Please note that some listeners might find this episode triggering. We cover some subjects which some people might find upsetting to hear.

In this episode, the creator of Judge Dredd and 2000AD talks about his experiences of attending a Catholic private school in the UK.

He shares his experiences of child sexual abuse while there. What happened?

He also shares a lot of the back story around the abuse in the Catholic Church. Why has it gone on for so long?

He talks about the safeguarding operations that the Catholic Church has put in and how effective they are, the RLSS, the CSSA.

He also talks about the Knights of St Columbus and the Masons.

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Patrick Eamon Mills is an English comics writer and editor (who, along with John Wagner, revitalised British boys comics in the 1970s, and has remained a leading light in British comics ever since.

He has been called "the godfather of British comics". His comics are notable for their violence and anti-authoritarianism.

He is best known for creating 2000 AD and playing a major part in the development of Judge Dredd who was inspired by some of the abusive and violent monks at his Catholic boys' school. He also writes film treatments and screenplays, novels, and features, notably on World War One and is known for the documentary drama, Charley's War.

All of his stories are about fighting abusive authority figures. Pat would also be described as a whistleblower. He's got a really insightful grasp of the structure of the Roman Catholic Church, and how its highly organised structure has enabled a network of paedophiles to operate within it. He's working hard to expose this and make it more transparent to others.

Questions:

1. I would love for you to share some of your journey. How did you get into the work you now do?
2. When did you first realise that love of writing comics?
3. Could you please talk a little about your upbringing at Catholic Schools? What was being at Catholic schools like?
4. At what point did you start to uncover and realise what had gone on at school?
5. You started a website of survivors of abuse from your school. When did you realise that you weren't the only one to have suffered abuse? How did that feel to not be the only one?
6. How has the Catholic Church responded in your opinion to the claims of sexual abuse? Why do you think this is the case?
7. What about St Joseph's and the De Salle Brothers? How have they handled the claims against them?
8. What advice would you give to people who were abused at school either day or boarding who now want to speak up?
9. Why is that so few people who were abused are willing to speak up? How can we change the system so that it becomes part of our culture to whistleblow when abuse or bad things have happened?
10. Could you please talk a little about the RLSS? How is this organisation supporting abuse survivors?
11. Could you talk about the financial exploitation of the Global South? What did you learn in your research?
12. In an interview I listened to you mentioned that children still in danger from the Catholic Church? Why is this? Have things not changed?



#sexualabuse #childabuse #stjosephsipswich #trauma #patmills #catholicabuse

To connect to Pat's website please visit: https://patmills.wordpress.com/