Keep Your Child Safe: Don't Go to Church

Third altar boy claims abuse by priest

by Steve Chilton
ANOTHER former altar boy at one of Coventry's Roman Catholic churches is claiming he was sexually abused by disgraced priest Christopher Clonan.

Now aged 33 and living in Warwickshire, he is suing the archdiocese for up to £150,000 damages.

He maintains he was abused over a period of about five years from 1986.

His lawyers claim: "He suffered psychiatric difficulties as a result of repeated forceful homosexual acts by Father Christopher Clonan at Christ the King Church."

The High Court action is the latest claim arising from Fr Clonan's 20-year tenure as assistant parish priest at the church in Westhill Road, Coundon.

In 2005, the diocese paid out £700,000 in compensation to another former altar boy, known as Mr A, now aged 37, who had been abused by Fr Clonan.

The previous year, it paid £330,000 to Simon Grey, now 40, who was also an altar boy at the church and had suffered abuse at the hands of Fr Clonan.

The latest alleged victim is represented by lawyers Clifton Ingram, who are bringing the action against the archdiocese and the Bishop of Birmingham.

They acted for the other altar boys, successfully claiming that the Church had been negligent in its duty of care towards them because it should have been aware of Fr Clonan's activities.


They maintained that Fr Clonan's immediate superior - Fr Michael McTernan - at the Coundon church had been alerted to his [Clonan's] activities when complaints had been made about him as early as 1974, but had not acted upon the information.

The latest claimant's case is centred on the same principle.

Arrest warrant arrived too late

* The priest fled the city in 1992 as police launched an investigation into claims made by Mr A.

* He lived secretly in Australia under the name Christie Oliver, where he died six years later in 1998 at the age of 56.

* Although Fr Clonan was never brought to court, the Birmingham Archdiocese, which covers Coventry, has accepted he abused children.

* Police in Coventry travelled to Australia with a warrant for his arrest in 2000, only to discover he had died two years earlier of a brain haemorrhage.

* Although police are satisfied that Fr Clonan died in Australia, they were not able to confirm it through forensic evidence.

* Tissue samples taken from the body at the autopsy had not been preserved well enough for DNA matching.

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