Historic Caldey child abuse inquiry call
7 June 2019
A PETITION calling for a public inquiry into historical child abuse on Caldey Island has been launched.
The change.org online petition, created by Lynwen Evans, from Mydroilin, states: “Children have been historically sexually abused on Caldey Island. When the abused later spoke out they faced nothing but judgement and dismissal. Let us pressurise the Government to investigate this abuse, so that these victims can have some closure and to stop the abuse of our children.”
More than 20 people have now come forward claiming they were abused as children by a monk, Father Thaddeus Kotik, living on Caldey Island in the 1970s and 80s.Father Thaddeus Kotik died in 1992.
One of those abused was Kevin O’Connell from Ceredigion, who recently revisited the island for the first time since he was abused there as an 11-year-old.Kevin, who has suffered with lifelong anxiety and depression, contacted S4C’s current affairs programme, Y Byd ar Bedwar, and invited them to follow his emotional journey, which was later televised.
It appears Kotik was never questioned by police, who were not informed of allegations against him until 2014.
In 2017 it came to light that the island had a long history of child sexual abuse after six women received compensation from Caldey Abbey in an out-of-court settlement.
Twenty-one victims have come forward to Dyfed-Powys Police, with cases going back to the 1960s.
It has come to light that the abbey was told by a victim about the abuse in the 1980s but did not report it until 2014.
Instead the abbot at the time, Robert O’Brian, asked the victim for forgiveness.
ITV Wales asked the current abbot, Brother Daniel van Santvoort for his response to the latest evidence that Kevin O’Connell was also abused on the island. Despite contacting the Brother several times, he never responded.
The Diocese of Menevia in Swansea was contacted as it has been advising the Abbey on their safeguarding policies and practices for the last 18 months.
The Bishop Tom Burns said: “the Abbey has insisted on retaining its oversight of any specific cases, past, present, or in the future.”
Lynwen, in her petition, adds: “Kevin O’Connell was one of the abused, coming to terms with it 18 months ago was when he confided in his wife of 30 years.
“He came out publicly on an emotional Welsh TV Program called Byd ar Bedwar, where he was taken back to Caldey Island to face his demons.
“The Guardian News Paper states that six other victims had been paid for their silence… Why?
“Kevin is determined that this abuse of trust is not to happen anymore and wants an investigation as to why this has been covered up for all these years.
“An investigation started 29 years ago, but nothing has come of it… We want as many signatures as possible to force the Government to continue with this investigation, and not let it be swept under the carpet for another 29 years.”
Calls for public inquiry into historical child abuse on Caldey Island as another victim comes forward
Kevin O’Connell from Ceredigion recently revisited the island for the first time since he was abused there as an 11-year-old
There are new calls for a public inquiry into historical child abuse on Caldey Island as another victim of paedophile monk, Thaddeus Kotik, comes forward.
Kevin O’Connell from Ceredigion recently revisited the island for the first time since he was abused there as an 11-year-old. He contacted S4C’s current affairs programme, Y Byd ar Bedwar at the beginning of the year, in a bid to get answers from Church authorities who turned a blind eye to Kotik’s crimes.
He invited them to follow his emotional journey back to where he was abused 47 years ago
Caldey Island off the coast of Tenby in Pembrokeshire is renowned as an idyllic tourist attraction, popular among day-trippers. But others view the place as hell on earth due to the dark secrets hidden there for decades.
It is famously home to a group of Cistercian monks, an order of the Catholic Church who avoid unnecessary speech and focus on prayer and hard labour.
In 2017 it came to light that the island has a long history of child sexual abuse after six women received compensation from the island’s abbey after being abused by Kotik. There are 21 victims who have now come forward and reported similar offences to Dyfed Powys Police with cases going back to the 1960s.
On a family holiday to the island when he was six years old, Kevin O’Connell said that he met the monk, Kotik. He said that they became friends and he began spending time alone with him.
“Caldey Island was a paradise. It was beautiful. I played with other children, the beach, volleyball and football, it was special. Father Thaddeus became very special to me, and he gave me the love I didn’t get at home from my Dad.”
Kotik, a former soldier who fought for the Free Polish army during the Second World War, moved to the island in 1947 and joined the strict Cistercian Order. The monk was ordained a priest in 1956 and lived on the island until his death in 1992. It appears he was never questioned by police, who were not informed of allegations against him until 2014.
After the holiday Kevin says that Kotik kept in touch with him and sent him photos of Caldey Island in the post.
After becoming an altar boy he went on several more holidays to Caldey Island, arranged and funded by his local Catholic Church. He never told his parents what Kotic did to him.
In the programme, Kevin embarks on a quest to face his demons and find the ruins where he says he remembers the abuse taking place.
He led ‘Y Byd ar Bedwar’ presenter Dot Davies, to a derelict building in a secluded corner of the island.
“I’m looking for a square stone like a seat, maybe it’s still here, I don’t know.
“In here. This is where the abuse happened and other monks watched.
“This place is just full of nightmares. Every room here has a horrible memory, but I need to get it out of my head. I knew it was here.”
Six women received compensation from Caldey Abbey in an out-of-court settlement in 2016 but it was too late to bring criminal charges against Kotik as he had died in 1992.
It has come to light however that the abbey was told by a victim about the abuse in the 1980’s but did not report it to police until 2014. Instead the abbott at the time, Robert O’Brian, asked the victim for forgiveness.
ITV Wales asked the current abbot, Brother Daniel van Santvoort for his response to the latest evidence that Kevin O’Connell was also abused on the island. Despite contacting the Brother several times, he never responded.
ITV Wales also contacted the Diocese of Menevia in Swansea. Caldey Abbey is not under their responsibility but they have been advising the Abbey on their safeguarding policies and practices for the last 18 months.
The Bishop Tom Burns said that “however, the Abbey has insisted on retaining its oversight of any specific cases, past, present, or in the future.”
Kevin O’Connell is now determined to find the truth and is calling for a public inquiry into historical child sexual abuse on Caldey Island.
Assembly Member Darren Milliar called for a public inquiry in the Senedd in 2017.
“We need answers as to who knew what, when, and why the abbey didn’t report things to the police when they ought to have done when things were brought to their attention. ”
He’s now repeated his call on the Welsh Government to launch a public inquiry.
“This stinks of an awful cover-up, we need answers, who knows what, when and why.”
A Welsh Government spokesperson said: “Our position is the same as set out in our response in 2017. We will of course reconsider the matter were new information to come to light.”
David Greenwood is a lawyer specialising in child sexual abuse cases and has worked on several high profile cases involving the Catholic Church.
“It’s a massive systemic problem with the Church. The internal rules and the way in which they defend their reputation has created this space in which paedophiles can get away with it.
“The church are covering things up and have been for a long time. There are still lots of cover-ups that I’m sure haven’t come to light. Their organisations, the way they are set up, their rules, are a danger to children.”
Coming back to the island was difficult for Kevin who says he has suffered with lifelong anxiety and depression.
“I’ve been wanting to come here for a long time to help my nightmares. In the ruins, I see now what I’ve been seeing in my nightmares. I won’t have closure until the truth comes out then maybe I can start living again.”
He’s urging other victims or anyone with information to come forward and tell the authorities.
Caldey Island monk abuser film ‘makes my skin crawl’
11 Aug 2018
A victim of child abuse by a monk on Caldey Island 50 years ago has revealed he was given home movie footage of his abuser to remember him by.
The victim has shown BBC Wales the 8mm film given to him by Thaddeus Kotik in the late 1960s and said it now “makes my skin crawl”.
It shows the monk – who died in 1992 – sight-seeing in Pembrokeshire.
The Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) has now said Caldey could form part of its probe.
BBC Wales revealed on Friday that Dyfed-Powys Police are now investigating claims by 20 victims.
Mark – the name we are using to protect his identity – was the first male victim to come forward earlier this year.
Previously, the victims who had come forward had been girls.
- Compensation call over island sex abuse
- Victim’s call to remove abuse monk’s body
- Drowned girl and sister were victims
Now in his early 60s, he was given the film when he was 10 or 11.
“[Kotik] told me: ‘This is if you ever want to remind yourself of me in the cold winter months’.
“It makes my skin crawl thinking about it now.”
Mark’s father had been befriended by Kotik when the family visited the island, off the coast of Tenby, on holiday and they used to return, while his father would do odd jobs.
He said Kotik spent years grooming him and abused him on several occasions from the age of eight.
The film had been in a box in his attic for decades.
Mark found it around two months ago and watched it again on an old projector as he, as well as his lawyer, wanted to give it to BBC Wales to help with his legal case against the abbey.
Mark said watching it again was difficult.
“It was mind numbing and contained a number of triggers,” he said.
“I had to look away at times, it’s not good for me. But, I wanted to check it was appropriate to give to others and so I watched it again.
“I’m trying to put things right – I thought the film might help others remember and come forward with their stories. I’m climbing a mountain and I guess this is part of that.”
Mark has already described to us how he just “froze still” during one of the assaults, and being “frightened and upset.”
He is now taking legal action against the abbey and has also backed calls for a public inquiry.
Last year, six women received compensation in an out of court settlement and the abbot of Caldey Abbey apologised after it emerged that complaints about Kotik were not passed to the police by his predecessor in 1990.
BBC Wales has made repeated attempts to contact the current abbot on Caldey for comment.
Meanwhile, IICSA, which this week reported a cover-up of “appalling” abuse at two Catholic schools in North Yorkshire and Somerset, said the allegations about Caldey were relevant to its continuing investigations into abuse in the wider Catholic church in the coming months.
“As the investigation progresses the inquiry will give thought to whether it can consider the allegations relating to Caldey Island as part of that slightly longer term programme of work,” a spokesman added.
Dr Mair Edwards, a clinical psychologist, said: “I think it is important to look into historic abuse so that we can learn lessons.
“There is a need to look at what has happened to people in our society in order to make sure that it doesn’t happen to others.”
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-45130637
Caldey Island: 20 people claim monk abused them as children
10 Aug 2018
Twenty people have now claimed they were sexually abused by a monk living on Caldey Island when they were children.
Father Thaddeus Kotik died in 1992 without facing any criminal charges into claims he abused children between 1977 and 1987.
The figure comes as one victim told how living with the trauma of being abused almost killed her.
The abbot of Caldey Abbey has not responded to requests for a comment.
Since November, 14 new people have reported they were abused by the monk when they visited the island off Tenby, Pembrokeshire, when they were children, Dyfed Powys Police has confirmed.
This is as well as six women who previously came forward and received out of court settlements last year.
Thaddeus Kotik with ‘Jenny’, who has released this photo to us of her as a child
She told BBC Wales that finally piecing together the information and putting together the story of her abuse made her realise how her life had fallen apart and led to her near death.
“I became an alcoholic, I had an eating disorder, and I was hanging around with drug addicts and prostitutes,” she said.
“I was in relationships with violent, alcoholic men and all these terrible things nearly ended my life because I was very heavily into drink and drugs, and living with a heroin addict is pretty full on.”
She has since managed to turn her life around and has lived without drink and drugs for 12 years and has been on a quest to find out what happened to her as a child ever since.
Jenny realised that she was abused between the ages of five and six when she compared two school photographs – she said she looked tormented in the later picture.
Thaddeus Kotik died without any charges being brought against him
After her sister told her about her own experience with Kotik, they looked up his details on the internet and saw the media coverage of the allegations that he was a paedophile.
“After that, all the pieces just started falling into place,” she said.
“Fortunately, my mum keeps diaries and lo and behold between the two school photos when I was five and six, he came to stay with us for one night in the November of 1978.
“My sister said he went upstairs to pray and that’s when I would have been in bed, asleep, and it all fell into place, that’s when he interfered with me – and that’s what started all the fear, the night terrors, the sleepwalking and all the problems that got worse and worse until my life nearly ended.”
She said the girls did not tell anyone about the abuse at the time but she did not think the monastery responded well to the allegations that have come out since then.
“I think they should be more open. They don’t seem to be saying enough, I think they need to be more forthcoming. I also think the whole monastery needs to be looked into,” she added.
Det Ch Insp of Dyfed-Powys Police Jayne Butler said specially-trained officers were investigating and supporting victims of historical abuse and people should report crimes to the force.
BBC Wales made numerous attempts to contact the abbey for an interview and visited the island, but have been unable to get a comment from the abbey.
![Mark [not his real name] a victim of the Caldey Island scandal looks towards the Island's only Lighthouse where he was abused as a child on the main island of Caldey, Pembrokeshire, UK](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/c88f1a3b589a85c7224cbbb3a20776bb7c0d70b4/0_277_3808_2285/master/3808.jpg?w=300&q=55&auto=format&usm=12&fit=max&s=a37d9b797234af19b6889b5c750f8da3)
Caldey Island survivor: ‘It should be given over to the National Trust’
A survivor of Thaddeus Kotik returns to Caldey after 35 years and is haunted by memories of abuse
20 July 2018
In the bright sunshine, the monastic island of Caldey looked a picture. Visitors, young and old, hopped off the day trippers’ boats and milled around the abbey, the perfumery, the chocolate factory and lighthouse, occasionally catching faraway glimpses of the Cistercian monks who live, work and worship there.
For Mark, a retired public servant in his 60s, however, this was no holiday visit. Mark is a victim of the sexual abuse scandal that has engulfed the island off the south Wales coast since it was revealed in the Guardian last November.
Mark (not his real name) says he was one of the children abused by the monk Father Thaddeus Kotik during family holidays and described his return to the island for the first time in 35 years as “mind-numbing”.
“It brings back a lot of memories, bad memories,” he said. “I can’t think of anything good at the moment. I can only think of the bad times and I want to grieve. It [was] the home of people responsible for ruining many people’s lives including mine.”
He would like the privately owned island to be taken from the monks and handed over to a conservation body. “The island and the monastery should be given to the National Trust so visitors can appreciate the natural beauty of the island without the spectre of child abuse.”
Mark first met Kotik in the 1960s when his family visited the island, off Tenby in Pembrokeshire. He remembers being met at the island green by a man in “very funny clothes”. It was Kotik.
The monk made Mark and his family feel privileged by inviting them into the monastery’s private walled garden and serving them tea, squash and biscuits. The following year in the same garden Mark, then eight, says Kotik lifted him up and abused him.
Mark kept quiet because he did not want to get into trouble. Kotik behaved as if nothing had happened and the following year the ordeal continued. Kotik encouraged the boy to help wash up. While Mark was at the sink, he says Kotik stood behind him, wrapped his arms around him and rubbed the boy’s genitals.
On another occasion, Mark says he was helping to wrap the chocolate bars made at the monastery’s small factory when Kotik approached him from behind and assaulted him.
The monk remained a family friend. The grooming process was so efficient that as an adult, Mark even returned to the island for holidays with his own young son – but was careful never to leave him unattended.
Mark’s father maintained his friendship with Kotik and attended the monk’s funeral in 1992. It was only when the Guardian revealed Kotik’s offending that Mark accepted he was a victim.
Now almost every nook and cranny of Caldey Island holds a memory for him – and precious few are happy ones.
He paused at the medieval pond close to the island green and recalled how he had released goldfish won in a fair on the mainland in the water. He and his son later fished in the pool with Kotik.
Mark remembered how Kotik would hide treats around the island. He – and no doubt other children – were delighted when the monk would suddenly appear with a chocolate or cake.
Up the hill, Mark peered over a wooden gate into the walled garden where he was abused by Kotik. “This is where it began,” he said. “Father Thaddeus rubbed his hands up and down my thighs and across the front of my shorts. I did not understand what was happening.”
The lighthouse is also a place of trauma. Mark says Kotik also assaulted him there and the sight of any lighthouse brings back the pain. “It doesn’t matter where I am in the world,” he said. “The feeling of being assaulted by the monk at the lighthouse returns.”
Families make a beeline for the small chocolate factory. Mark could not bear to cross the threshold. “I don’t want to go there. I don’t want to walk in the door. I don’t think I’ve been in there since I was a young kiddie,” he said.
The impact has been profound. “I rebelled against authority at school, in the workplace and I struggled with relationships because I found it very difficult to trust people,” he said. “It was only last year that I realised with a shock that everything Thaddeus did was aimed at grooming parents so he could gain their trust and abuse their children. It was a betrayal of my parents and of me.”
More than a dozen women have come forward to report offences committed by Kotik, who lived at Caldey Abbey from 1947 until his death in 1992.
The Guardian has learned that two other men who lived and worked on Caldey Island were subsequently convicted of child sex offences. Six women sued the Abbey in 2014 and settled out of court. After the Guardian revealed the scandal, the abbey apologised via social media for not reporting allegations of abuse to police.
This year, Mark wrote to the current abbot, Daniel van Santvoort, explaining his feeling of trauma. “Despite 50 years passing, I still live with the memory of abuse,” he wrote.
“Can I ask you, when you open a bar of chocolate do you have memories of being sexually assaulted? When you see a picture of a monk in a newspaper or on television or indeed in a public place, do you have memories of being sexually abused as a child? I truly hope that in all of these your answer will be no.”
He asked for a meeting with the abbot but says he was shocked to receive – via his solicitor – a cursory response acknowledging receipt of the letter.
Mark had thought of trying to confront the abbot this week but in the end could not bear the idea and simply spent a few hours visiting the places he had been abused. He is planning to launch a civil action.
He concluded that the island was more about making a profit by selling chocolate and perfume rather than welcoming visitors.
“It’s all about business, keeping themselves going,” said Mark. “They haven’t woken up to reality, to 21st-century living. They are totally consumed in their own wellbeing. They hide, there’s no engagement. It’s not a welcoming island.”
Suddenly, Mark wanted to leave. He walked briskly back to the landing stage and caught the first boat back to Tenby. “I never want to come back here,” he said. “I’ve seen it for one last time and it’s something I never want to do a
Caldey Abbey: first male victim comes forward to describe sexual abuse
Man says he was abused by Cistercian monk during family holidays on Welsh island
A man has come forward to describe how he was groomed and sexually abused as a child by a Benedictine monk on Caldey Island, intensifying calls for an inquiry into what happened at the abbey in south-west Wales.
The victim, who has told police of the abuse he was subject to during summer holiday trips to Caldey Island, is the first man to allege he was sexually assaulted by Father Thaddeus Kotik.
More than a dozen women have come forward to report offences committed by Kotik, a member of the Cistercian order of Benedictine monks who lived at Caldey Abbey on the Pembrokeshire island from 1947 until his death in 1992.
The Guardian has learned that two other men who lived and worked on Caldey Island were subsequently convicted of child sex offences.
The latest victim, Mark (not his real name), came forward three days after the Guardian first revealed that Kotik was a serial child sex offender. He hopes others will step forward to report abuse, which would add to the pressure for a thorough inquiry into the sexual offences committed by Kotik that may have spanned five decades.
“I want a public inquiry to take place about Caldey Island and its lack of child protection,” Mark said. “I will hopefully encourage others to come forward and tell theirs. The more reports there are may prompt an inquiry.”
Kotik’s offences were reported to the monks at Caldey Abbey but police were not notified until after his death.
Mark, who cannot be identified, said he first met Kotik in the 1960s when the family first visited the monastic island, off Tenby in Pembrokeshire. Kotik, who befriended Mark’s father, spent years grooming Mark. “We were met on the green by this man dressed in what I at the time thought were very funny-looking clothes. This was the monk Thaddeus,” Mark said.
Kotik quickly made the visitors feel privileged by inviting them into the monastery’s private walled garden and serving them tea, squash and biscuits. It was not until the following year, in the same garden, that Thaddeus lifted Mark and sat the boy beside him.
“Whilst eating I felt this large rough hand touching my leg,” Mark said. “Throughout the time we sat there I remember Thaddeus rubbed his hand up and down my bare legs a few more times going from one leg to the other and crossing the front outside my shorts.”
Mark, then aged eight, said nothing because he did not want to get into trouble. Kotik behaved as if nothing had happened, leading the family on a personal tour of the island, to the farm, the church and the lighthouse.
Kotik invited the family back the following summer, arranging for them to stay at St Philomena’s guesthouse. Mark’s father carried out handyman jobs in lieu of payment for their holiday, and Kotik offered to mind Mark and his siblings.
On the first day of this holiday, Kotik took Mark into the monastery, beyond the reach of his mother. During a later visit to the monastery Kotik allowed the boy to help wash up in the monastery kitchen. While Mark was at the sink, Kotik stood behind him, wrapped his arms around him and rubbed the boy’s genitals. The monk told the boy to be careful not to leave knives in the water, to divert attention from his actions. Another monk walked into the room and Kotik moved away.
On a subsequent visit to the monastery, Mark was helping to wrap the chocolate bars made at the monastery when Kotik approached him from behind, sat him on a bench, and assaulted him.
“I just froze still. I didn’t say anything but I remember being frightened and upset,” Mark said. He deliberately knocked a chocolate bar to the floor, and moved to pick it up to escape from Kotik’s grasp.
Although Mark avoided being alone with Kotik, the monk remained a family friend and even visited the family in Wales for a week each year. As an adult, Mark returned to the idyllic island for holidays with his own young son but he was careful never to leave him unattended.
“Looking back, I cannot forgive myself for putting [my son] in such a vulnerable position despite me or another adult being with him all the time,” he said.
Mark’s father maintained his friendship with Kotik and attended the monk’s funeral in 1992, but Mark has struggled to accept the betrayal by a priest who he thought had been his friend for 27 years.
“It is only since hearing and reading of this abuse that I have finally come to accept that I was a victim of Thaddeus’s abuse,” he said.
Mark says he has not yet felt strong enough to speak to his elderly father, his siblings or his son about the abuse but has confided in an old school friend who is supporting his efforts to break the silence on child abuse on Caldey Island.
Caldey Abbey was asked to comment but had not responded by the time of publication.
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2018/feb/09/caldey-abbey-island-sexual-abuse-thaddeus-kotik
http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-wales-south-west-wales-42922339
Caldey Island: Compensation call for sex abuse victims
Dec 29 2017
A call has been made for the founding monastery to compensate people who were sexually abused by a monk in Wales.
A devotee of the abbey on Caldey Island said Scourmont Abbey in Chimay, Belgium, had a “moral and ethical duty” to take some responsibility for the offences of Father Thaddeus Kotik.
Teresa Elwes, who regularly visited Caldey Island, off Pembrokeshire, said she was horrified by the allegations.
Scourmont Abbey denied responsibility, saying Caldey was a separate entity.
Father Thaddeus, who lived on the island for 45 years before his death in 1992, is accused of sexually abusing several young girls during the 1970s and 1980s.
Six of his victims were compensated by Caldey Abbey in an out-of-court settlement in March. A number of others have since come forward with allegations.
It is understood the abbot of Scourmont Abbey denied any legal liability in the civil proceedings.
Ms Elwes, a supporter of Caldey Abbey, claimed Scourmont, which brews Chimay – one of Belgium’s most popular beers – could afford to compensate victims more adequately.
She said: “When abuse is revealed you have to do your utmost to apologise, take responsibility, provide compensation and do everything you can for the victims.
“If [Scourmont] said ‘not our problem’ I’d say that’s pretty disingenuous… there are very strong links between Caldey and Scourmont.
“Whether they have a legal duty or not, they have a moral and ethical duty to make sure people are properly cared for and compensated… these people’s lives have been ruined.”
BBC Wales previously reported the former abbot of Caldey, Brother Robert O’Brien, became aware of allegations against Kotik in 1990 but did not refer them to police.
Ms Elwes, a former forensic psychologist who regularly visited Caldey Island from the age of 14 into her 20s, claims Brother Robert, who died in 2009, was appointed by Scourmont.
A book about Caldey Abbey, published in 1996, said the authority for the monastery reverted to Scourmont after the former abbot, Dom James, died.
Dom Guerric Baudet with pope
http://www.scourmont.be/histoire/05domguerric.htm
The book stated the then-abbot of Scourmont, Dom Guerric Baudet, appointed Brother Robert.
But this is disputed by the present abbot, Dom Armand Veilleux, who said Brother Robert was “elected” by the Caldey community.
Scourmont established a monastery on Caldey in 1929 and the earliest monks there were Belgian – some were still members of the Caldey community at the time of the alleged abuse.
Although Caldey Abbey became autonomous from the Belgian abbey in the mid-1930s, Ms Elwes points to books about the island which refer to Scourmont’s ongoing financial support for the abbey into the 1970s.
After joining Caldey Abbey, Father Thaddeus spent time at Scourmont as part of his training.
BBC Wales has contacted Dom Armand Veilleux asking him to address these points, but has not received a response.
Ms Elwes, from London, said she met Father Thaddeus on occasions when visiting the island, but was not among his victims.
“I had a wonderful and quite deeply spiritual experience of Caldey, so to think there was a monk doing this is shocking,” she added.
http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-wales-south-west-wales-42510923
Four men convicted or accused of sexual offences against children lived or stayed on tiny monastic Welsh island
The woman, who was abused by Father Thaddeus Kotik in the 1970s and 80s, said she wants an inquiry to be held.
Charlotte said she did not speak out as a child as Kotik had threatened her, saying her parents would not take her back home and that she would go to hell.
She said the impact of the abuse had been catastrophic.
“It changes how you grow up. It changes how you see the world and most importantly, it changes how you see your place in the world,” she said.
Charlotte said she “desperately” wanted an inquiry to happen.
“It’s very important for me to not just have my story told. I don’t want anybody to say to me ‘oh you poor thing, oh that’s really sad, that must have been really hard’.
“I want the whole world to say this is an outrage, and it’s happening and why is it still happening?
“We are destroyed souls and we are left to do our own healing. And it’s an epidemic. There are thousands and thousands and thousands of people like me.”
“I feel sad for the island that it’s had to harbour revolting creatures. I have nothing against the physical island, it’s a piece of nature and it’s absolutely beautiful but I think that Father Thaddeus needs to be removed.
“That’s just the first step. The abbey should be thinking about that themselves. They need to get with the programme and start realising that this is a very, very serious issue.”
http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-wales-south-west-wales-42257053
July 19, 2009
Chapter at the community of Scourmont
In memory of Dom Guerric Baudet
Dom Guerric left us rather quickly. His heart, with a valve almost clogged, had more and more difficulty to beat. He simply went out slowly. Despite the difficulty of breathing of the last days, he did not experience agony.
His long life ended with a very beautiful old age and also a very beautiful death. He kept all his lucidity, his sharp mind and his memory to the end, to nearly 96 years. He saw death coming with great serenity. He talked about it more and more often, but in all simplicity. He was somehow surprised to be alive. He was happy to live, but was also quite ready to meet the Lord.
I had the privilege of accompanying his last moments. I recited some prayers very shortly before his last breath, and he recited amen at the end. He also raised his arms when I sang the Salve in a low voice. By the time his breath stopped, he shook my hand, looking at me with two very peaceful eyes, then he breathed his last breath. All serenely, as he had lived among us in recent years.
We will miss him. He has been so long in the heart of the community. For nearly forty years as superior, followed by twenty years of a much more discreet presence, but still intense. For me, who came from outside, eleven years ago, he was the model of the abbot who had resigned. It is never easy for someone who has served his community as abbot for a long time to find his rightful place in community (as it is not easy for his successor either). This was not the case during the last eleven years. For me, the presence of Dom Guerric in community has always been precious to me. His advice and advice – which he only gave if asked – have always been invaluable to me. As everyone knows, things were not easy for him under one of his successors. He never talked to me about it. He was a pacified monk, without rancor.
Although I only came to Scourmont eleven years ago, I had known Dom Guerric for 45 years. My first meeting was at Monte Cistello in 1964, at the first meeting of the Central Commission, which was to become an important organ of the Order. He was a member of this first meeting (which was originally due to the Westmalle meeting about the Achel group wanting to found in Denmark); and I was a young student. I was studying the liturgy, and one of the issues on the agenda of this meeting (and the next General Chapter) was the place of liturgy in monastic life.
I found him five years later at the 1969 General Chapter. He was the secretary of one of the commissions, and his succinct but witty reports were a treat to hear.
Dom Guerric has had, in a very reserved way, an important role in the history of the Order in the 20th century.
He was a student at the Generalate House from 1936 to 1939. The list of those who were there at the same time is impressive. A whole series of people who have marked the life of the Order. Here are the main ones: Vincent Hermans, Achel;
Edmond Mikkers , Achel; Jean-Baptiste Van Damme, Westmalle; Robert Thomas, Seven Fons; André Francheboud , Tamié; Jean de Ruette , Orval; Etienne Cheneviere , La Trappe. Not to mention his colleagues from Scourmont: Maur Standaert, Francis Mahieu, Theodore De Haene and Gall Schuon . This is undoubtedly where he acquired his sense of the Order.
From the beginning of his superiority, in 1950 he became a member of the Liturgy Commission (replacing Dom Anselme Le Bail) and it will be until the creation of a new Commission in 1967. He will also be the first chairman of the Law Commission from 1969 until 1977.
He was sent with Dom Félicien de Rochefort for an important Regular Visit to Latroun in 1961.
I will come back to another moment about his service to the girl-houses of Scourmont and his love of Africa.
Reading again his interventions in the General Chapters, especially the one of 1969, where we wrote the Declaration on Cistercian Life , I am surprised at how much I felt and feel on the same wavelength as him, despite our difference age. I can say that it is someone whom I have not only greatly appreciated but also loved, and of whom I have always felt accepted and appreciated despite our age difference and necessarily different sensibilities.
Armand Veilleux
Woman abused as a child by Caldey Island monk waives right to anonymity
22 Dec 2017
A woman has waived her right to anonymity to describe how she and her sister were sexually abused as children by a monk on Caldey Island, calling for an inquiry into how offences were covered up for decades.
Joanna Biggs also claims that a nun lied about the circumstances surrounding the death of her sister, Theresa, at the age of six in a swimming accident on the island 40 years ago, and wants her inquest reviewed.
Biggs is one of a growing number of victims who have come forward to detail offences committed by Fr Thaddeus Kotik, a member of the Cistercian order of Benedictine monks who lived at Caldey Abbey on the Pembrokeshire island from 1947 until his death in 1992.
In July 1977 the two sisters were among a group of children at Sandtop Bay beach on Caldey under the supervision of a nun called Sister Sheila Singleton, who was leading an educational course for Catholic children.
Theresa went swimming on a windy day unaware there was a dangerous undercurrent and she was swept out to sea. Three boys, 12, 14, and 15, swam out to try to help her but she drowned.
During the inquest at Tenby police station, Singleton, who died in 2004, testified in a written statement that Theresa had defied her instructions not to go swimming because the water was too cold. The boys told a different story but the coroner accepted the nun’s version and recorded a verdict of accidental death.
Biggs insists that Singleton’s evidence was false because the nun had given her sister permission to swim. “She [the nun] helped me to put Theresa’s armbands on. And then she said, ‘Off you go.’ My sister was not naughty.”
Biggs said she and her parents have lived with the nun’s lie for more than 40 years. “It is time for my sister to be released from false blame,” she said. Biggs argued that the story of her sister’s drowning was relevant to the abuse scandal because it showed that children’s voices were often ignored.
“The problem with things as they currently are is that everything to do with Caldey has been closed off, unmentioned, swept under the carpet or just whispered about for a very long time.”
The abuse on Caldey emerged after the abbey paid modest sums of compensation to six women who had brought a civil claim against the Cistercian order on Caldey for abuse they suffered as children by Kotik in the 70s and 80s.
After the Guardian exposed the abuse last month, the abbot, Daniel van Santvoort, apologised via the island’s Facebook page that allegations made against Kotik had not been reported to the authorities and expressed regret for any harm caused.
Since then the Guardian has revealed:
• A sex offender called Paul Ashton lived on the island for seven years while on the run from the police. It has also now emerged that he ran a cleaning company registered on the island with a convicted fraudster.
• A priest, Fr John Shannon, who was subsequently caught on the mainland with pictures of children as young as nine, lived on the island for nine months.
• Police are investigating another man over an alleged sexual assault that took place at the same period as the Kotik offences. He was not a member of the abbey or its staff.
Adding her voice to calls for an inquiry from other victims and Tory Welsh assembly members, Biggs said: “I feel like it’s just the start, the box is only just being opened. It seems to me that the best people to investigate that box fairly and thoroughly would be people and organisations who have not been previously associated with the island – and also who do not belong to a particular denomination or faith.
“I think this would be best for Caldey Abbey as well. If they want to try and win back people’s trust that they are truly interested in safeguarding their visitors in future.
“The fact that Fr Thad was left for so many years to continue to do whatever he liked suggests at the very least, tolerance or blindness by Caldey Abbey to that same behaviour in others. These are offenders who understand Catholicism and know how to hide within it and manipulate it.”
Biggs added: “There appears to be a firm position taken by the current abbot towards protecting the interests of the monastery, and a distinct lack of openness, clarity and even goodwill when it comes to the dealing with revelations of the abuse that took place. His order is responsible for covering it up and allowing it to continue. Acknowledgment is everything.”
It can also be revealed that the abbey’s wealthy “mother house”, Scourmont Abbey near Chimay in Belgium, denied legal liability for the abuse. Caldey’s webpage spells out how the island was sold to the Cistercian order in the 1920s to be occupied by a group of monks from Scourmont and adds that the present monks are the successors of the first Caldey Cistercians.
The Guardian has also established that Kotik spent time at Scourmont. But Armand Veilleux, the Scourmont abbot from 1999 until his retirement in November this year, said Caldey was an autonomous house in civil and canon law.
Teresa Elwes, a devotee who has maintained a relationship with Caldey and Scourmont for 40 years and knew Kotik, said the mother house – which is known for its brewery – could afford to compensate victims properly.
Elwes said: “These young women have been abused by a monk and now that abuse is continuing by the failure of the monastic community to take responsibility and willingly and eagerly pay proper compensation, whilst acknowledging that this alone can never be enough.”
The Caldey Abbey abbot has not responded to requests by the Guardian for an interview and has not granted permission for reporters to land on the private island.
Since the Guardian exposed the abuse in November there have been calls from victims and politicians for an inquiry. The Guardian has also revealed that two other men who lived and worked on Caldey were subsequently convicted of child sex offences.
In addition, police are investigating allegations that a seasonal worker sexually assaulted a girl on the island.
Biggs, 48, is the first Kotik victim to be named. She said one of her main motivations was to defend her sister against the accusation that she disobeyed the instructions of a nun and went swimming when she had been told not to go in the water. But Biggs said she and her sister were abused by Kotik, in the dairy on the island when they were aged six and seven.
Kotik’s modus operandi was to befriend families who lived there or who regularly visited. He gave them handmade chocolates and fresh produce, and invited the children to the dairy. He abused children in a room beside the dairy, on walks through the woods, in dens or in isolated rocky coves near the beach.
Biggs said that although she was the older sister, it was Theresa who suggested they avoid Kotik.
“We were always together,” she said. “We played together and talked about everything together. Although I was older, Theresa was more gregarious and bolder. Theresa suggested we should stick together for protection.
“I have a memory of me being in a huddle with her in a garden somewhere by ourselves and her saying that we shouldn’t go to see Fr Thad, even if he gave us sweets, and me nodding in agreement. I knew why she was saying that at the time. I didn’t like what Fr Thad did.
“I feel grateful that she was the one who voiced it. This helped me avoid a different paedophile about a year or so later – not on Caldey, on holiday somewhere else – it flashed into my head like a warning and I listened and ran away from him.”
Biggs told how she and her sister had once begun to act out the abuse they suffered. “We started to re-enact what happened in the dairy to us, taking our pyjamas off – and then we stopped and decided we didn’t like it and didn’t want to play that story.”
Biggs said the Guardian’s original article triggered panic attacks. “It was the picture of Fr Thad holding the two girls – they’re not Theresa and I, but you can see how tightly he held them in his arms. He was very strong and had rough hands. The most bizarre place I had a panic attack was in a supermarket one weekend, next to the freezer section. I was suddenly overwhelmed by the cold, the smell and the noise.”
Another protected Benedictine paedophile – Thaddeus Kotik of Caldey Island
Prince Charles HRH The Prince of Wales meets monks Father Robert, Brother Gabriel, and Acting Abbot Father Daniel during his visit to Caldey Island in 1997
July 26, 1997HRH The Prince of Wales Prince Charles meets Mrs Veronica Cattini as she works in the Post Office on Caldey Island
Director at Caldey Island JOHN CATTINI
https://companycheck.co.uk/nonLimitedCompany/978929/CALDEY-ISLAND/executive
Priest jailed for child abuse images lived on scandal-hit Caldey Island
Exclusive: revelations mean that four men convicted or accused of sexual offences against children lived or stayed on tiny monastic Welsh island
Father John Shannon, who was subsequently caught on the mainland with pictures of children as young as nine, lived on the island off the Welsh coast for nine months. Photograph: Archant Cambs/Archant
A priest who was jailed for downloading hundreds of pictures of child sexual abuse is the latest offender to be identified as having close links with the monastic island of Caldey, which is at the centre of a growing scandal.
Father John Shannon, who was subsequently caught on the mainland with pictures of children as young as nine, lived on the island off the Welsh coast for nine months.
The revelation means that four men convicted or accused of sexual offences against children have now been identified as having lived or stayed on Caldey and will increase pressure for an inquiry.
In November the Guardian revealed a string of allegations against a monk, Thaddeus Kotik, dating back to the 1970s and 80s. Kotik was a member of the Cistercian order of Benedictine monks and lived in the monastery on Caldey Island from 1947 until his death in 1992.
It later emerged that police are investigating a second man over accusations of sexual abuse on the island during the same period and that a sex offender called Paul Ashton hid there while on the run from police. Ashton was finally caught on the island in 2011, taken back to the mainland and jailed.
The abbot, Daniel van Santvoort, has confirmed that Shannon, lived on the island in 2008 and 2009.
Shortly afterwards, in 2010, police found 740 indecent images of children on a computer that he had downloaded while working as a lecturer at a Catholic seminary in county Durham. Three of the images were “level five” – of the most serious nature – and 75 were level four.
Shannon’s barrister argued at his client’s sentencing hearing that he had never had a chance to explore his sexuality and viewing the images became a compulsion.
Van Santvoort told the Guardian that Shannon took on the role of priest on a trial basis in 2008 with the abbey’s approval after islanders asked for the parish church of St David’s to be re-opened.
“[Shannon] came with good references and took up residence in a cottage. During this period it was evident the role of a parish priest was not viable and he left the island within nine months of his arrival, in 2009,” the abbot said.
“We understand that some time later, whilst working on the mainland elsewhere in the UK, he was investigated by the police for offences committed on the mainland after he had left the island and was subsequently convicted.
“That inquiry did not involve any allegations of offences committed on the island and the police did not conduct any inquiries on the island in respect of this person. We understand therefore that he had no criminal convictions when he came to the island nor when he left.”
While Shannon was living on the island, Ashton was hiding from police there. Ashton was wanted after police found 5,000 images of child sexual abuse on his computer and in 2011 was found on Caldey , where he had been living under an assumed identity for seven years.
A whistleblower has told the Guardian that another convicted criminal, John Cronin, is suspected to have lived under an assumed name in a cottage owned by the monastery for a month in 2009.
Cronin was jailed in 1992 for sexually assaulting an adult Conservative party volunteer. One of his modi operandi was to pose as a priest.
The source said the man they believe to be Cronin left the island suddenly, taking keys to a property and owing money after he was recognised by a monastery employee from online photographs.
Cronin had allegedly requested through the abbey to stay at a monastery property on the island over winter.
However, Van Santvoort said the abbey did not know of Cronin’s alleged stay.
“We have no knowledge of this person whatsoever. The name is completely unfamiliar to us,” he said.
Caldey Abbey settled civil claims by six women in March this year and Van Santvoort has publicly apologised for the abbey’s failure to report Kotik to police despite its knowledge of his offences.
Another six women and a man have since approached the Guardian alleging abuse by Kotik.
The Conservatives’ children’s spokesman in the Welsh assembly, Darren Millar, has called on the Welsh government to launch an investigation into Caldey Island.
Two more offenders have ties to Caldey Island, source says
12 December 2017
Two more sex offenders have had ties with Caldey Island which is at the centre of calls for an inquiry into historical abuse, a source has claimed.
Six women have been paid compensation following sexual abuse by a monk at the Pembrokeshire island’s abbey.
It later emerged a fugitive child sex offender fled to the abbey to hide out.
The abbey has confirmed a priest was convicted of offences after leaving the island but denied knowing a serial sex offender had also stayed on the island.
BBC Wales has reported in recent weeks that Father Thaddeus Kotik lived on the island for 45 years and abused several girls there in the 1970s and 80s.
Child sex offender Paul Ashton fled to Caldey island in 2004 while on the run from the police after being charged with possessing indecent images of children.
He lived in the abbey until he was arrested in 2011.
Another sex offender believed to have lived on the island is notorious predator John Cronin.
740 indecent images
The other, Rev John Shannon, was Caldey Island’s parish priest at St David’s Church in 2008. He was later jailed for possessing indecent images of children, having left the island.
Psychiatrists labelled Cronin one of the most dangerous sexual predators in Britain after he committed 50 offences including an attack on a woman in 1992 in which he posed as a priest.
Shannon admitted downloading 740 indecent images of children and was jailed for eight months in 2011.
- Police confirm island sex abuse reports
- ‘Remove abuse monk’s body from island’
- Caldey Island abuse investigation call
The abbot, Father Daniel van Santvoort, said that Shannon took on the role of priest on a trial basis with the abbey’s approval after islanders asked for the parish church to be reopened.
He said he “came with good references and took up residence in a cottage” but the role of a parish priest was “not viable” and he left the island within nine months of his arrival in 2009.
“We understand that some time later, whilst working on the mainland elsewhere in the UK, he was investigated by the police for offences committed on the mainland after he had left the island and was subsequently convicted,” said Father Daniel.
“That inquiry did not involve any allegations of offences committed on the island and the police did not conduct any inquiries on the island in respect of this person.
“We understand, therefore, that he had no criminal convictions when he came to the island nor when he left.”
Kotik’s victims have echoed calls by the Welsh Conservatives for an inquiry to be set up.
The source, who does not want to be publicly identified, said Cronin stayed on the island for a month under an alias, at the same time that Ashton was living in the tower at Caldey Abbey, but left in 2009.
Father Daniel said the abbey did not know of Cronin’s alleged stay.
“We have no knowledge of this person whatsoever. The name is completely unfamiliar to us,” he said.
The source said: “I hope that an inquiry will be opened into this island.”
The Welsh Government has ruled out an independent inquiry as Dyfed-Powys Police is investigating.
http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-wales-south-west-wales-42330242
and also on Caldey island – paedophile Paul Ashton who was in charge of their internet – found with 5000 images
Sex offender hid in Caldey Island abbey for seven years
24 Nov 2017
Paul Ashton was found while on the run after his image was posted on a Crimestoppers Most Wanted list
A sex offender lived in the abbey on Caldey Island for seven years while on the run from police until he was found in 2011, taken back to the mainland and jailed.
Paul Ashton lived among the Cistercian monks on the private island off the Pembrokeshire coast in south-west Wales as police searched for him after finding thousands of images of child abuse on his computer. Ashton was finally found after his image appeared on a Crimestoppers Most Wanted gallery.
Caldey Abbey is at the centre of a scandal after the Guardian revealed a string of allegations against a monk called Thaddeus Kotik dating back to the 1970s and 1980s.
The abbey has been keen to emphasise that the Kotik allegations are of a historical nature and no members of the current community were on the island at the time. But victims claim there is at least one monk still alive who knew Kotik and say the abbot himself knew Kotik from 1990, two years before the monk died in 1992.
The fact that Ashton, a suspected sex offender wanted by the police, was able to live at the abbey so recently and for so long will cause huge concern.
The current head of the abbey, Daniel van Santvoort, has been abbot since 1999.
Following the Guardian’s revelations about Kotik, whistle-blowers came forward to describe how Ashton lived on the island under the name Robert Judd.
Ashton had been arrested by police in West Sussex in 2004 when officers executed a warrant at his address in Bracklesham Bay. He was given bail while police examined his computers. Officers found more than 5,000 images of children but he had vanished when they returned.
At that time, a man in his 50s calling himself Robert appeared on Caldey. Whistleblowers said Ashton arrived on the island as a monastery guest in 2004 but stayed and moved in.
“When Robert arrived, he offered to help and made himself indispensable,” a whistleblower said. “He operated the island’s satellite internet and phone system, managed online accommodation bookings and the accounts and worked in the mail room. He put himself in an ideal position.”
They said that “Robert” changed his phone number frequently, encrypted his emails and never left the island.
In May 2011, “Robert” further aroused the suspicion of the whistleblower by emailing him that he had “met another family” that included two young boys on the island and had invited them to his private quarters in the monastery.
Curious and worried, the whistleblower began investigating Ashton and discovered that a man called James Robert Judd was named as a director of a cleaning company called St Martins of Caldey, according to Companies House records.
The whistleblower carried on investigating. “ I just knew in my gut that something was wrong,” they said. Eventually an image appearing to be Robert was found on the Crimestoppers site. It named him as Paul Ashton.
“One evening we had a phone call telling us to look at a website and there [Robert] was, on the most wanted list,” he said. “I saved and printed the photo, showed it to the abbot and asked him who it was. He said: ‘That’s Robert of course.’ I asked if he was absolutely sure and he said: ‘Yes without a doubt’.”
Whistleblowers have passed on photographs they took of plainclothes police officers escorting Ashton to the boat Caldey Island II beside the island on 6 July 2011.
At Chichester crown court on 1 March, Ashton admitted possessing more than 5,000 indecent images of children and was jailed for 30 months. The court was told he was found after an anonymous call was made to the Crimestoppers charity.
It heard that South Wales police arrested him in relation to the Sussex inquiry – and said that more computer equipment containing further images were found on his Caldey Island computers.
Speaking after Ashton’s conviction, DC David Midgley, of West Sussex CID, said: “Credit must go to the anonymous informant to Crimestoppers who became suspicious and rang in. Thanks to their actions, Ashton was finally brought to justice after spending nearly eight years in hiding.
“In each image, a child was a victim of crime. The length of the sentence shows how the justice system will punish those who download indecent images of children.”
The Guardian has sought comment from van Santvoort who is believed to be in France but has not yet received a reply.
Six women sued the abbey over the allegations against Kotik and another seven women have now come forward to the Guardian since the article exposed the offender last Saturday. The victims have welcomed calls for an inquiry into the protection of child sex offenders on the island.
The Patrons of the Project are:
Rt Revd Dom Paul Stonham OSB, Abbot of Belmont
Rt Revd Dominic Walker OGS, Bishop of Monmouth
Rt Revd Daniel van Santvoort OCSO, Abbot of Caldey
http://www.ourladyoftintern.co.uk/supportus.php?mnu=supportus
Dedication of the statue
On Sunday 9th September 2007 the statue was blessed and dedicated in a moving ceremony conducted jointly by the Catholic Archbishop of Cardiff, Peter Smith, and by Bishop Dominic Walker of Monmouth, Church in Wales. A very large crowd gathered for the occasion, in the region of 800 people.
Enoch Powell accused of satanic sex abuse:
The Right Rev Butler was given the politicians’ names by Dominic Walker, former Bishop of Monmouth, who heard the allegations when he was a vicar counselling in the 1980s.
Mr Walker told senior clerics that Abse was named by three abuse survivors whom he counselled when he was a vicar in Brighton in the 1980s.
He also passed on the names of two former Conservative cabinet ministers, who have not yet been publicly linked to the scandal. Mr Walker was questioned by the Right Rev Butler after the discovery of a book from 1991 in which he described counselling sessions with adult survivors.
Dominic Walker, the former Bishop of Monmouth, has told senior clerics that Abse was named by three alleged adult survivors of abuse whom he counselled when he was vicar of Brighton in the 1980s.
www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/leo-abse-being-investigated-police-8897463
BALLS AND MORE BALLS
When bishops start taking spiritual matters seriously, revival must surely be just around the corner! While Graham Dow (Carlisle), recently liberated from the confines of Rose Castle, emerged to find the cause of Foot and Mouth in a large cursing stone ball, the Bishop of Oxford and all his workers have been far from idle in sniffing out Old Nick.
Oxford football club got in ‘Bomber’ Harries to exorcise the place from a gypsy curse. Those of a certain age will know that Harries has the country’s best-known expert on these matters in his team, the Bishop of Reading, Edward Walker. ‘Dominic’, as he is known since his days in the Bishops Ball’s hand-knitted Community of the Glorious Ascension, told us all about his psychic speciality in a glorious Technicolor spread in… wait for it… SAGA magazine!
True soccer psychics will know that Oxford United is really haunted by the ghost of its former owner – triple agent and part-time fraud, Robert Maxwell. They never recovered from his time in charge.
trushare.com/79DEC01/DE0130DA.htm
The former Bishop of Reading, Edward Walker
Dominic Edward William Murray Walker OGS DL (born 28 June 1948) is a retired Anglican bishop.[1] He was the Bishop of Reading, an area bishop, from 1997 to 2002 and Bishop of Monmouth from 2003 to 2013.
Walker was the second child to a Welsh mother and English father. He was brought up on Dartmoor. [2] He was educated at Plymouth College[3] King’s College London, Heythrop College in London and the University of Wales.
Ordained ministry
Walker was ordained priest in 1972.[4] He began his ministry with a curacy at St Faith’s Southwark[5] after which he was domestic chaplain to the Bishop of Southwark,[6] rector of Newington St Mary, Team Rector of St Peter, St Nicholas & the Chapel Royal Brighton, Rural Dean of Brighton and a canon and prebendary of Chichester Cathedral.
Walker never married and became a member of the Oratory of the Good Shepherd. He served as father superior from 1990 to 1996.[4]
Walker was appointed Bishop of Reading, an area bishop in the Diocese of Oxford, in 1997.[4] He then became a diocesan bishop as the Bishop of Monmouth in the Church in Wales in 2003, succeeding Rowan Williams who had become the Archbishop of Canterbury in the Church of England.
Walker’s last episcopal seat was at Newport Cathedral. At the end of 2012, it was announced that he intended to retire, which he did on 30 June 2013.[7] In retirement he is an honorary assistant bishop in the Diocese of Swansea and Brecon.[4]
Paranormal and exorcisms
Walker is an expert on the paranormal and has published many articles on the topic. He is a trained exorcist[12] and has said that during his 35 years of ordained ministry he has performed “countless acts of deliverance along with six exorcisms”.[12]
In an August 2015 article, which concentrated on the death of Morgan Freeman’s step-granddaughter, Walker rejected the use of violence when performing an exorcism.[13] He argued that an exorcism is the command of the mouth.[clarification needed]
Present
In 2015 the British tabloid press published articles saying that Walker had reported Leo Abse, George Thomas and Enoch Powell to the police as suspected paedophiles.[14] He said that “A number of survivors independently gave the name of a particular MP being involved … I don’t believe there was any collusion in their stories.”[15] Walker went on to tell senior clerics that Abse was named by three abuse survivors whom he had counselled when a vicar in Brighton in the 1980s.
Upon retirement, Walker became a “humble monk”.[16] He has since settled in Monmouth and continues to deliver conference papers and lectures. He lectured in July 2015 at the University of Warwick.[17]
Page 26, 10th November 1990
Home news
Satanic abuse ‘possible’
The belief of social workers that children in Nottingham who were sexually abused were also forced to take part in ritual practices connected with Satanism has now been supported by the director of the city’s social services department. In a report issued last week, Mr David White said that “on the basis of the children’s testimony it would be unwise not to accept the possibility that there were ritualistic elements to this case”. Nottingham Police strongly reject the suggestion that ritual practices played any part in the Broxtowe child abuse case, in which ten adults were jailed in February 1989 for offences of incest, indecent assault and cruelty against 23 children in the extended family; a view which Mr White originally shared.
The case became controversial when some of the children, who had been made wards of court after being sexually abused, started to describe experiences of a bizarre nature of which foster parents and social workers had no previous knowledge. They talked, among other things, of being burnt by sticks, of animals sacrificed and of drinking the blood, of witchcraft parties and even of other children being killed. A report commissioned by Mr White and the chief constable of Nottinghamshire, which appeared in December 1989, concluded that there was no evidence of Satanic abuse. It criticised the work of social workers concerned in the case who, it suggested, had unwittingly encouraged children to believe in and allege bizarre abuse.
The new report, which was expected to be approved on Wednesday by Nottinghamshire social services committee, follows intense media interest in the case and the disruption of working relationships between the police and social workers in the city. It praises the work of the specialist group of social workers concerned, and says that “the disclosures made by the children are unlikely to have been created in their minds by the social workers or foster parents”. Having read the diaries of the children involved, Mr White now supports the social workers’ view that even if the children had not suffered each incident physically they were made to believe that they had.
Mr White argues that the case is of national significance in that it challenges the conventional wisdom about how children should be listened to and how matters can be dealt with which are beyond existing knowledge. Mr White’s recommendations include the setting up of a joint police and social service body to review practices and procedures in the field of child protection; and the establishment by the Department of Health of a nationally co-ordinated research programme to monitor the problem and offer guidance.
Social workers in Manchester, who also had been criticised for encouraging children to make up stories of ritual abuse, were defended recently by the Anglican Bishop of Manchester, Stanley BoothClibborn (The Tablet, 6 October). Allegations of ritual abuse have also been made in Rochdale. Canon Dominic Walker, co-chairman of the Christian Deliverance Study Group, which trains Anglican and some Catholic exorcists, told The Tablet that the Churches are concerned and are holding meetings with social workers, police and psychiatrists. “People are fairly convinced that something is going on“, he said, “and that it is not just an invention of fundamentalism. What is not clear is whether it is a new development of Satanism or whether the people involved are paedophiles who are adding Satanic ritual to their practices.”
The secretary to the Committee for Social Welfare of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales, Mgr Michael Connelly, noted however that no evidence had been produced of ritual practices associated with child abuse. Only one diocese has informed him of such a case.
Source: archive.thetablet.co.uk/article/10th-november-1990/26/home-news
http://collections.mun.ca/PDFs/clegend/ContemporaryLegendVol.041994.pdf
http://collections.mun.ca/PDFs/clegend/ContemporaryLegendVol.041994.pdf
Sturgess, the secretary of the churches’ study group, said Satanist are usually kept loyal by a mixture of fear and blackmail stemming from the devotee’s initiation rites.
Ninety per cent of the cases we get are psychological,” sid Canon Dominic Walker, the vicar of the seaside resort of Brighton and the head of the study group.
The Report of the Bishop of Exeter’s Commission on Exorcism, published in 1972 — a Commission which included two Jesuits and a Benedictine monk
Report chaired by the Rt. Rev. John Perry, Bishop of Chelmsford.
Anglican John Richards, secretary of the Bishop of Exeter’s Study Group on Exorcism,
Exorcism: The Findings of a Commission Convened by the Bishop of Exeter
Apr 20, 1972
by Robert Petitpierre
dom robert petitpierre
It was Dom Robert who exorcised the Astor mansion where the lovely Christine Keeler and friends entertained the rich and famous at the sex and black magic parties. He told me afterwards that these were the most sinister spirits he had ever encountered, and it was a harrowing ordeal to send them back to their own dimension. Dom. Robert felt that the entities he encountered at the Astor mansion were the same spirits later summoned to appear at the Bilderberg meetings.
Dom Robert was even secretly invited to perform an exorcism at the Kremlin at the end of the Cold War, and he claimed that a heavy, morose and brooding atmosphere hung over the building where orders were given to murder millions of Christians. Many souls had to be released from the thrall of the material realm before a lighter atmosphere was introduced and his explanation was as precise a definition as you can get: heavy, morose and brooding sums up the toxic atmosphere of buildings infested with spirits from the lower realms.
The governor of a London Prison told me some time back that a serial murderer had requested an exorcism. As Dom Robert entered the prison in ordinary clothes, the murderer could not have known who he was but began screaming abuse at Dom Robert in a hideous voice as soon as he saw him.
The man was tormented by the demons inside him, and Dom Robert came away from the exorcism sweating and shaking profusely.
http://www.thetruthseeker.co.uk/?p=58106
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DELIVERANCE
The word “deliver” is significant. As we noted, “exorcism” has in many contexts been replaced by “deliverance”. The Exeter Report, already mentioned, was published originally (1972) under the title of “Exorcism” and its Study Group called itself the Christian Exorcism Group, but after about 1987 it had changed its name to Deliverance Group. Indeed, Michael Perry, writing in 1987, called his book “Deliverance” rather than “Exorcism”. He states that deliverance is a much wider subject and is about “freeing people from the bondage of Satan. It may involve exorcism but generally [he says] it does not”. (p.2; DELIVERANCE) He points out that Christian clerics can overreact to a situation which appears to demand exorcism, but it can be just as bad, if not worse, to deny the reality of the powers of evil. Exorcism, for him, is defined as a specific act of binding and releasing performed on a person believed to be possessed by a non-human malevolent spirit. This type of action is by no means always necessary; deliverance may be much more appropriate.
https://forum.davidicke.com/showthread.php?p=1061824862
Church of England’s Christian Exorcism Study Group in 1972 (known as the Exeter Report)
https://www.questia.com/read/1P3-69553492/a-fresh-look-at-a-remarkable-document-exorcism-the
https://www.scribd.com/document/356197378/Anglican-Exorcisms
Dominic Walker was one of Ball’s biggest supporters and he named POWELL, ABSE and WHITELAW as abusers.
Enoch Powell accused of satanic sex abuse:
The Right Rev Butler was given the politicians’ names by Dominic Walker, former Bishop of Monmouth, who heard the allegations when he was a vicar counselling in the 1980s.
Mr Walker told senior clerics that Abse was named by three abuse survivors whom he counselled when he was a vicar in Brighton in the 1980s.
He also passed on the names of two former Conservative cabinet ministers, who have not yet been publicly linked to the scandal. Mr Walker was questioned by the Right Rev Butler after the discovery of a book from 1991 in which he described counselling sessions with adult survivors.
Dominic Walker, the former Bishop of Monmouth, has told senior clerics that Abse was named by three alleged adult survivors of abuse whom he counselled when he was vicar of Brighton in the 1980s.
www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/leo-abse-being-investigated-police-8897463
BALLS AND MORE BALLS
When bishops start taking spiritual matters seriously, revival must surely be just around the corner! While Graham Dow (Carlisle), recently liberated from the confines of Rose Castle, emerged to find the cause of Foot and Mouth in a large cursing stone ball, the Bishop of Oxford and all his workers have been far from idle in sniffing out Old Nick.
Oxford football club got in ‘Bomber’ Harries to exorcise the place from a gypsy curse. Those of a certain age will know that Harries has the country’s best-known expert on these matters in his team, the Bishop of Reading, Edward Walker. ‘Dominic’, as he is known since his days in the Bishops Ball’s hand-knitted Community of the Glorious Ascension, told us all about his psychic speciality in a glorious Technicolor spread in… wait for it… SAGA magazine!
True soccer psychics will know that Oxford United is really haunted by the ghost of its former owner – triple agent and part-time fraud, Robert Maxwell. They never recovered from his time in charge.
trushare.com/79DEC01/DE0130DA.htm
Paranormal and exorcisms
Walker is an expert on the paranormal and has published many articles on the topic. He is a trained exorcist[12] and has said that during his 35 years of ordained ministry he has performed “countless acts of deliverance along with six exorcisms”.[12]
In an August 2015 article, which concentrated on the death of Morgan Freeman’s step-granddaughter, Walker rejected the use of violence when performing an exorcism.[13] He argued that an exorcism is the command of the mouth.[clarification needed]
Present
In 2015 the British tabloid press published articles saying that Walker had reported Leo Abse, George Thomas and Enoch Powell to the police as suspected paedophiles.[14] He said that “A number of survivors independently gave the name of a particular MP being involved … I don’t believe there was any collusion in their stories.”[15] Walker went on to tell senior clerics that Abse was named by three abuse survivors whom he had counselled when a vicar in Brighton in the 1980s.
Upon retirement, Walker became a “humble monk”.[16] He has since settled in Monmouth and continues to deliver conference papers and lectures. He lectured in July 2015 at the University of Warwick.[17]
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dominic_Walker_%28bishop%29
Rt Revd Dominic Walker OGS, Bishop of Monmouth
Rt Revd Daniel van Santvoort OCSO, Abbot of Caldey
http://www.ourladyoftintern.co.uk/supportus.php?mnu=supportus
WHO IS PAUL STURGESS?
In March 1986, Derry Mainwaring Knight – who I have covered more in depth here and here – appeared at Maidstone Crown Court charged with obtaining money from the church, rich and famous by deception. The case was reported globally because of the nature of it’s subject – Satanism.
Mainwaring Knight was a self-styled Satanist, who managed to obtain over £215,000 from rich Christians in order to buy artefacts he said would help free him and others from the clutches of the devil. The trial heard from many people from all different walks of life. One of those was Paul Sturgess.
PAUL STURGESS, THE COMMITTED CHRISTIAN
Sturgess was a civil servant who took to the witness stand during the trial, having described himself as a ‘committed Christian’ who was associated with the Church of England working party into exorcism. Has anyone ever heard of this working party?
Here’s an article where you can read more of his testimony:
The odd thing about Sturgess is, his name also crops up in connection with another person of very dubious character…
PAUL STURGESS, THE FRIEND OF HARVEY PROCTOR
A year later and Paul Sturgess again appears in a newspaper article. This time it’s in connection with disgraced former MP, Harvey Proctor, and his use of ‘rent boys’.
Sturgess sparked a security alert after it had emerged he had been taking young boys in to the House of Commons to meet Harvey Proctor. When confronted, he refused to give details of his position in the House of Commons, but confirmed he had known Proctor for eight years and saw him regularly and he admitted he had taken young boys in to meet Proctor.
Sturgess had also introduced a young man to Proctor named Mark Thane, aged 24. Thane was looking for work and Sturgess knew that Proctor was looking for a research assistant so arranged for the two to meet. However, Thane stated that he felt he was ‘set up’ from the outset for Proctor’s sexual benefit. He found him intimidating and accused Proctor of plying him with alcohol, adding:
I was sickened by what took place. I was very confused and felt no one would listen to me if I had made a complaint against an MP.
Of course we never discussed the job. By then I had realised it was just used as a lure.
Sturgess had told me he had introduced other young men, also gay, to Proctor. I imagine they endured a similar fate.
So just WHO IS the mysterious civil servant and expert on exorcism, Paul Sturgess? I believe he may have lived in Earls Court, but what was his job at the House of Commons? Where was he procuring the young boys and men he was introducing to Proctor? Just how much of this went on inside the Commons – right under the noses of other MPs? Did he know Terry Dwyer/Allen, who met Proctor at a Conservative Cocktail Party?
Caldey Island: Sex offender evaded justice at abbey
March 2012
A fugitive child sex offender fled to a Pembrokeshire island’s abbey to evade justice and remained there for seven years, it has been revealed.
Paul Ashton, from Sussex, went on the run in 2004 charged with possessing indecent images of children.
When he was discovered at Caldey Island in 2011, more indecent images were found on his computer in the monastery.
He was arrested and brought to justice after a visitor recognised him from a Crimestoppers “Most Wanted” list.
The revelation comes after it emerged six women have been paid compensation by Caldey Abbey after they were abused by a monk on Caldey Island in the 1970s and 1980s.
Since that information came to light last week, a further five women have come forward accusing Father Thaddeus Kotik of abusing them.
Allegations were made to the abbey in 1990 but complaints were not passed on to police.
Dyfed Powys Police was eventually made aware of the allegations in 2014 but could not prosecute Kotik as he died in 1992.
The current abbot, Brother Daniel van Santvoort, has apologised the complaints were not referred to police sooner.
Ashton is understood to have arrived on Caldey Island as a guest in 2004, but stayed and moved into the clock tower which overlooks the island.
He was provided with accommodation and food by the monks, who knew him by his alias Robert Judd.
A source said: “When Robert arrived he offered to help and made himself indispensable.
“He operated the island’s satellite internet and phone system, managed online accommodation bookings and the accounts and worked in the mail room.
“He put himself in an ideal position.”
Ashton had absconded from his home in Bracklesham Bay, West Sussex after Sussex Police executed a search warrant and confiscated computers in 2004.
In July 2011, an anonymous call was made to Crimestoppers by someone who had seen Ashton’s face on its “Most Wanted” list, and he was arrested on the island.
Sussex Police said: “They recognised the picture as a man working in south Wales but under a different name… police were informed and local officers swiftly arrested him in relation to the Sussex inquiry.
“More computer equipment containing further images was also found.”
Ashton, then aged 59, pleaded guilty at Chichester Crown Court to possessing more than 5,000 indecent images of children on his computers, hard drives and USB sticks.
He was jailed for 30 months in March 2012 and was placed on the Sex Offenders’ Register for life.
Caldey Abbey has been asked to comment.
http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-wales-south-west-wales-42121382
Wanted paedophile hid in Welsh island monastery for seven years while on the run from police
Ashton was escorted off the island by plain-clothed police officers on July 6 2011.
Appearing at Chichester Crown Court on March 1, he admitted possessing more than 5,000 indecent images of children and was jailed for 30 months.
The court heard that South Wales Police arrested Ashton in relation to Sussex Police’s inquiry and said more computer equipment containing indecent images was found on Caldey Island.
Man with 5,000 child porn pictures is jailed
A 59-year-old man found with more than 5,000 indecent images of children has been jailed after almost eight years in hiding.
Paul Ashton, from Sussex, but of no fixed address, fled the area after he was arrested in 2004.
Ashton was only caught following a tip-off after he was featured on the Crimestoppers Most Wanted list.
He was discovered living in South Wales under an assumed name.
He has now been jailed for 30 months.
Ashton was initially arrested in 2004 after Sussex Police raided his home in Bracklesham Bay and recovered computer equipment.
He was arrested and bailed while officers analysed the hard drive.
His address was searched again a few months later with more computer equipment seized.
Police said all the computers contained numerous indecent images on the hard drive and USB sticks.
Indecent pictures
However, Ashton fled his home and did not answer bail. He was only traced in July last year after someone spotted his photo on the Most Wanted list.
South Wales Police were told and he was arrested, when more computer equipment with further indecent pictures of children was found.
He pleaded guilty at Chichester Crown Court to possessing more than 5,000 indecent images at a hearing on Thursday (March 1).
DC David Midgley, of West Sussex CID, said: “This case highlights how an individual’s criminality will catch up with them – whether it’s weeks, months or years later.
“Credit must go to the anonymous informant to Crimestoppers who became suspicious and rang in. Thanks to their actions, Ashton was finally brought to justice after spending nearly eight years in hiding.
“Ashton recognises that in each image, a child was a victim of crime.
“The length of the sentence shows how the justice system will punish those who download indecent images of children.”
Ashton was also given a Sexual Offences Prevention Order and will sign the Sex Offenders’ Register for life.
Paddy Lyons has written a book about the four years he spent inside Caldey Island’s monastery.
when back in Britain as a 26-year-old, despite a new girlfriend and a three-year traineeship with Unilever in Birkenhead.
“I thought I had to try this lifestyle out because it had never gone away and though I first tried the hermit lifestyle of the Carthusian Order I ended up on Caldey Island,” said Mr Lyons, now 74.
He has since been a social worker, a Financial Times journalist, a press officer for what is now the charity Action For Children, has got married to wife Elsie and raised five children in Barnet
https://www.questia.com/read/1G1-198378512/in-the-swinging-sixties-paddy-couldn-t-wait-for-a
Action for Children
Government IT expert is caught with child porn stash… but why did Downing Street keep it secret for six months?
2 August 2014
Not Patrick Rock – Sebastian Crump
Worked for the Cabinet Office – he received promotion at Cabinet Office while he was being investigated
He has spent a decade working in technology and communications for Government offices, including the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the Central Office of Information
He was arrested in January – Patrick Rock was arrested in February
Crump landed a government job after working as a children’s charity website manager, Action for Children, which helps support vulnerable and neglected children, between 1998 and 1999.
Father Paul Satori came to me first; his attitude was totally different from the priest who I had first gone for counseling. He was very understanding and gentle; his concern was that homosexuality was still a criminal offense in the United Kingdom.
The meeting with my parent’s local doctor lasted for about an hour, I was told a lot of young men went through a period in their teenage years of confusion about sexuality and, with the right treatment, I would soon be a normal heterosexual man.
Two days later, against my will and to my horror, I was sectioned in a psychiatric hospital and forced to undergo electric shock treatment. I was kept in a private ward in the psychiatric hospital for three months while I underwent a series of shock treatments. After leaving the hospital, feeling very confused and lonely, Father Satori arranged for me to go on retreat for two weeks at the Caldey Island monastery before returning to university.
https://www.questia.com/read/1G1-227279152/catholic-hiv-positive-and-one-of-god-s-children
Thaddeus Kotik
Revealed: monk who abused children on ‘crime free’ Caldey Island for decades
17 November 2017
Abuse by a monk who preyed on girls on a tiny island off the coast of Wales was covered up in the 70s and 80s
Kotik offended against the six girls between 1972 and1987, though the women believe there may be many more victims, over many more years.
A former soldier who fought in the Free Polish army during the second world war, Kotik moved to the island in 1947, joined the strict Cistercian order and was ordained a priest in 1956. He lived on the island until his death in 1992. It appears he was never questioned by police and that they were not informed until 2014.
In the late 80s, when she and her family were residents of the island, Emily, then five years old, told the then Abbot Robert O’Brien – who died in 2009 – about Kotik assaulting her. The abbot ordered Kotik to stay inside the monastery enclosure, but Kotik regularly escaped from the monastery grounds and continued to abuse children.
Abbot Robert O’Brien
The girls reported the offences to the principal of their school, St Phillip’s Christian College in Newcastle, New South Wales in the late 1980s. According to Charlotte the deputy principal Richard Rule, who now runs a child care centre, prayed for the students and told them they “didn’t need to talk of this again because God has forgiven everyone”.
Also in 2014, Charlotte emailed the current abbot of Caldey Abbey, Brother Daniel van Santvoort, seeking an acknowledgment of the crimes committed against her and her sister. “The effect that this abuse has had on me has been quietly catastrophic,” she wrote.
No secret
But it wasn’t the first time van Santvoort had heard allegations against Kotik. In a response to Charlotte he wrote: “I have heard occasionally about this serious matter as regards Fr Thaddeus”.
Van Santvoort told her the monastery knew about the monk’s offences and that he had been reprimanded and banned from contact with islanders and visitors in the 1980s, but had not been reported to police. “I am fully aware now of this terrible criminal offence and Fr Thaddeus should have there and then been handed over to the police – something that never happened.”
The island was bought by Anglican benedictine monks in 1906 and it was this group that built the monastery and abbey which sits in the centre of the island.
Now it is home to about 40 residents and a group of about 18 Cistercian monks.
https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/2244669/caldey-island-monks/
Caldey Island is three miles off Tenby and popular with day trippers in the summer.
https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2009/aug/26/caldey-island-independence-tenby-council
Caldey Island: police investigate second man over sexual abuse claims
Separate investigation comes after it was revealed that Cistercian monk allegedly abused at least 11 girls in 1970s and 80s
Detectives are investigating a second man over accusations of sexual abuse on Caldey Island after it was revealed that a Cistercian monk allegedly abused at least 11 girls in the 1970s and 80s.
Police said the alleged assault took place at about the same time, and the accused was visiting the island off Tenby in Pembrokeshire, south-west Wales.
Officers refused to give further details because they said it would jeopardise the investigation, but said he was not a member of the abbey or abbey staff.
The Guardian reported on Friday that six women claimed they were abused as children by Father Thaddeus Kotik.
Since then, it has emerged that five others allegedly suffered abuse, and earlier this week, the head of Caldey Abbey issued an apology acknowledging that allegations of serious child sexual abuse made against Kotik should have been passed on to police.
Dyfed-Powys police are aware of allegations by eight women – the six original complainants and two more who have since come forward. A spokesperson said: “Following the recent media reporting of sexual abuse at Caldey Island, police received two further reports of non-recent sexual abuse.
“They relate to offences committed during the same time period (between 1977 and 1987) and with the same named perpetrator, Thaddeus Kotik. These crimes have been recorded and officers are in contact with the victims during the investigation and to offer specialist support.
“Police have also received one further report of a sexual assault by another male at Caldey Island around the same timeframe. The report has been made by one of the original six victims.
“This is being investigated separately to the Caldey Island abuse and concerns a man who was visiting Caldey Island at the time and no longer lives there. No further information can be released at present as it would jeopardise the investigation.”
Simon Thomas, a Plaid Cymru AM, said: “What is most troubling about this case is that the victims of sexual assault felt that they were not able to make a complaint at the time, and that complaints made were not dealt with properly. As a result the perpetrator was never brought to justice and children grew up bearing the weight of being a victim of these terrible crimes.
“Caldey Island is a landmark on the Welsh coast, and children and tourists visit there every day to learn about the abbey’s history. It’s important that people can visit there with confidence. ”
Caldey Island: More monk sex abuse accusers speak out
-
21 November 2017
Three more women have come forward alleging they were sexually abused by a monk on a Pembrokeshire island in the 1970s and 1980s.
A total of 11 women now claim Father Thaddeus Kotik abused them on Caldey Island when they were children.
A letter seen by BBC Wales shows Kotik’s abuse was reported to abbot Brother Robert O’Brien in 1990, but not to police.
Dyfed-Powys Police said it received reports of the abuse in 2014 and 2016.
The force investigated but could not prosecute as Kotik died in 1992.
Six women have already been paid compensation in an out-of-court settlement by Caldey Abbey following the sexual abuse claims.
But journalist Amanda Gearing, who has spoken to victims, said three more women now claim to have been sexually assaulted by Kotik.
One woman who reported her case to police on Monday told the Guardian she broke down and was unable to sleep for 36 hours after reading about Kotik’s abuse of others.
She said her abuse was “low level compared with others” but it happened when she was sat next to Kotik on a bench.
“He put his hand up my top. Then his hand went up my back and under my arms. I squirmed away from him and walked away. I didn’t go near him after that,” she said.
Another woman told the Guardian she and her two sisters were abused by Kotik, but claimed there was pressure by both the church and family for victims to “shut up”.
Kotik befriended families who regularly visited the island. After gaining the trust of parents he would babysit the children and sexually abuse them, court papers have suggested.
One of them, who has already spoken out about what happened, said she “bitterly regrets” her abuser was never jailed.
There are fears there could be more victims and calls have been made for an independent inquiry by the Minister and Clergy Sexual Abuse Survivors group.
http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-wales-south-west-wales-42071238
Inquiry calls into abuse complaints on Caldey Island
21 Nov 2017
There are calls for an independent inquiry into allegations of historical sexual abuse at an abbey on Caldey Island off Pembrokeshire.
It’s understood six women were paid compensation following claims against a monk – Thaddeus Kotik in the 70s and 80s. But it’s feared there could be more potential victims.
Police say they did receive reports of historic sexual abuse but could not proceed with a prosecution because the monk died in 1992.
Now a support group, Minister and Clergy Sexual Abuse Survivors, says an independent investigation should take place and the abbey should apologise.
Six women have received an out of court settlement, after claims they were abused by the monk Father Thaddeus Kotik when they visited the island as children in the 1970s and 80s.
Three of them shared their experiences with Australian journalist Amanda Gearing:
The effect of the abuse on these women has been particularly severe – partly because of the threats made against them which separated them from their parents.
The offender told them that if the children reported what was happening their parents would not want them anymore and would leave them on the island with him
It is claimed Brother Thaddeus Kotik groomed, and sexually assaulted the children of families staying on the island and although they spoke out at the time, no formal action was taken.
It wasn’t until almost thirty years later the crimes were brought to the attention of the police. By that time, Kotik had been dead for two decades.
Dyfed-Powys Police told ITV News that “Appropriate professional support was offered and the matter was drawn to a close.”
The Children’s Commissioner for Wales, Sally Holland, says although action should be taken, it’s too early to call for an enquiry.
“I’ve been in contact with the National Catholic Safeguarding Advice Service and also have written directly to the abbey on Caldey Island to seek reassurance that they are following the Catholic churches national safeguarding policies and procedures on child protection.”
The victims believe they’re not alone. and that Kotik – who lived on the island for 45 years – abused others.
ITV News has contacted Caldey Abbey for comment but has not yet had a response.
http://www.itv.com/news/wales/2017-11-21/inquiry-calls-into-abuse-complaints-on-caldey-island/
Caldey Abbey apology over handling of monk sex abuse claims
22 Nov 2017
An abbey at the centre of child sexual abuse allegations has apologised that claims against one of its monks were not passed to police.
Eleven women allege Father Thaddeus Kotik abused them on Caldey Island, Pembrokeshire, in the 1970s and 1980s.
A letter shows Kotik’s abuse was reported to abbot Brother Robert O’Brien in 1990, but not to police.
Caldey Abbey said they should have been reported, adding: “This clearly did not happen and we apologise.”
In a statement, current abbot Brother Daniel van Santvoort said: “It was with great sadness and regret that we heard allegations of historical sexual abuse involving Father Thaddeus who died in 1992.
“Any allegations of child abuse should be reported to the appropriate authorities and investigated. This clearly did not happen and we apologise.”
Brother Daniel said at the time the incidents were alleged to have taken place, the present Caldey Abbey Community was not on the island, which exacerbated the difficulties of the claims.
He said he knew nothing of the allegations when he first came to the island in 1990, or when he later became abbot in 1999, but said he forwarded the matter to police and the abbey’s solicitors in 2014 when he was contacted by a claimant.\
Brother Daniel said: “I acted at every step with compassion and empathy, and expressed my regret and sorrow at any such abuse. I flew to Australia to meet two claimants expressly to apologise.”
He continued: “I am truly sorry that my predecessors did not report allegations to the police and I am sorry that as an abbey, it has taken so long to compensate for these claims.
“Caldey Abbey has worked to ensure this can never be repeated. We now have robust child protection procedures in place on the island including a child protection coordinator.”
“As abbot, I very much regret any harm caused to any layperson as a result of the actions of one of my community, and strive to ensure that every visitor to Caldey enjoys only peace, comfort and the feeling of wellbeing,” he added.
Brother Daniel said the abbey was working with Children’s Commissioner for Wales, however Sally Holland has denied that is the case.
She has advised anyone with concerns to contact police or the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse, the Truth Project, so allegations can be considered.
Brother Daniel added the abbey would fully cooperate with its inquiry and any other investigation.
http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-wales-south-west-wales-42087525
Caldey abbey ran a shop in London right near Brompton Oratory where PIE treasurer Charles Napier’s cousin Father Michael Napier worked
Caldey Abbey across the road from the Brompton Oratory
Fr Michael Napier co-wrote a book w ith Alistair Laing
Michael Napier and Alistair Laing (eds), in The London Oratory Centenary 1884-1984, pp.
Michael Napier and Alistair Laing (eds), in The London Oratory Centenary 1884-1984, pp.
Alistair Laing and Colin Peters
Kit Cunningham wrote Michael Napier’s obit and there was a scandal at Napier’s oratory school …HIV priest
A Gay Priest Who Died of Aids, Claims of Child Abuse, a Boy’s Suicide – the Dark Secrets of London’s Top Catholic School;
(1) the Blairs’ Choice: Cherie with Euan, Who Was Deputy Head Boy at the Oratory (2) Unholy Row: The Oratory in Fulham Is One of Britain’s Leading Roman Catholic State Schools but the Dumping of an Aids Charity This Week Has Resurrected a Scandal That Followed the Death of Father David Martin
In 1991 the order’s provost, the late Father Michael Napier, was told Father David was HIV positive. The information was kept secret and Father David continued his work as chaplain to The Oratory School in Fulham, visiting once a week and holding discussion sessions with pupils.
When he became too ill to continue, he was taken in by The Lighthouse.
https://www.questia.com/read/1G1-171039353/a-gay-priest-who-died-of-aids-claims-of-child-abuse
Michael Napier’s obituary
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/obituary-the-rev-michael-napier-1362175.html
Fr Michael Napier – papal delegate
The Moniter (McAllen Texas) 29 Jan 1993
Charles Napier’s father – Major Alexander Napier
was brother to Fr Michael Napier’s father -Maj.-Gen. Charles Scott Napier
http://www.thepeerage.com/p53917.htm#i539163
http://www.thepeerage.com/p53917.htm#i539166
also
1977 The cousins used to work nearby each other – Michael at the Oratory and Charles at Nucleus
https://bitsofbooksblog.wordpress.com/page/6/
Charles Napier’s father – Major Alexander Napier
was brother to Fr Michael Napier’s father -Maj.-Gen. Charles Scott Napier
http://www.thepeerage.com/p53917.htm#i539163
http://www.thepeerage.com/p53917.htm#i539166
Aelred Carlyle at Caldey,
During the summer months they regularly went sea –
bathing in the nude. Nor did Carlyle
make any secret of his liking for charming young men.
Click to access hilliardUnEnglishUnManly.pdf
The Anglican Benedictine community on Caldey Island is described by Peter Especially before the 1950s, when homosexuality was a taboo subject
http://highrollercarwash.com/irk.php?ta=caldey-island-history-1950-s
Bro Robert O’Brien also knew about abuser.
O’ Brien has been around since 80’s
http://www.ocso.org/monastery/caldey/
David R Hodges (former solicitor) now a Caldey monk poet has been there from at least 1999 – given publication dates http://www.davidhodgespoetry.co.uk/
Brother Michael Strode in the ACROSS group
another caldey monk, the former dr Dr. Michael Strode
he started …HCPT or Hosanna House and Children’s Pilgrimage Trust is a United Kingdom based charity which travels with disabled and disadvantaged children and adults on pilgrimage to the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes, in Lourdes, France. HCPT stands for Hosanna House and Children’s Pilgrimage Trust, Hosanna House being the property the organisation owns in the hills above Lourdes.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HCPT_%E2%80%93_The_Pilgrimage_Trust
another Caldey monk, the former Dr. Michael Strode
he started …HCPT or Hosanna House and Children’s Pilgrimage Trust is a United Kingdom based charity which travels with disabled and disadvantaged children and adults on pilgrimage to the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes, in Lourdes, France. HCPT stands for Hosanna House and Children’s Pilgrimage Trust, Hosanna House being the property the organisation owns in the hills above Lourdes.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HCPT_%E2%80%93_The_Pilgrimage_Trust
HCPT Founder – Brother Michael Strode & Cardinal O’Brien (Jimmy Savile’s friend)
Savile and Cardinal O’Brien
1955. Dr Michael Strode ..rear – 2nd from right
Founder – Brother Michael Strode
President – The Right Reverend Kieran Conry, Bishop of Arundel and Brighton
Patron – HRH The Duchess of Kent GCVO
The last year in which he participated as a doctor with HCPT was in 1990. In October 1991 Michael entered the Cistercian community on Caldey Island as an Oblate. He took simple vows on 4th June 1995 and made his final commitment as an Oblate on 7th June 1998.
He still plays a very active role in the running of HCPT – and recently travelled to Lourdes to join the 2013 Easter pilgrimage, during which he was awarded the prestigious Médaille Notre-Dame de Lourdes in recognition of his long dedication to pilgrims and pilgrimages to the Shrine.
https://www.hcpt.org.uk/about/history/brother-michael/
Strode and Across
Click to access 1293399361.pdf
Jimmy Savile wearing his Across top with Pope
Jumbulance & Jimmy Savile long term affiliations
http://www.sconews.co.uk/news/13832/scottish-catholic-jimmy-savile/
Cardinal O’Brien and Princess Anne
Angela, manages the day to day running of St Philomena’s –
https://rosesislandramble.wordpress.com/2017/02/17/caldey-abbey-and-monastery/
Eric Gill (1882 – 1940)
The Prior of Caldey
Series: For Engravings by Eric Gill
Medium: Copper engraving
Year: 1926
https://www.davidsongalleries.com/artists/modern/eric-gill/the-prior-of-caldey/
Dom Theodore Bailey – Caldey monk and assoc of paedophile Eric Gill
The rules of the new guild had been amended so as to avoid the mistakes of Ditchling. After supper one night in Wales he read out his proposals to Philip Hagreen, David Jones and Dom Theodore Bailey, Benedictine monk and artist and another long-term visitor. Hagreen and David Jones rejected the idea, and Gill, hurt …
http://pembrokeshire-herald.com/27748/tenby-arrest-made-over-caldey-island-assault/ 2016 arrest
Richard Scorer @Richard_Scorer
More extraordinary evidence at @InquiryCSA : Richard Yeo, until recently President of the Benedictines, admits that during his Presidency sex offenders were knowingly appointed as school governors and had input into safeguarding
Father Yeo was a member of the Cumberlege Commission into protecting children in the Catholic Church.
Father Yeo was a member of the Cumberlege Commission. as was
Baroness Butler-Sloss (Vice Chair)
http://www.cumberlegecommission.org.uk/
He was Abbot of Downside from 1998 to 2006 having been secretary to the Abbot Primate of the international Benedictine Confederation.
The monk is also one of three senior clerics on a committee which oversees the management of the Sant’ Anselmo, the Benedictine university in Rome.
The university’s treasurer was convicted paedophile Father Laurence Soper
Child abuse ‘was encouraged by school’s abbots’ at Downside Abbey, Somerset
At about the time Yeo was elected Abbot of Downside in 1998, White was permitted to return from Fort Augustus. White continued to live at Downside until his arrest in 2010. For eight of the twelve intervening years, Yeo was his Abbot.
Of course, as Abbot, Yeo had access to the records of his predecessors. So he would have been fully aware of the abuse that White had admitted to before being kicked north, and it is for this reason that White was kept on “restricted ministry”.
So Yeo must be regarded as a long-term participant in the cover-up of abuse. He said in the that the cover-up “is unacceptable, I’m not defending that.” But he joined in that unacceptable action.
The Catholic Church’s commitment to safeguarding can be judged by the fact that Yeo was one of the participants in the Cumberlege Commission, and was appointed to carry out the Apostolic Visitation to Ealing Abbey.
http://scepticalthoughts.blogspot.com/2013/08/abbot-president-richard-yeo.html
Victim claims abuse on Manchester United trip
10 November 2017
A 61-year-old man from Glasgow has told the BBC he was sexually abused on a football trip to Manchester United in the late 1960s.
James, who wants to keep his anonymity, believes he was “trafficked” to English football clubs by the Marist Brothers, a Catholic order which ran his school.
He said he was repeatedly abused by the brothers at his primary school.
In a statement, Manchester United said it had found no information relating to the Marist Brothers in its review.
The Old Trafford club looked into historical abuse as part of the English FA’s inquiry, led by barrister Clive Sheldon QC.
It is looking at the way clubs or the FA dealt with concerns over child sex abuse between 1970 and 2005.
Initiation ceremony
However, James said he thought his abuse happened on a trip in 1969, when he was 12 or 13.
James told the BBC he was in a group of “elite” young footballers who were selected by his school to take part in a tournament in Manchester.
The boys were taken to Old Trafford and the club’s training ground, where they played matches and toured the stadium, the boot room and directors’ offices.
James said he had visions of becoming a Manchester United player like his heroes George Best and Bobby Charlton but he said he was taken from the hostel where the boys were staying and sexually abused.
He said he did not know who abused him but he was taken outside as part of an “initiation ceremony”.
“It was non-consensual sex,” he said.
“Adult and a child.”
James said he did not know if other young footballers were also abused.
“None of us ever spoke about it,” he said.
According to James, he was not aware at the time that it was abuse.
It was portrayed as part of the “football journey” of going down to the club and possibly becoming a professional footballer.
He said: “I believe I was forced to do it because of my previous experience. I thought there was no escape, I had to take the action.”
His previous abuse was at the hands of the Marist Brothers who ran his primary school, the Sacred Heart Primary School in the east end of Glasgow.
James said he was regularly beaten around the lower body by branches with thorns, belts or by hand for not knowing the answers to questions about the Mass.
He told the BBC he would soil himself when he was beaten and his sister would be sent for to take him out of class.
Grooming process
“That then led to an increase in the abuse which began by befriending you, telling you that you weren’t a bad person, you were a good person,” he said.
“All part of the grooming process, then on to sitting on the knee,.
“Then, after the beatings, removing the clothing to make sure there were no marks.
“And then other sexual activity.”
The beatings stopped when James moved to high School.
But a more sinister form of abuse began, he said.
James said he was sent for a “holiday” to Fort Augustus school in the Highlands where BBC Scotland has uncovered evidence that widespread abuse took place.
He was also sent to Pluscarden Abbey. Both were run by the Benedictine order.
He said he was abused by monks there.
James said he was also abused when his football team were sent to English football clubs.
“I realise now I was trafficked,” he said.
“I didn’t realise that at the time.
“But there is a link between the abuse in the primary school – the Marist Brothers.
“A link to the Marist Brothers sending me to Fort Augustus and Pluscarden to the Benedictines and the Marist Brothers then sending me to the football clubs.”
He said: “My understanding was these clubs were more or less looking at us for potentially signing for the clubs.
“The type of player I was playing football with went on to be professional football players, to be professional football managers and professional coaches at the highest level in the Scottish Football Association.”
Internal investigation
Manchester United said: “We have no knowledge or records of any allegations of this nature.
“However, If we are provided with further details and they allege involvement of anyone connected with the club, we will of course investigate further and involve all appropriate authorities.”
The Marist Brothers no longer run schools in Scotland but they maintain a house in Glasgow.
In a statement the order’s lawyers said it took all allegations against it seriously, and referred them to police and an internal investigation.
It said: “The allegations in question were investigated by the police, and the Scottish Catholic Safeguarding Service confirmed our clients have done all that is possible regarding the allegations made.”
“James wants the public to know about the scandal of the historic trafficking of children round the UK.
“He wants more survivors of sexual abuse to come forward so that the perpetrators of this abuse and the institutions that protected them are held to account and we will continue to support him as he campaigns to achieve this.”
http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-41926783
Father Gildas is responsible for the laundry and is also the cook. He first came to Caldey in 1983.
Bethan, who was once a resident and pupil at the closed school house, works in the cafe. She lives on the mainland but travels to work by boat each day during the summer.
Father Jan from Holland trained as a calligrapher and stone carver which he still practices in the Abbey workshop.
John has lived on the island with his wife Veronica for 40 years and is the commerce manager. He is also the point of contact for Trinity House regarding the island lighthouse which was build in 1829 and was powered by gas until 1997.
Brother Titus, who is the guest master, holds discussions with his guests in the monastic library
Brother Luca is the accountant and gardener.
Rita is a resident of Caldey for over 35 years and lives alone in a bungalow just outside the village. Although long retired she still oversees the management of the water supply and is the organist.
http://www.afinebeginning.com/caldey/
Another Fort Augustus paedophile:
Priest, Father Paul Moore , convicted 20 years after first confessing
14 March 2018
An 82-year-old Catholic priest who confessed to his bishop more than 20 years ago that he had abused young boys has finally been convicted.
Father Paul Moore has been found guilty of sexually abusing three children and a student priest in crimes spanning more than 20 years.
One of his victims was just five years old.
A BBC Scotland investigation reported five years ago that Moore had admitted in 1996 that he had abused more than one boy years earlier, and it was initially covered up by the bishop.
The then Bishop of Galloway, Maurice Taylor, did not contact the authorities about the priest’s confession until eight months later. Instead, he sent him to a treatment centre in Toronto.
Bishop Taylor removed the priest from his parish in Prestwick, Ayrshire, and later sent him to Fort Augustus Abbey in the Highlands, which was run by Benedictine monks.
The attached school was by this time closed, but the abbey remained open. That is where Moore joined monk Richard White – who was also a self-confessed paedophile, later jailed for five years for child abuse.
The 2013 BBC documentary Sins of Our Fathers told how Moore was still living in a house which was purchased by the church.
Bishop Taylor said Moore had told him about actions that “occurred years previously”, and that the priest was removed from the pastoral ministry after the admission.
The bishop said: “The initial advice I was given was that since no allegations had been made against Moore but that he had made personal admission to me, I didn’t need to inform the authorities.”
The bishop said he arranged a meeting with the procurator fiscal in Kilmarnock in November 1996.
He said: “The Crown Office informed us in 1999 that they had decided not to proceed with any action but the case remained open.”
It was only when the victims came forward after the BBC documentary that the criminal case was brought.
In 2013, the BBC revealed claims by a former altar boy that he had been abused by Moore.
Two years later, Paul Smyth waived his anonymity to speak to a follow-up investigation.
He said: “I just want people to know the truth, I’m not running away any more.”
Mr Smyth told the BBC how he’d been sexually assaulted on Irvine beach when he was 11.
He eventually told the police what happened in 1997, the year after Moore apparently admitted the abuse to Bishop Taylor.
In 2013, the BBC revealed claims by a former altar boy that he had been abused by Moore.
Two years later, Paul Smyth waived his anonymity to speak to a follow-up investigation.
He said: “I just want people to know the truth, I’m not running away any more.”
Mr Smyth told the BBC how he’d been sexually assaulted on Irvine beach when he was 11.
He eventually told the police what happened in 1997, the year after Moore apparently admitted the abuse to Bishop Taylor.
Also in the 2015 follow-up, the BBC revealed a second man, another former altar server and now in his late 40s, was abused by Moore for several years as a teenager in Ayrshire.
The investigation obtained a copy of a £10,000 cheque given to the man by Moore in 2009.
Moore denied the cheque was “hush money” and says it was meant as a loan.
When confronted, Moore denied that he had confessed any child abuse to Bishop Taylor.
He accepted he was aware the man had made allegations against him, and was asked if he accepted that a payment to an alleged victim may look like “hush money”.
He responded: “Sure, it looks now, I realise that now in these times but it’s not that, it wasn’t hush money.
“In the Bible it says lend without hope of getting things back… as far as I’m concerned he can keep it.”
Asked if the two men were lying about the abuse claims, Moore said: “No, they’re not lying. They think that’s what it is. But it’s not.”
The court case also heard from another man, now in his 40s, who told how Moore sexually assaulted him at St Mark’s primary school in Irvine in 1976.
Nowadays that crime would have been classed as rape.
Another man told of an occasion when he was abused at Irvine’s Magnum Centre when he was still a child.
Moore was ordained in 1960 and served in six different parishes in the south west of Scotland before retirement.
In 1995, he abused a student priest and around the same time he was found to have repeatedly stared at the bodies of young boys in Prestwick swimming pool.
Soon after this he made his confession to the bishop.
Bishop Taylor, who is now 92, appeared in court and said Moore had admitted to him in 1996 that he had a desire to abuse minors and he knew it was wrong.
He spoke of abusing boys while they slept and others at a swimming pool.
The bishop was shown personnel records he had taken in 1996 when Moore asked to see him.
He told the bishop he had sexual involvement with two males who had been underage at the time.
http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-43398633
BRIAN PATRICK HAWKINS
Hawkins was born on 30th January 1941 in Camberwell. He was educated at Douai before then moving on to monastaries at Prinknash, Worth and Caldey. In 1967 he became the warden at the Camberwell Hostel until his death in 1970. The Abbot of Douai wrote an obituary, in which he said:
His dynamic character, nourished by a living Christian faith, led him naturally to adopt an approach centred on love rather than rigorous discipline. His approach was in no way sentimental; physically tall and ungainly, he was a man of great strength and courage; he seemed to fill any room with his presence. His approach to his boys was to accept them as he found them and to give them the love that they had never known, as the proper basis for their future growth.
… [he] found that he could find God better in the challenging sphere of social work, while still maintaining strong monastic contacts and a real life of prayer.
ARREST
On 14th July 1970, Keith Geoffrey Thomas appeared at Camberwell magistrates court charged with the murder of Hawkins.
Thomas was 23 and the deputy warden of the same hostel. He was born in 1947 in Hereford and Worcester, which is the same area in which he died in 1995.
TRIAL
In July 1971 Thomas appeared at the Old Bailey on the charge of murder. Little is known about the trial because most of the national and local newspapers didn’t cover it, so I have pieced together the scant information that I have managed to find.
When police arrived at the property, Thomas had told them of an incident that happened three or four years earlier when Hawkins had received numerous malicious telephone calls from a man who had threatened to kill him. The motive behind the calls was because Hawkins had previously accused the man of inappropriate behaviour with boys and the man had subsequently been imprisoned for four years.
However, Mr E J P Cussen, who was prosecuting, said that the motive arose from a close relationship between Thomas and one of the boys named Brian. Hawkins did not like the close relationship between 16-year old Brian and Thomas, who were sleeping in the same room. However, when Hawkins was murdered, he apparently also had a boy sleeping in his room.
In court Thomas claimed he killed Hawkins in self-defence. He claimed that he went to Hawkins’ room at around 2am to get car keys so he could drive someone home. He picked up an iron bar as he entered the flat and as Hawkins awoke, he suddenly grabbed Thomas and wouldn’t let go, so Thomas hit him. He never intended to hurt him, let alone kill him.
I don’t know what the real truth is, but on 13th July 1971 there was a question asked in the Commons about the whole sordid affair:
Mr Stanbrook: asked the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) what steps he has taken, following disclosures made at a recent criminal trial concerning the St Christopher Fellowship hostel at De Crespigny Park, Camberwell, to tighten the system of control over children’s homes run by voluntary organisations;
(2) whether he will cause an inquiry to be made into the well-being of all children living in homes run by the St Christopher’s Fellowship with a view to preventing a repetition elsewhere of the lack of control over children and unlawful activity by the staff found recently to exist at their De Crespigny Park boys’ hostel.
Sir K Joseph: I have considered reports on this tragic case and reviewed the existing system of control. I do not think any further inquiry or modification of the law is called for. The Fellowship of St Christopher itself closed this hostel in July, 1970, and has sold the premises. I am not aware of any ground for concern about other establishments run by this Fellowship.
According to the catalogue entry for the file about the case, Thomas was convicted of murder. However, it won’t surprise you to learn that the records on the case are under extended closure until 1st January 2060.
https://scepticpeg.wordpress.com/2018/11/12/london-the-philanthropic-wolves-in-sheeps-clothing/
goodnessandharmony 
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