The British view

Even if nothing so apocalyptic comes about, Portland archdiocese is going to have to get used to operating with non-Catholic supervision. That has been, in fact, one of the recurrent themes of the American Church’s crisis. Bishops have been forced to relinquish their authority and autonomy bit by bit – first to the National Review Board, which was set up at the 2002 Dallas bishops’ meeting to supervise the implementation of new sex-abuse guidelines; then by agreements with district attorneys to avoid criminal prosecution; and now to the bankruptcy courts over the management of their financial affairs.

But Portland’s decision has also exposed the failings of mass tort law. Kevin Mannix, a Catholic lawyer and politician who in 1991 wrote an Oregon state law which made it much easier for adults to sue for sexual abuse endured as children, is horrified by what has happened. “Should the Church sell a third of its property in the state”, he wonders, “to pay two people for abuse that occurred 20 years ago by a priest who is now dead?”

It seems absurd. And yet, if the claims are correct, for 30 years the archdiocese of Portland committed its minors into the care of Maurice Grammond, knowing, surely, that he would to do to them what he had done so often before. One of those minors, James Devereaux, remains, not unnaturally, a bitter enemy.

The question is, can tort law be applied in such a way as to satisfy his craving for justice while at the same time ensuring that dioceses such as Portland remain in business? It is not a conundrum likely to find an exit soon. And in the meantime, there is still the comic opera policeman’s question – “’oo, exactly, is in charge around ’ere?” – to be answered.