Archbishop ‘ashamed’ after claims of abuse at children’s homes run by nuns

Archbishop Mario Conti said he had been “blindly satisfied” in the past that youngsters were being properly cared for at Nazareth House in Aberdeen, the city where he became a bishop in 1977.

The 84-year-old clergyman expressed his “pain and sorrow” to those who have suffered mistreatment and later issued a statement saying he stands with “all those who have been abused”.

And the former church leader – who has faced criticism from some survivors for past comments about the allegations – asked for their forgiveness “if they feel I was insensitive to their pain”.

The Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry was also told he believes allegations of a cover-up by the Catholic Church are unfair.

Over the last eight weeks, the probe has been looking specifically at the now-defunct children’s homes run by the Catholic congregation the Sisters of Nazareth in Scotland, including one in Aberdeen.

The inquiry has been told of a string of alleged abuses by nuns at those institutions decades ago.

On Tuesday, the probe was shown a BBC documentary from 1998 on the allegations of Nazareth House survivors.

Archbishop Conti said he was “horrified” by some of the claims.

He told the inquiry: “I am deeply ashamed of what has been revealed and I express my pain and sorrow to those who were abused.

“Clearly all we are doing (in the inquiry) is an attempt to get to the truth and provide an opportunity…