tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6518202135348193859.post6107381142249732056..comments2024-01-25T09:28:56.610+00:00Comments on Confessions of a skeptic: Explanation incompleteJonathan Westhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00527063732905729010noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6518202135348193859.post-39316846694172471632012-02-05T18:58:21.595+00:002012-02-05T18:58:21.595+00:00I'm appalled but not surprised. It was openly ...I'm appalled but not surprised. It was openly endemic at Downside in the 1970's..I've not seen the name of the most notorious monk surface yet.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6518202135348193859.post-68447573782328034692012-01-10T16:34:59.305+00:002012-01-10T16:34:59.305+00:00The article in yesterday's Times said:
"...The article in yesterday's Times said:<br /><br />"Father Aidan Bellenger, Abbot of Downside, wrote to former pupils last week apologising for White's actions but did not mention the sanctions against the other two priests".<br /><br />This is reminiscent of Abbot Martin Shipperlee's various "Letters to Parents" at St Benedict's in which he sought to underplay the seriousness of what had happened by leaving out important information.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6518202135348193859.post-62349953886698966632012-01-10T10:16:45.364+00:002012-01-10T10:16:45.364+00:00When one perpetrator is discovered in a school, th...When one perpetrator is discovered in a school, there are very often more. Two examples are St Benedict’s and Downside and in the same schools franchise, Ampleforth. This is because perpetrators operate more efficiently and safely in numbers. They look out for each other and have a much better chance of hearing rumours of their suspected predilections.<br /> <br />When a perpetrator receives a 'soft' unreferred departure, the paedophile’s 'welcome' sign is placed on the school gates. Why do schools fail to refer? Because weak governors, most of whom are ‘connected’ with the school and therefore suffer 'groupthink,' cannot bring themselves to see such a scandal visit the school on their watch. They believe the reputation of the school will be damaged, and they mistakenly argue, it is ‘just one pupil and one perpetrator.' They then discover the ‘deal clincher’ which justifies non referral and which follows a conversation with one of the big educational solicitors - there is no mandatory requirement to report actual or alleged abuse to LADO, police or SSD. <br /><br />The self congratulation is overwhelming. The governors have “saved the institution from scandal.” What great people. But, as usual the allegedly abused child in all this is forgotten just as Alastair Rolfe was forgotten in the documentary “Chosen.” <br /><br />But the governors have made a dreadful error. And so uneducated are they on this subject that they are completely unaware of its scale and what will very likely now happen. <br /><br />The remaining perpetrators at the school are empowered by the actions of the Chairman. They will be calling acquaintances they know who share their predilections, informing them of the vacancy at the school. The odd quiet word in the ear of the recruitment team to say what a good candidate ‘X’ is, and so forth. The school’s perpetrators have seen a soft departure of a colleague who they knew was an abuser, and this provides them with huge power of precedent (blackmail) in the unlikely event they are caught. They can even increase the risks they take to abuse because they know a ‘soft departure’ is now guaranteed. <br /> <br />The Chairman of Governors has effectively destroyed safeguarding at the school. It will potentially take years to recover. St Benedict’s and Downside are two examples. But there are many other independent schools which have operated in a similarly weak and dishonest ways. <br /><br />Perpetrators shoal around ‘perpetrator friendly’ settings for very obvious reasons. If a perpetrator is considering a school at which s/he does not know anyone, the first port of call is the safeguarding policy on the school’s website. The first thing they look for in the policy is whether there is an unequivocal <b>written undertaking</b> to refer <b>ALL</b> allegations of abuse to the LADO? If this is present and the rest of the policy is clearly robust, the perpetrator will likely go elsewhere – there are plenty of easier places to be and these presently include St Benedict’s and Downside among others. Both schools have a history of concealed departures and neither currently undertakes to refer all allegations to the LADO.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com