Punjab Singh
JF-Expert Member
- Jan 14, 2014
- 955
- 651
PRESS RELEASE
FIVE-YEAR LEGAL PURSUIT OF THE ROMAN CATHOLIC ROSMINIAN ORDER
BY FORMER PUPILS OF ITS SCHOOLS IN THE UK AND TANZANIA
ENDS WITH ORDER'S REQUEST TO SETTLE ABUSE CASE OUT OF COURT.
22 June, 2015 – (Montreal, Canada): The Institute of Charity, a Roman Catholic religious order more commonly known as the Rosminians, requested and reached, in March-April 2015, an-out-of-court settlement with a group of former pupils who attended two of its schools: one, Grace Dieu Manor House preparatory school in Leicestershire, England; and, the other, St. Michael's in the former Tanganyika (now Tanzania). The 22 plaintiffs, collectively known as the Rosminian Boys' Group (RBG), now live in the UK, France, South Africa, Australia, the USA and Canada. A further two members died during the five-year action against the RosminIans.
The plaintiffs' stories were the subject of a 2011 BBC documentary, Abused. Breaking The Silence. The BBC provided an adapted Canadian version for the CBC's documentary series The Passionate Eye. The UK documentary was also screened in Australia.
Montreal-based-Francis Lionnet is a joint leader of the RBG: "We are not at liberty to give the amount of the settlement. However, given that we were helpless little children – many of us were only seven and eight years old when the abuse started – the healing triumph we have achieved here is that, together, we finally came to terms with the consequences of our abuse; overcame an angry and debilitating sense of helplessness; went after the order and took control. The Rosminians have felt the pain and, as a result, we hope that generations of vulnerable kids will now be better protected by the order than we ever were."
Piers Brogan, a joint leader of the RBG, lives in Sydney, Australia: "The most odious of the four Rosminian abusers whom we targeted, Fr. Kit Cunningham, a popular pastor of the Fleet Street ‘God Squad', died in 2011 but not before we got to him and pressurised him into returning his MBE to the Palace. He offered written apologies to his victims who, without exception, found them woefully insufficient. The sadistic Fr. Bernard Collins wrote written apologies that were sent to only a few of his victims. These were also viewed by everyone in the group as not only insufficient but, also, as slyly self-serving. We owe a huge debt of gratitude to Uppal Taylor Solicitors, and particularly Billhar Uppal, who handled both our case and the RBG with extraordinary skill and a sensitivity that went above and beyond the call of duty."
Donald MacFaul, joint RBG leader and barrister based in Newcastle upon Tyne, UK: "Collins, who will be 100 years old in August 2015, was lined up by the Leicestershire Police and UK Crown Prosecution Service as a viable candidate for prosecution. However, as the CPS explained in long, explanatory letters mailed to each one of his victims, any idea of bringing him to justice had to be abandoned. Their forensic psychologists had judged him incapable of following his own trial and he would, therefore, have been incapable of defending himself. The sensitivity and consideration shown us by the Leicestershire Police and the CPS was much appreciated by everyone."-
Olenka Frenkiel, producer of the BBC TV documentary, Abused. Breaking The Silence: "I'm very pleased to see the Rosminian Order has finally acknowledged the harm it inflicted on children in its care. I hope this payment helps those who suffered troubled lives as a result of the abuse. But, above all, I hope that this legal action by former pupils will help send a message to those tempted to exploit children that they cannot do so with impunity. They will be found out and held to account."
CONTACTS:
Francis Lionnet, Montreal, Quebec. Canada. TEL: (from UK): +1 (514) 564-3504
Piers Brogan, Sydney. Australia. TEL: (from UK): +61 2 9939 3558
Donald MacFaul, Newcastle upon Tyne. UK. TEL: Mobile 07711618470;
Landline 01207 272934
FIVE-YEAR LEGAL PURSUIT OF THE ROMAN CATHOLIC ROSMINIAN ORDER
BY FORMER PUPILS OF ITS SCHOOLS IN THE UK AND TANZANIA
ENDS WITH ORDER'S REQUEST TO SETTLE ABUSE CASE OUT OF COURT.
22 June, 2015 – (Montreal, Canada): The Institute of Charity, a Roman Catholic religious order more commonly known as the Rosminians, requested and reached, in March-April 2015, an-out-of-court settlement with a group of former pupils who attended two of its schools: one, Grace Dieu Manor House preparatory school in Leicestershire, England; and, the other, St. Michael's in the former Tanganyika (now Tanzania). The 22 plaintiffs, collectively known as the Rosminian Boys' Group (RBG), now live in the UK, France, South Africa, Australia, the USA and Canada. A further two members died during the five-year action against the RosminIans.
The plaintiffs' stories were the subject of a 2011 BBC documentary, Abused. Breaking The Silence. The BBC provided an adapted Canadian version for the CBC's documentary series The Passionate Eye. The UK documentary was also screened in Australia.
Montreal-based-Francis Lionnet is a joint leader of the RBG: "We are not at liberty to give the amount of the settlement. However, given that we were helpless little children – many of us were only seven and eight years old when the abuse started – the healing triumph we have achieved here is that, together, we finally came to terms with the consequences of our abuse; overcame an angry and debilitating sense of helplessness; went after the order and took control. The Rosminians have felt the pain and, as a result, we hope that generations of vulnerable kids will now be better protected by the order than we ever were."
Piers Brogan, a joint leader of the RBG, lives in Sydney, Australia: "The most odious of the four Rosminian abusers whom we targeted, Fr. Kit Cunningham, a popular pastor of the Fleet Street ‘God Squad', died in 2011 but not before we got to him and pressurised him into returning his MBE to the Palace. He offered written apologies to his victims who, without exception, found them woefully insufficient. The sadistic Fr. Bernard Collins wrote written apologies that were sent to only a few of his victims. These were also viewed by everyone in the group as not only insufficient but, also, as slyly self-serving. We owe a huge debt of gratitude to Uppal Taylor Solicitors, and particularly Billhar Uppal, who handled both our case and the RBG with extraordinary skill and a sensitivity that went above and beyond the call of duty."
Donald MacFaul, joint RBG leader and barrister based in Newcastle upon Tyne, UK: "Collins, who will be 100 years old in August 2015, was lined up by the Leicestershire Police and UK Crown Prosecution Service as a viable candidate for prosecution. However, as the CPS explained in long, explanatory letters mailed to each one of his victims, any idea of bringing him to justice had to be abandoned. Their forensic psychologists had judged him incapable of following his own trial and he would, therefore, have been incapable of defending himself. The sensitivity and consideration shown us by the Leicestershire Police and the CPS was much appreciated by everyone."-
Olenka Frenkiel, producer of the BBC TV documentary, Abused. Breaking The Silence: "I'm very pleased to see the Rosminian Order has finally acknowledged the harm it inflicted on children in its care. I hope this payment helps those who suffered troubled lives as a result of the abuse. But, above all, I hope that this legal action by former pupils will help send a message to those tempted to exploit children that they cannot do so with impunity. They will be found out and held to account."
CONTACTS:
Francis Lionnet, Montreal, Quebec. Canada. TEL: (from UK): +1 (514) 564-3504
Piers Brogan, Sydney. Australia. TEL: (from UK): +61 2 9939 3558
Donald MacFaul, Newcastle upon Tyne. UK. TEL: Mobile 07711618470;
Landline 01207 272934
