A man who suffered abuse at the hands of a Roman Catholic father has received a record £600,000 in damages.

Father Christopher Clonan abused the victim, known simply as A, as a child over a ten-year period whilst working at the Christ the King Church in Coventry in the Birmingham archdiocese from 1977 until 1988.

This is the second abuse victim to win damages against Father Clonan, who died in Australia in 1998 while on the run from the British police. In 2003, Simon Grey was paid £300,000 by the Church in an out-of-court settlement.

The £635,684 sum awarded by the High Court in Manchester against the defendants, the Archbishop of Birmingham and the trustees of the Birmingham Archdiocese of the Roman Catholic Church, could soar to one million pounds after all costs have been included.

The Roman Catholic Church now faces a list of other claims by sex abuse victims that could total millions of pounds.

At the High Court on Thursday, Mr Justice Christopher Clarke said that the abuse had been regular – between one and three times a week.

He said, "The abuse went undetected for so long because, initially, A did not comprehend what was going on, and latterly he was too afraid to speak, thinking that he would not be believed, as Father Clonan told him would be the case."

In a statement, the Archdiocese of Birmingham said: "The Archdiocese deeply regrets that a priest should have totally misused his position of trust in such a way and apologises again to those who have been abused and offended.

"This trust was placed in him by the Church and especially by his parishioners. The damage that he has done is deep and lasting.

"The Archdiocese hopes that this settlement will bring some resolution of the distress and anguish experienced by the claimant and his family."

Representatives for A said after the Court hearing, "We very much hope that the Church will now offer realistic compensation to all those who have been sexually abused by Catholic priests so that victims and their families can be spared the trauma of giving the evidence."

The Archdiocese of Birmingham also commented that "the damage that he has done is deep and lasting."

Man A, now 35, suffers from schizophrenia and post-traumatic stress disorder.

Meanwhile in US the Roman Catholic Church has just agreed to pay US$45.6 million in legal settlements to 42 alleged victims.

The Diocese of Sacramento will pay US$35 million to 33 people who claimed to be the victims of sexual abuse decades ago while leaders in the Diocese of Santa Rosa have agreed to pay US$10.6 million to nine parishioners.

Bishop William Weigand of the Sacramento Diocese said, "I ask their forgiveness for the grievous wrongs done to them and pray that this settlement today helps bring them peace and closure."

Between 1950 and 2002, according to Church officials, there have been more than 10,000 claims of sexual abuse made nationwide against around 4,400 Catholic priests, with California alone having 1,000 claims.
Three US dioceses have sought to declare themselves bankrupt as a result of the colossal payouts to abuse victims.

The £600,000 payout to A comes just days after Christian Today reported on a 50% rise in child abuse allegations in the Roman Catholic Church in England and Wales during 2004.