Oct. 17, 2000

EDINBURGH, Oct. 17, 00 (CWNews.com) - The Sisters of Nazareth have received more than 400 compensation claims following the recent conviction of Sister Marie Docherty on charges of cruel and unnatural treatment.

Former residents of Nazareth House homes in Aberdeen and Midlothian have named 50 nuns in cases which have been formally lodged at Scotland's Court of Session. A total of 420 men and women allege they were abused while children in care at the homes between the 1940s and 1970s.

Their lawyer, Glasgow-based Cameron Fyfe, expects the first of 11 test cases to be heard late next summer against the Sisters of Nazareth, the Catholic order of nuns which ran the homes. The order could end up having to pay out millions of pounds if the claims are successful.

Fyfe told The Daily Telegraph that some of the 50 nuns named in the claims faced being sued individually and action could be taken against at least four local authorities in Scotland if it can be proved they failed to monitor adequately the care of children they sent to the homes.

Sister Marie Docherty was found guilty of four charges of cruel behavior towards children in her care at the homes during the 1960s and 1970s. Sheriff Colin Harris decided that, because of her age and heart condition, a custodial sentence was not appropriate.