A Catholic bishop in England has offered an apology “from the heart” to abuse survivors as they await formal acknowledgement of their suffering by a religious order. Bishop Marcus Stock met with the Comboni Survivor Group on June 25 at Hinsley Hall in Leeds, West Yorkshire. Members of the group were sexually abused at St. Peter Claver College, a junior seminary in Mirfield, in the Diocese of Leeds, in the 1960s and ’70s. The junior seminary, which closed in 1984, was run by the Comboni Missionaries, formerly known as the Verona Fathers. A statement on the Leeds diocese website said that Stock issued the apology after unsuccessfully seeking to arrange a meeting between the group and the order’s leadership. It noted that Cardinal Vincent Nichols of Westminster and Archbishop Charles Scicluna of Malta were also present at the meeting via Zoom. Scicluna is adjunct secretary of the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and a leading figure in the fight against clerical abuse.
Catholic bishop offers apology ‘from the heart’ as abuse survivors await recognition from order
Catholic bishop offers apology ‘from the heart’ as abuse survivors await recognition from order
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