Monks cruel to child sexual abuse victims - review
Victims of child sexual abuse were treated in a heartless, hostile and cruel way by monks on a remote island, a safeguarding review has found.
One survivor said the way she had been treated since her time on Caldey Island, off Pembrokeshire, has made the effects of the abuse "a million times worse".
The review said frequent allegations of abuse had been made but not followed up on or reported to police, and the lack of challenge had enabled a monk to abuse children over four decades "in plain sight".
Caldey Abbey commissioned the report, and its new abbot apologised for the pain and suffering caused.
Rebecca lived on Caldey Island for the first five and a half years of her life.
Between the late 1960s until 1992, a resident monk, Father Thaddeus Kotik, sexually abused children who lived and visited the island, a review said.
Rebecca is one of 16 survivors who have shared their stories with consultant social worker Jan Pickles, who was commissioned by the abbey to write the review.
Kotik would groom Rebecca and other children with the promise of sweets, chocolate and other gifts.
He would then abuse them.
"I tried to get away, but I couldn’t," Rebecca said.
"His hands were really rough and he was holding me too tightly. It hurt."
What and where is Caldey Island?
The island and all the property on it are off the coast of the popular seaside resort of Tenby in south-west Wales.
Caldey is owned by a group of Cistercian monks and tens of thousands of tourists visit each year.
As well as the monks, there are lay people who live and work there.
The abuse continued throughout her time on Caldey and the effects have lasted a lifetime, Rebecca said.
As a teenager, she had feelings of self-hatred and worthlessness, and could not make friends.
Her feelings led her to self-harm and even several suicide attempts.
"I don't know how I survived, it was terrible," she said.
As an adult it has affected her ability to work and trust people.
Had it not been for her husband, she said, she "probably wouldn’t be here".
Rebecca was one of six women to receive a "meagre" amount of compensation from the abbey in a civil claim in 2017, but it came without an apology.
She said it had felt like "hush money".
"The many cover-ups over the years have made the effects of the abuse a million times worse," Rebecca added.
"I felt re-victimised over and over again by the way we were all treated.
"You go back to feeling [like] that victim when you were a young child, helpless."
Report author Jan Pickles said the abbey had responded in a "heartless way" to victims who were "very vulnerable and very damaged" by what had happened "at the hands of a monk, part of its community".
Rebecca said the review had "done justice to her truth" and the abbot's apology was better than nothing but had come too late.
She said: "Learning that the abuse went back as far as the 1960s makes me feel even more angry and upset, because how many times could they have done something about it?
"I don’t think they’re men of God.
"They never have been, they don’t answer to anyone. It’s hypocrisy in the worst way. They’re living a lie."
Find the rest of the article here
Showing 1 comment