English bishop put people at risk by promoting sexual abusers, report says

By Simon Caldwell, OSV News

LIVERPOOL, England (OSV News) -- An English Catholic bishop put people at risk by promoting a priest with a history of grooming children as his cathedral dean and by cultivating an "inappropriate" friendship with a convicted pedophile, a report has said.

The 57-page report by the Catholic Safeguarding Standards Agency, the Catholic child protection agency of the Catholic Church in England and Wales, said Bishop Robert Byrne, an Oratorian, demonstrated leadership that was so "poor" that he undermined safeguarding professionals "to the degree that people were put at potential risk."

Bishop Byrne was appointed bishop of Hexham and Newcastle in northeastern England by Pope Francis in 2019 but resigned in December 2022 at age 66, nearly a decade before he reached the age canon law requires bishops to submit their resignation to the pope. He said the demands of his office were "too great a burden."

But the CSSA report published June 12, along with a separate Vatican inquiry that concluded in May, revealed that his term of office was blighted by major errors of judgment in his leadership.

The report was particularly critical of his appointment of Father Michael McCoy as dean of St. Mary's Cathedral in Newcastle, even though the priest had "displayed a clear pattern of grooming behavior over the years."

The CSSA said concerns were raised about Father McCoy in 1996, 2007 and 2010 because of his "inappropriate behavior with young people including the offer of foreign holidays and providing alcohol to them despite being underage."

Yet, Bishop Byrne brushed aside the warnings, demonstrating a "lack of understanding" of safeguarding or a "complete disregard for it," the report said.

In April 2021, Father McCoy took his own life, at age 57, when he learned he was being investigated by Northumbria Police's child and adult protection department over an old allegation of child abuse.

The report also criticized Bishop Byrne's friendship with a priest, who in 2014, was convicted of possessing hundreds of indecent images of children and for whom he tried to find work in his diocese.

The review said Bishop Byrne "evidently socialized" with the priest, described only as "Father A" because of reporting restrictions imposed ahead of new trial, spending time with him at the bishop's residence in the day and allowing him to stay overnight in his private quarters.

The report said: "We found no evidence to support Bishop Byrne's assertion that he was simply providing pastoral support to Father A."

"On Bishop Byrne's own account, he first sought permission to live with Father A as he personally felt isolated residing alone in Bishop's House," the report said.

Inquiries by safeguarding officers into the arrangements were not acknowledged by Bishop Byrne, it continued.

The bishop went on to attempt to employ Father A in the diocese's archives in 2019 and with an overseas charity in 2021, but both posts were blocked because of the priest's criminal record, the agency said.

The review found their association was "inappropriate" because it allowed Father A "unrestricted access" to a number of diocesan premises which "presented a serious safeguarding risk."

The report noted that the religious order to which Father A belonged applied to the Vatican in 2015 for his laicization.

The Vatican rejected the application, recommending instead that Father A do a year of penance and undergo a year of therapeutic care before he was returned to active ministry.

The provincial of the order would not allow Father A to return, however, after he was identified as an ongoing risk.

The report found that safeguarding procedures in the diocese met "minimum requirements."

The CSSA made 12 recommendations on how to address issues ranging from volunteers' safeguarding practices to whistleblowing policy in spite of Bishop Byrne's leadership and improve them.

Steve Ashley, CSSA chief executive, said in a June 12 press statement that "ultimately, a failure of leadership means a failure of safeguarding,"

"We will trust, we will support, and we will regulate, how they now turn things around," he added.

In a June 12 press statement, Nazir Afzal, CSSA chairman, said: "Our findings show that the actions of a few individuals have undermined the safeguarding work of many."

"There will be people in the local community today hard hit by our report. Protecting people in the future means telling difficult truths today," Afzal said."We thank those who told us about their personal experiences, which was an act of considerable courage. We thank the bravery of whistle-blowers."

"We thank the integrity of those in the diocese today who worked with us openly. Most importantly, we thank the families of those impacted, and survivors of church-related abuse generally, for their trust in us to do our work," said Afzal, a former top prosecutor appointed by the bishops' to lead the safeguarding agency in 2021.

Archbishop Malcolm McMahon of Liverpool, the apostolic administrator of the diocese, said the review was commissioned because "the diocese is deeply committed to the highest standards of safeguarding and takes a zero-tolerance approach to abuse."

At the time of his resignation, Bishop Byrne announced his intention to join the Oratorian Congregation in Oxford. He has not returned to the city, however, and is believed to be living in the south of England.