"We?would also like to once again?offer our heartfelt apology to anyone who suffered abuse while?in the care of our schools, parishes or other ministries," it said in a statement. Downside didn't immediately comment.
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The schools, linked to the English Benedictine Congregation, were run at times by "secretive, evasive and suspicious" officials who avoided reporting misconduct, Jay said.
Instead of informing authorities, church leaders confined suspected abusers to the abbey or sent them away to other locations where a history of predatory behavior wasn't always disclosed ¿ and children were abused as a consequence, the report said.
"For decades Ampleforth and Downside tried to avoid giving any information about child sexual abuse to police and social services," Jay said. "Instead, monks in both institutions were very often secretive, evasive and suspicious of anyone outside the English Benedictine Congregation. Safeguarding children was less important than the reputation of the church and the wellbeing of the abusive monks."
Though the allegations stretched back to the 1960s, recent incidents cast doubt on whether church officials had gotten the message about reporting such activity to the police and social services. The report followed several weeks of evidence delivered to the inquiry last year. The inquiry was organised following the 2011 death of entertainer Jimmy Savile, after which dozens came forward to say he had abused them. Subsequent revelations have implicated entertainers, clergy and senior politicians The church is one of 13 institutions being scrutinized by the inquiry for child protection failings.
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