One of the criteria for core participant status is if "the person may be subject to explicit or significant criticism during the inquiry proceedings or in the report, or in any interim report." Ealing Abbey & St Benedict's School are of course both core participants, they conceivably might come in for quite a bit of criticism. But I was able also to demonstrate that I should be a core particpant on this point (among others.) I put before the inquiry the headmaster's prizegiving day speech in September 2011 which contained the following passage.
I absolutely refute that anyone associated with St Benedict’s School has misled the Inspectors or protected offenders - such allegations are at best misguided and at worst deliberately malicious. Recent media and blog coverage seem hell-bent on trying to discredit the School and, at the same time, destroy the excellent relationship between School and Monastery. Is this part of an anti-Catholic movement linked to the papal visit? I do not know, but it feels very much as if we are being targeted.In the chair's determination, this was stated as one of the grounds on which my core participant status was granted.
By the way, a little earlier in Cleugh's speech, he praised the monks.
Could any of you here tonight imagine the School without the spiritual and pastoral guidance of Fr Thomas, Fr Alexander here and Fr Andrew in the Junior School? And so it has been with generations of Priorians before you - Fr Bernard, Fr George and Fr Kevin to name but a few.The mention of Fr Kevin was perhaps a little unfortunate. A school building had been named after Fr Kevin Horsey, who died in 2006. It subsequently emerged that he had abused, and the building was renamed.
