Richard Scorer examines the legal principles behind the child abuse scandal in the Catholic Church
Child abuse compensation claims have increased in recent years and a significant proportion of these claims have been brought against the Catholic Church. Many paedophile priests have been convicted and sentenced, but many of their victims have also tried to hold the Catholic Church accountable in the civil courts. Some significant awards of damages have been made. In 2005, one victim of abuse by a priest of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Birmingham was awarded £635,000, a record in an abuse compensation claim. In dealing with these cases, the courts have had to grapple with the extent to which the Church should be held institutionally liable for the behaviour of individual priests.
The issue has been considered most recently in JGE v English Province of Our Lady of Charity (1) and the Trustees of the Portsmouth Roman Catholic Diocesan Trust [2011] EWHC 2871 (QB), [2011] All ER (D) 50 (Nov) (judgment handed down 8 November 2011), a case which has attracted considerable press interest.
Background
Child abuse
