Photo: Pexels Former students of a Catholic college in Manchester who allege they were abused by three priests based there have abandoned their lawsuit against Salford diocese.
The men, one-time students at St Bede’s College, argued that the diocese had failed to protect them from sexual abuse perpetrated as far back as the 1950s by three priests, all of whom are now dead.
The case had been expected to reach the High Court in the summer, but it is understood that the legal process has been discontinued without any out-of-court settlement or apology.
A spokesman for the diocese said the claimants had decided to drop the case. In a statement the diocese said it was “deeply saddened by allegations of abuse from the 1950s and 1960s” and that “abusive behaviour has absolutely no place in the Catholic Church”.