"It is a most bitter, and distressing and shameful thing that in this former Abbey school there were a small number of baptised, consecrated, ordained Christian men, who physically or sexually abused those in their charge," the bishop said during a visit to the Fort Augustus Abbey School.

The bishop said he was "anxious that there be a thorough police investigation".

Five men earlier came forward to say they were raped or sexually abused by Father Aidan Duggan, an Australian Benedictine monk who taught at Fort Augustus and Carlekemp, a feeder school in East Lothian, between 1953 and 1974.

The Catholic Church initially said it was up to the Benedictine monks who ran the order to deal with the allegations.

Father Aidan Duggan is now dead.

The other, Father Denis Chrysostom Alexander, has been stripped of his priestly duties pending an investigation into the claims.

The UK's highest Benedictine monk, Dom Richard Yeo, has also apologised for the abuse.

Sources

ABC/Yahoo News

The Herald Scotland

BBC

Image: BBC

The Congregation of the Sons of the Most Holy Redeemer, based on a tiny windswept island in the Orkney Isles, Scotland, was formerly part of the breakaway Society of St Pius X.

In a formal ceremony on the island of Papa Stronsay, the group's superior, Father Michael Mary, FSSR, expressed gratitude to "the Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI, to Bishop Hugh [Gilbert] of Aberdeen and Bishop Barry [Jones] of Christchurch for their mercy and kindness towards us".

Three brothers of the traditionalist group are in the Christchurch community, which was established in 2007. There is also one in the Philippines.

The community on Papa Stronsay — a name which means "Priests' Island of Stronsay" — made a public profession of vows before Bishop Gilbert during the ceremony of canonical recognition.

The Sons of the Most Holy Redeemer was founded in 1988 — with the blessing of Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre of the Society of St Pius X — on the Isle of Sheppey in England. The community moved to France in 1994, then purchased Papa Stronsay for its home in 1999.

In its remote and austere location, the order produces electricity with a diesel generator, pumps water from wells, and heats its buildings and water with kerosene burners. It also maintains a website and its superior is on the social networking site LinkedIn.

The journey to the island from the mainland usually requires two ferry trips, followed by another five-minute crossing on the monastery's boat.

The traditionalist group's reconciliation with the Catholic Church followed Pope Benedict's issuing of "Summorum Pontificum", a papal decree that allowed traditional Latin rites to be more widely used within the Church.

Sources

Catholic News Agency

Transalpine Redemptorists

Image: Transalpine Redemptorists

Bishop Hugh Gilbert of Aberdeen questioned why equality would not extend to "nieces who genuinely, truly love their uncles" and why men could not have two wives.

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