin to a
relationship of employment, and therefore there cannot be any 'vicarious
liability' for the priest's acts," Emmott said.
"That is to say,
whatever sexual abuse their priests might commit, it is not their
responsibility. They are absolved of blame. We need to show that, while
Father Baldwin wasn't strictly an employee of the church, he was acting
on the bishop's behalf and that the bishop clearly had a degree of
control over his activities."
Criminal proceedings against
Baldwin, who was the subject of a police investigation, concluded when
he died of a heart attack in 2006.