According to the Guardian, un-named “associates of the cardinal” said that the former Archbishop of Westminster was made to remove sections concerning the convicted paedophile Fr Michael Hill. Cardinal Murphy-O’Connor faced calls for his resignation over his handing of the priest when he was Bishop of Arundel and Brighton. Despite being warned that Hill was a danger to young people he moved him to the chaplaincy at Gatwick airport.
The Guardian said the cardinal was made to cut a section defending the right to protect priests when they have erred, and replace it with “a lament about bishops’ failure to prioritise abuse victims over their priests”.
In another section that was cut the cardinal accused the church of not being prepared to root out systemic paedophilia, the Guardian said.
Robin Baird-Smith, the publishing director responsible for the cardinal’s book, told the Catholic Herald: “He did make certain excisions from the typescript which frankly, as his publisher, disappointed me a little. I’d like it to have been the best possible book, and found the excisions regrettable.”
One source told the Guardian: “A number of us, his friends, were asked to read the typescript in draft. I understand that pressure was put on the cardinal by Church authorities to excise sections of the chapter on Michael Hill along with other material in the book.”
According to the newspaper, the source claimed that the cardinal’s “official publicist at the church’s headquarters” insisted on reading the draft and making cuts. “He [Cardinal Murphy-O’Connor] is a senior prince of the church and he should have just gone ahead and ignored them,” the source said.
The Guardian said the cardinal’s publicist “refused to comment specifically on the allegations of censorship” but said: “The cardinal’s memoirs are his memoirs. It’s his work and he signed off on it.”
The paper says that when asked if church officials had applied pressure, Cardinal Murphy-O’Connor said: “I’d rather not answer that question. Everything I’ve written is what I wanted to write. Any help I got with writing the book was purely personal.”
Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’Connor’s press secretary told the Catholic Herald: “The Cardinal’s memoirs are his own personal story and his story alone. He is a free man and to talk of censorship of any part of his book is totally untrue.”
On being told of the remarks by the cardinal’s publisher she said: “In the writing of any book of this kind, there are always a series of drafts; the cardinal would like to make clear that his memoirs are his alone.”
Areas of Catholic Herald business are still recovering post-pandemic.
However, we are reaching out to the Catholic community and readership, that has been so loyal to the Catholic Herald. Please join us on our 135 year mission by supporting us.
We are raising £250,000 to safeguard the Herald as a world-leading voice in Catholic journalism and teaching.
We have been a bold and influential voice in the church since 1888, standing up for traditional Catholic culture and values. Please consider donating.