Forgive the paedophile priests, says archbishop

A Roman Catholic archbishop asked the victims of paedophile priests to forgive their abusers yesterday.

The Most Rev Vincent Nicholls, Archbishop of Birmingham, said there had been more cases of sex abuse involving priests in the Birmingham archdiocese than in any other in England or Wales.

At a Mass, the archbishop said: "These actions of our fellow priests are a cause of deep sorrow and shame for us all. We ask pardon of all who have been traumatised and scandalised by these failures."

Archbishop Nicholls has agreed to meet victims of abuse at a private meeting next month, including some of those who are planning to sue the church over their abuse by Father Eric Taylor. Taylor is serving a prison sentence for serious sexual offences against children in Father Hudson's Homes, a Catholic charity in Warwickshire.