Cardinal Murphy-O'Connor's role.

Cardinal Murphy-O'Connor's role.

Cardinal faces inquiry over abuse priest By Sean O'Neill (Filed: 23/09/2002) Police are investigating claims that Cardinal Cormac Murphy O'Connor, head of the Roman Catholic Church in England and Wales, hampered the prosecution of a paedophile priest. Cardinal Cormac Murphy O'Connor The inquiry is concentrating on the period when the cardinal was Bishop of Arundel and Brighton between 1977 and 2000 and one of his priests faced a series of child abuse accusations. The priest, who cannot be named because he faces trial on charges of abuse, was moved to a different post after allegations were made to Cardinal Murphy-O'Connor. He was removed from the diocese at a later stage but reinstated in a chaplaincy role, during which he again abused a child. The priest was jailed for five years in 1997 but has since been freed and charged with new offences. The inquiry into the role of the cardinal, who was appointed Archbishop of Westminster in 2000, began after a victim of the priest went to Sussex police. A police spokesman said: "Following the charging of a priest who formerly worked in the diocese of Arundel and Brighton, Sussex police and the Crown Prosecution Service are looking at any issues raised." The CPS confirmed that lawyers had been consulted by detectives over Cardinal Murphy-O'Connor's role. "Police have asked us for advice during their investigation and we have given it," said a CPS spokesman. "We cannot say what advice was asked for or given. At the moment we have not received a file from the police and we may not receive one." A spokesman for the Archdiocese of Westminster said there had been no police request to interview the cardinal. He said: "We have absolutely no knowledge of any inquiry and have never had any contact with the police in that or any other connection."