THE NAZARETH HOUSE SCANDALS/1

Nuns named in claims

Nazareth House in Aberdeen Fifty nuns have been named in more than 400 compensation claims from former residents of Nazareth House homes in Aberdeen and Midlothian. The cases have been formally lodged at the Court of Session following the conviction last month of Sister Marie Docherty on four charges of cruel and unnatural treatment. A total of 420 men and women allege they were abused while children in care at the homes between the 1940s and 1970s. Marie Docherty: Admonished Their lawyer, Glasgow-based Cameron Fyfe, expects the first of 11 test cases to be heard late next summer against the Sisters of Nazareth, the Roman Catholic order of nuns which ran the homes. The order could end up having to pay out millions of pounds if the claims are successful. Mr Fyfe said some of the 50 nuns named in the claims faced being sued individually and action could be taken against at least four local authorities in Scotland if it can be proved they failed to monitor adequately the care of children they sent to the homes. Sister Marie Docherty was found guilty of four charges of cruel behaviour towards girls in her care at the homes during the 1960s and 1970s. Sheriff Colin Harris decided that, because of her age and heart condition, a custodial sentence was not appropriate. Instead, he admonished her, provoking an angry reaction from the former residents she had been convicted of ill-treating. Police 'bungled' Nazareth abuse case Mr Currie alleges he was abused at Nazareth House A man who claims he was sexually-abused at the Nazareth House children's home in Aberdeen has accused Grampian Police of bungling their investigation. The force told Joseph Currie three years ago they could not proceed with a criminal investigation because his alleged abuser was dead. However, Mr Currie said he has now been told he was alive until earlier this year. Police have promised an urgent inquiry. Joseph Currie claims that in the 1960s he was physically and sexually abused by a male helper at Nazareth House. Joseph Currie: Claims police told him the man was dead He made a detailed complaint to Grampian Police in 1997. He said the police then told him the man was dead. Mr Currie was in Aberdeen on Thursday to witness the sentencing of disgraced Nazareth House nun Marie Docherty. She had been found guilty of four charges of cruel behaviour towards girls in her care at two homes in Midlothian and Aberdeen during the 1960s and 1970s. Sister Marie escaped jail on Thursday when Sheriff Colin Harris decided that, because of her age and heart condition, a custodial sentence was not appropriate. Mr Currie was surprised to be told by former residents of the Aberdeen home that his alleged abuser only died in May this year. 'Holiday' outcry Helen Howie was a helper at Nazareth House in Aberdeen for 50 years until she retired in 1995. She has confirmed the man Joseph Currie has named to BBC Scotland was a voluntary helper at the home. Marie Docherty: Admonished Grampian Police have promised to urgently investigate Mr Currie's complaint. A spokesman said officers received information in good faith at the time of the original investigation. The Roman Catholic Church was forced on Friday to retract a statement that Sister Marie was to be sent on holiday to the United States. A spokesman for the Bishop of Aberdeen had indicated on Friday morning that she was going abroad for three months to "rest and recover". The holiday announcement provoked an outcry from her victims and was retracted on Friday afternoon by a church spokesman who said it was a "misunderstanding". She will, instead, be recuperating at Nazareth House in Aberdeen. Nun denies home was 'like a prison' A nun accused of cruelty has denied that a children's home was run like a prison. Marie Docherty said the Nazareth House home in Midlothian was the exact opposite. On her third day of evidence, she told Aberdeen Sheriff Court it had been an open house for neighbours and friends of the children. The nun also denied an earlier claim from an alleged victim that she had been a schemer and a manipulator - and told of the strain the case had placed on her. The accused, who was known as Sister Alphonso but now prefers Sister Marie, denies 21 charges of cruelty towards children over a 15-year period at Nazareth House homes in Aberdeen and Midlothian. The charges Marie Docherty faces 21 charges, all of which are denied The charges date from 1965 to 1980 They include - forcing girls to kiss dead nuns Punching, slapping and kicking girls Forcing girls to wear soiled underwear Giving evidence on Friday, she rejected allegations that she had gone into raging moods. Docherty said she had shown affection towards the girls in her care and would kiss and cuddle the younger children. But she never wanted to take the place of their parents, she told the court. She did admit to sometimes tapping girls on the head with a hairbrush when she was brushing their hair and punishing one girl who had run away from the home by not talking to her all day. The accused has also told the trial of the strain she has been under since she was first charged. Marie Docherty: Facing a series of charges She said the worst part had been when she was suspended from her job working with elderly people at a home in Aberdeen. The old people had been her life and they had been very upset, she said. Families of residents at the Nazareth House home for the elderly in Aberdeen had wanted to wage a campaign in her support, but she had asked them not to do so. After the start of her trial she was diagnosed with a heart condition. Asked by her counsel what she would like to do after the trial, Docherty broke down briefly and replied she would like to go back to working with elderly people. She said she would like to stay in Aberdeen, but admitted she had lost a lot of her confidence.