Crispian Hollis - Controversy

Controversy

Hollis has been criticised for his toleration of brothels. He supported Barack Obama's candidacy for President of the United States in 2008.

In November 2011, the High Court ruled that Roman Catholic bishops were vicariously liable for the torts committed by priests who held ecclesiastical offices to which those bishops had appointed them. The court also appeared to hold that acts of the bishop of a Roman Catholic diocese in England and Wales could create vicariously liabilities for their successors. The ruling refers to a civil action being brought by a 47-year old woman who claims that she was subjected to repeated sexual assault by a priest of the diocese in a care home belonging to a religious order independent of the diocese but situated in the territory of the Diocese of Portsmouth. At the time of the alleged abuse - determined by the claimant by reference to her social security records as being during her residence in the home prior to her leaving the home in May 1972 - the priest was serving 50 miles away in another part of the diocese and had neither the reason nor the opportunity to visit the home. The judge in the case found that although the priest was clearly not an employee of the bishop, the nature of the appointment, status and oversight of his activities by the bishop was sufficient to fix the bishop with vicarious liability for the alleged abuse. Hollis and the trustees of the Diocese of Portsmouth have appealed against the judgement to the Court of Appeal. The substantive question of whether the alleged abuse took place will only be heard by the court when this preliminary legal point has been finally determined in the claimant's favour.