PRESS STATEMENT FROM BUCKFAST ABBEY ABOUT ALLEGATIONS MADE IN THE MEDIA ON 28/10/11

On 17^th June 2010, Chris Jarvis (Safeguarding Coordinator of Plymouth Diocese) reported to the Safeguarding Commission of Buckfast Abbey that a man had approached the Plymouth Diocesan Safeguarding Office with an allegation that he had been abused by Desmond Stewart in the 1950s. At that time Desmond Stewart had been a monk at Buckfast Abbey under the name of Fr. Edmund Stewart. Fr. Stewart had not been resident at Buckfast since 1962 and died in 1979.

Chris Jarvis told Buckfast Abbey that the person did not wish to approach Buckfast Abbey directly and offered the services of the Plymouth Diocesan Safeguarding team in finding a way to help him.

This led to an investigation by Mr Jarvis funded by the Abbey who cooperated fully with the process. In December 2010 Mr Jarvis stood down from his post and it was agreed by all concerned that the matter should be taken forward by an independent advisor from the NSPCC who is a member of both the Plymouth Commission and the Buckfast Abbey Commission. (It is standard practice for RC Safeguarding Commissions to have three independent members from backgrounds in the Police, Social Services and Probation Services.)  

Once the report was completed a dialogue was entered into with the man who had made the allegation in order to seek ways to help him.

In early April 2011 members of the family met with the Abbot of Buckfast and members of the Safeguarding Commission. The meeting was presided over by the independent advisor who had completed the report and lasted for 3 hours. It was conducted in a positive and cordial manner and it was understood that the person making the allegation would feel free to approach Buckfast Abbey with suggestions for ways in which he could be helped to find closure.

As is often the case, the media reporting over this matter is full of inaccuracies and half-truths. The Abbot and Community at Buckfast  would like to reassure all those interested that we take safeguarding issues very seriously indeed and that our Safeguarding Commission, which has been in place for ten years now, is recognised as competent and committed to the protection of children and vulnerable adults by the relevant statutory authorities, independent of the Church.

STATEMENT ENDS