*** DEBUG START ***
*** DEBUG END ***

RC bishop’s association with sex offender put people at risk, review concludes

13 June 2023

Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales

The former Roman Catholic Bishop of Hexham & Newcastle, the Rt Revd Robert Byrne, in 2021

The former Roman Catholic Bishop of Hexham & Newcastle, the Rt Revd Robert Byrne, in 2021

THE “serious failures of leadership” of the now former Roman Catholic Bishop of Hexham & Newcastle, the Rt Revd Robert Byrne, put people at risk during his short tenure, a safeguarding review of the diocese has concluded.

The review by the Catholic Safeguarding Standards Agency was commissioned by the Apostolic Administrator, Archbishop Malcolm McMahon, and published on Monday. It analysed safeguarding files and plans, interviewed survivors and key staff, and reviewed policies, procedures, and meetings.

The review concludes that, while current safeguarding practice in the diocese met “minimum standards”, “the level of poor leadership demonstrated by the Diocesan Bishop in recent years, in relation to safeguarding, has served to undermine the work of both trustees and safeguarding professionals to the degree that people were put at potential risk.

“It is essential that when considering the overall picture of safeguarding in Hexham and Newcastle full account is taken of those failures in leadership.”

Bishop Byrne resigned unexpectedly in December, saying that the See had become “too great a burden”.

The review continues: “CSSA found serious failures of leadership. These failures included poor decision-making, inappropriate associations, and ignoring professional safeguarding advice. These failures relate specifically to the tenure of Bishop Byrne.”

This centred around the appointment by Bishop Byrne of Canon Michael McCoy as Dean of St Mary’s Cathedral — who had been the subject of a number of safeguarding concerns between 1996 and 2010 — and Bishop Byrne’s association with a registered sex offender, named in the review as Father A. He is a priest in a religious order not associated with the diocese.

The review states that, while it could not pass judgement on the probability of criminal offending by Canon McCoy, he had “displayed a clear pattern of grooming behaviour over the years. There was an abundance of warning signals which should have given rise to more stringent safeguarding measures, and that the Diocese missed opportunities to intervene to prevent or ameliorate harm.”

The appointment “undermined all of those that had advised Bishop Byrne against the appointment. In the opinion of the CSSA this showed a lack of understanding of safeguarding, or a complete disregard for it.”

On Bishop Byrne’s association with Fr A — anonymised in the review for legal reasons — the CSSA states: “Father A evidently socialised with Bishop Byrne, spent time at Bishop’s house during the day and overnight, spent time in the private quarters of St Mary’s Cathedral, and was recommended by Bishop Byrne for employment.”

This included his recommending Fr A to a post at an overseas charity in May 2021.

Bishop Byrne told reviewers that the association was pastoral, that he had provided “spiritual support during difficult times”, and that this had been “infrequent”. Bishop Byrne also asserted that he had not known of Canon McCoy’s safeguarding history before appointing him to the cathedral; but the reviewers concluded that this “does not stand up to scrutiny”.

Of the general safeguarding in the diocese, the review finds that, while adequate, several areas require improvement. These are listed in 12 recommendations, ranging from volunteers’ safeguarding practice to whistle-blowing policy.

It concludes: “Work is already being undertaken to improve and balance governance structures and tackle issues raised during the review. The diocese has been open and transparent . . . and new leadership is demonstrating a commitment to continuous improvement.

“The Diocese should act urgently and communicate to survivors, the communities of the Catholic Church and the wider public how they will implement our recommendations to strengthen safeguarding and protect the vulnerable.”

Browse Church and Charity jobs on the Church Times jobsite

Forthcoming Events

Women Mystics: Female Theologians through Christian History

13 January - 19 May 2025

An online evening lecture series, run jointly by Sarum College and The Church Times

tickets available

 

Festival of Faith and Literature

28 February - 2 March 2025

tickets available

 

Visit our Events page for upcoming and past events 

Welcome to the Church Times

 

To explore the Church Times website fully, please sign in or subscribe.

Non-subscribers can read four articles for free each month. (You will need to register.)