One of the real sad things about Pannone’s settlement in the case last week against the Salford Diocese is that because of the settlement there was no publicity and so St Bede’s College and the Salford Diocese did not get the hammering they deserved. But before I go any further let me correct a wrong that I should have corrected in last week’s blog posting. Pannone now of course do not exist, they went the way of most some weeks ago and are now part of the Slater & Gordon empire, however Pannone is still Pannone to Manchester watchers but let us hope their policy might change with the new name, but I doubt it.
Richard Scorer is now the National Senior Injury Manager (sounds ominously threatening) for Slater & Gordon.
Now for all I know the two lads who settled last week with the Salford Diocese must have needed the few bob they were offered but they were not helped by, according to lots of people, by the Pannone policy of getting to court quickly and getting out quickly, lengthening the action means a slower return on money and a crafty lawyer can soon persuade a nervous litigant when to cash in his chips.
Settlement it seems is what Pannone seek, look at their House Blog of 4th November 2009 where their Kim Harrison is positively crowing about the fact that they had just received a settlement of between £15,000 and 20,000 for a client who was abused by Fr William Green whilst a pupil at St Bede’s College. What is £15,000 – £20,000 for 30 years of trauma, Kim Harrison needs to understand a few things about trauma and how it fuck’s up one’s life and the trauma does not end on pay-day either, you carry it with you for the rest of your life, you under-achieve in your career, you find it impossible to commit to relationships, you often find no way out but suicide. £15,000 – £20,000 is peanuts for the damage caused. In America the judicial system have far more empathy for the abused and often pay out 50 times more to the victim. Why is an American far better treated than an Englishman?
On the day after the Bishop’s wankered apology of the 15th March 2011, Richard Scorer was interviewed by the Manchester Evening News, why I do not know because he had nothing to do with the process, they did not think of interviewing me, who had started and led the debate from its conception in February 2010. Keegan the arsehole ace cub reporter who took five months to write the 500 word article about the Bishop’s apology and his bigger arsehole editor ONeal, both Old Bedians, did not want to disparage Bede’s any more than it was, so they kept well away from Co Roscommon.
Scorer said in that interview “the danger is that once you have sat through hundreds of accounts, you can become case hardened. You have to remind yourself that empathy is all-important. I hope it is something I have always had”. I wonder whether three years later if there is any vestige of empathy left. He seemed even then in November 2010 to have no empathy for my case, when it took him 10 minutes to decide that I had no chance, but I think he regretted his hastiness afterwards.
He robotically said when asked if he had a personal grudge against the Catholic Church “No , not at all. I’m not a Catholic but I married one”. It’s one of his stocks, he said the same to me.
In the MEN interview he went on to say when accused of being an ambulance chasing lawyer “for most of our clients it’s not about money. For instance, if the Catholic Church had held its hands up and said ‘we’re sorry’ the victims would have been satisfied. Fundamentally they wanted acknowledgement from the Church that they were wrong. The amounts paid out in these cases aren’t enough, unlike the US where you get very big awards because they are made by juries. Here awards are made by judges under the rules of normal personal injury cases. They do not seek to punish the wrongdoer, but to put the victim in the financial position they would be without the abuse. Because so many victims have spent their early lives in the care system, the Church has argued that as adults, they would not have amounted to much anyway. I try to get the best settlement possible and ensure part of that goes towards paying for therapy. Some never get over the abuse but others go on to live a happy and fulfilled life”. I would like to know how he knows that? Is he sitting in the heads of all his clients? Why does he sit back and allow the system to set the pace? Why is he not out there fighting for change?
Any way I do not think that he thought those words of his through at all, because only five months earlier he had dismissed my case saying it was not worth running with because the victims were all well educated and suffered no loss and therefore receive no compensation off a judge. Whereas a competant lawyer would argue with no difficulty that no matter what station in life you attain, your trauma would have lowered your eventual level of success. To me Scorer tries to say all the right things which have been said often by others before him. It is like his new book, it contains all the right ideas that have been used by others before him but nothing new, nothing to cause a spark, no new thinking. So why write the book?
Let us start to ask why is an abused American worth 50 times more than an abused Englishman and why is the Catholic Church not punished severely for the damage they have caused? These are the two questions I would like answering over the next short while.
To Paul Malpas:
God preserve us from shyster lawyers, eh?
I fear the only way a current Bedian parent will get to hear about this out of court settlement will be by reading this blog.
But, then again, Pannone (now Slater Gordon) bragged a few years back about the level of compo they ‘won’ for Billy Green’s victims at Bede’s, so they might publicise the award levels, in order to attract new clients (step forward Cyril Smith’s victims, already some of whom have been signed up by our intrepid Mancunian lawyers).
Knowing Bede’s and the Salford Diocese, I’d suspect part of the agreement may have been to keep the details secret. Certainly this matter will be mentioned at the Hallowed Sanctum only under pain of death. Rather, a la Newspeak and 1984, it will be airbrushed from the College’s history, as if it never happened.
Somehow I can’t see AO Advocates in London being anywhere as near obliging as Pannone, I think they give the impression of being vertebrate, rather than the opposite kind.
The main course awaits….
Paul,
As always you have hit the proverbial nail smack on the head. However my campaign to rise the levels of compensation to a more realistic level goes on. It is my main aim for the year.
Paul,
We can only judge people by what they do, not by what they say.
That’s why my opinion of my Alma Mater’s current behaviour and that of the Salford Diocese concurs with yours.
For them to even pretend that they have acted with any shred of decency and honour in the matter of child abuse is stretching credulity even further than any shyster lawyer could manage. Let’s hope that finally the truth will catch up with them.
The truth will come out in the end. The bodies that are preventing the truth from coming out may have won this battle but I don’t think they will win the war.
Keep up the good work.
Jon.
The outcome you describe is disappointing but hardly surprising. As I have previously pointed out, the Catholic Church puts its canon law far above any secular laws, even the criminal law. Canon Law states that the Catholic Church must avoid scandal at all costs. Its standard response to clerical misbehaviour, therefore, is to cover it up, no matter how criminal the behaviour is.
Another example of this sort of behaviour has cropped up over the last few days. Some months ago, Pope Francis published a questionnaire, aimed at all Catholics, inviting their views on the church’s teachings on (amongst other things) the family, contraception, unmarried partnerships and gay marriage. The views of catholics in England and Wales have now been collated and, guess what? The bishops in England and Wales have declined to publish the results. You’ve got to ask the question, why conduct a survey asking for peoples views and then fail to tell us the findings?
Figuring out the reason for this isn’t rocket science. I’m guessing that the majority view in England and Wales was not what the Catholic Church wanted to hear. So the same knee jerk reaction….cover up. When the same survey was carried out at the same time in Germany, some bishops did have the courage to publish their findings. They got into trouble for it but the results were clear. The majority of catholics expressed views that the church did not want to hear.
I think Pope Francis’ heart is in the right place. He has recently very publicly apologised for clerical crimes in the past. He has appointed a Maltese bishop to thoroughly investigate the misbehaviour of Keith O’Brian. But he has an uphill battle. JP2 swept child abuse allegations under the carpet. The Curia hounded Benny into early retirement when he tried to address the issue. Frankie is convening an extraordinary synod of bishops at the end of this year to consider the results of the survey. No doubt child abuse issues will also be considered. But reforming an arrogant institution such as the Catholic Church will be an uphill struggle. I’m not holding my breath on any significant outcome.
A very thorough explanation of the status quo, I would however like to take you up on two points in your last paragraph.Pope Francis I donot think has a heart, he is being tried in Brussels at the moment at the International Common Law Court of Justice at a tribunal into crimes of Church and State.
Benedict was not hounded out by the Curia but by this same court who early last year found him guilty of murder.
I take your point but if you’re referring to the activities of the ITCCS, there is more than one view about it. It seems to be based in Canada rather than Brussels and its status seems to be little more than a one man blog. I’m sure you’ll correct me if I’m wrong.
http://rationalwiki.org/wiki/International_Tribunal_into_Crimes_of_Church_and_State
It was founded in Dublin and is in 20 odd countries round the world so it is not insubstantial and certainly not one man’s blog
I’ve had a good look around the net at this organisation. It claims to be in 26 countries and it lists these countries on its web site. But curiously, I can find no list of people who run this international outfit. Only one name, Kevin D. Annett,crops up. That is what leads me to conclude that this organisation is likely to be a one man blog rather than being anything more substantial. What is certainly clear is that it has been less than effective in implementing any of its “international arrest warrants” and I can’t find any account of its activities in the mainstream news media. All smoke and mirrors perhaps?
I’m not convinced anyway.
Dear Old Bedian,as everybody knows by now you will find nothing in mainstream media unless the powers that be want it there. This kind of news is detrimental to these powers and therefore not in the papers and not on the television.
While I appreciate your incisive comments on my blog about Bedian abuse, sometimes you have to look at the bigger picture and that is only portrayed in the alternative media.
One of the largest chroniclers on the net is the-tapblogspot which is read by millions. Today the 18th April 2014 The Tap leads off with the substantive evidence brought out this week in Brussels at the International Court of Common Law where the present Pope, the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Head of the Jesuit Order are being tried for murder. Witnesses are lining up giving their evidence against these three men, so it is not a one man blog as Old Bedian chooses to think.
The Tap could not afford to sully its name by publishing the ridiculous and so Old Bedian, who once told me he was the oldest Old Bedian of all, open your mind, let in the light, you are nearly there with your views on the Church. Better still read my blog posting of today’s date and I will hopefully bring you further than you have ever gone before. But also read the Tap
When I read recently that Pannone had been taken over by the Slater and Gordon mob I realised that Pannone had sold out their clients. S&G have a notorious and appalling reputation in Australia for defending crooked Union Bosses and their cohorts against all comers. The sacked former Australian Prime Minister, one Julia Gillard (a bi-sexual, life long Communist and Marxist, and even worse born in Wales to Communist parents) had been sacked before by S&G while working for them as a so-called union lawyer. She got too close to a Union Boss (and I mean close as in “coupling” close)and an awful lot of missing Union money. Another Union Boss stole a staggering 20 million dollars (12 Million pounds) of Union members hard earned money,but through a plea bargain he admitted to only One Million stolen and in now in Jail. The other 19 million is still missing. As stated Paul, I think the AO way is the way to go. I feel the two men in Manchester were ‘dudded’ by their lawyers.
http://rationalwiki.org/wiki/International_Tribunal_into_Crimes_of_Church_and_State
Perhaps worth a read. A law student I had to deal with a myriad of different international courts but that was not one I had heard of before today.
I do not read wiki anything because it can be corrupted by anybody with this court in my blog if you read the links there are many lawyers involved.
(Side note, the inability to edit posts when you notice a typo is really vexing).
Just tell me and I will edit the typos, things are happening that fast I have not time to re-read properly. I apologise if I vex.
There are lawyers involved with any number of institutions – it doesn’t mean that they are internationally recognised (which that court is certainly not) or above the laws on libel etc for that matter.
No, sorry, I was referring to my own post, which should of course have read “As a law student…”. It wasn’t a jibe at you – just at the software that hosts this blog.
What a complete tit. If you accidentally drove off a cliff I wouldn’t give a shit. Get your facts straight before publishing them.
I’m sorry to have upset you Royal Tenenbaum. Could you please tell mee which facts I got wrong so that I can correct them.
Stunning analysis from the royal tenenbaum… I feel enriched and rewarded by his thoughtful contribution. I don’t think he left anything out.. A man like that has the ability to change the world… Now where did i leave that absinth…
http://itccs.org/
Well he certainly gave me a laugh this afternoon – apparently the Papacy was abolished yesterday – who knew?
Slowly but surely. The Roman empire was not put down in a day
Hi Paul,
I went to school with your brother Kevin, and my brother went to Bedes and of course was ordained into Salford Diocese having been taught by Tommy Duggan.
I really appreciate what you have done to bring the unacceptable face of clerical Abuse including paedophilia out of the cupboard and into the light however shrouded by the mantle of out of court settlements.
I need some help to do a similar thing.
Can you email me?
Regards
Paedraig