The Catholic Church has paid substantial damages to a Midland man who claims he was abused by the priest son of Lord of the Rings author J.R.R.Tolkien. An undisclosed five-figure sum has been awarded to Christopher Carrie, who sued the Archdiocese of Birmingham, saying it had breached its duty of care towards him. The Church is also paying all legal costs in the out-of-court settlement. Mr Carrie, 57, from Solihull, West Midlands, has consistently claimed that he was molested by Father John Tolkien in a Birmingham church more than 40 years ago. A police investigation was launched into the sex abuse allegations and the Crown Prosecution Service decided that there was enough evidence to put Fr Tolkien before the courts. But by that time he was too ill to be charged. Following the CPS ruling, Mr Carrie decided to launch his own civil lawsuit against the Church - but 85 year-old Fr Tolkien, who had denied the allegations, died in January this year. Last night Mr Carrie told the Sunday Mercury: "Although Fr John Tolkien is now dead and cannot harm any more children, that does not exempt the Church from responsibility or liability. "I am satisfied that the settlement is substantial enough to recompense me for some of the wrongs committed. More importantly, I hope the coverage given to the case may encourage other victims of sexual abuse to come forward." Mr Carrie has received written confirmation from the Archdiocese of Birmingham's solicitors, Beachcroft Wansbroughs, in a legal document which says the compensation is in full and final settlement. "Upon payment the defendant shall be discharged from any further liability in respect of the claimant's claim," it adds. Mr Richard Scorer, a partner with Panone and Partners, who acted for Mr Carrie, said: "This claim was a last resort after the Church had refused to treat my client's allegations with the seriousness they deserved. "This settlement speaks for itself. In paying Mr Carrie's claims in full, the Church has finally acknowledged the truth of his allegations and the justice of his case. "I hope that this outcome will give other victims the confidence to come forward and challenge the wall of silence which often surrounds this issue, particularly where the Catholic church is concerned." He added: "They are paying this settlement without an admission of liability but the reality is that you do not settle unless you think you are going to lose in court. "The claim was settled in full and it was a five-figure sum. Beyond that I cannot say anything. "This settlement is a vindication of Mr Carrie and of the stance the Sunday Mercury has taken." The Mercury was the first newspaper to report Mr Carrie's claims and challenged Fr Tolkien before his death, but the priest refused to comment on the allegations. The Archdiocese of Birmingham had defended the action on the grounds that priests were not employees of the church "but act in accordance with their religious vocation". In other words, they were employed by God. Senior priests contended that they had no knowledge of the matters at the time because "they occurred in secret and away from the eyes or attention of anyone within the archdiocese". They also that claimed the High Court action had been launched too long after the alleged sexual abuse - and was therefore legally out of time. Peter Jennings, spokesman for the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Birmingham, refused to discuss Mr Carrie's pay-out when approached by the Sunday Mercury. Our coverage of the sex abuse allegations has so angered the Archdiocese that the the newspaper has been effectively excommunicated. When we contacted Mr Jennings yesterday, he angrily retorted: "We don't speak to the Sunday Mercury! This is a media strategy which has been agreed by the Archbishop himself." Fr Tolkien was one of three children and was ordained as a Catholic priest in 1946. In the same year he started his ministry at St Mary's Church in Coventry. In 1950 he moved to the Church of English Martyrs in Sparkhill, Birmingham, where the abuse is alleged to have taken place. Mr Carrie says he was abused by the priest when Fr Tolkien was curate at the church. Undressed As a boy from a devout Irish Catholic family, he sang in the choir and was a member of the 159th English Martyrs Scout Group - where Fr Tolkien was a scoutmaster. Mr Carrie claimed that he was targeted by the priest after joining the scout group at the age of 10. He said he was invited into the presbytery by Tolkien and, after the pair chatted uncomfortably, he was partially undressed, fondled and sexually abused. He claims that he was also assaulted on two later occasions. The priest left the parish in 1957 and then moved to Knutton in Staffordshire. He remained there until 1986 before moving to Hartshill, also in Staffordshire, in 1987. From then until 1994 when he retired, he was parish priest at Eynsham in Oxfordshire. Mr Carrie never told anyone about his alleged ordeal. He married at the age of 21 and had two daughters - but says that his marriage broke up because of his turmoil over the alleged abuse. Eventually, Mr Carrie decided to tell the Catholic hierarchy about his claims. In 1993, he wrote to the then Archbishop of Birmingham, the Most Rev Maurice Couve de Murville, and was granted an interview at Archbishop's House next to St Chad's Cathedral in Birmingham city centre. Mr Carrie opened his heart during a one-hour chat and the archbishop, since retired, promised to investigate. Five weeks later, Mr Carrie received a letter from the archbishop, the original of which has been seen by the Sunday Mercury. Dated 10th October 1993, it reads: "I have interviewed Fr Tolkien. He is more than 76 and not in good health. He is now going to retire and will cease his active ministry as a priest." But Mr Carrie was shocked to discover that nine months later Tolkien was still working as a parish priest. Mr Carrie, who has since remarried, made a complaint to West Midlands Police in August 1994, but heard no more. He has since spent £10,000 on printing and publishing a book, telling the story of the childhood abuse he says he endured, titled Klone It - an anagram of Tolkien. A new police investigation was launched in March 2001 and a file was subsequently sent to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS). But the CPS said in February 2002 that while there was sufficient evidence to put Tolkien before the courts, he would not be charged because he was too ill. The Sunday Mercury understands that the police investigation uncovered other sex abuse victims in Birmingham and in Staffordshire. A man who lives in Canada also subsequently contacted police. Denied Steven Maier, the Tolkien's family lawyer from Oxford-based solicitors Manches, said: "It is our understanding that the Archdiocese of Birmingham have settled the litigation with Mr Carrie without any admission of liability and have made a small payment to him on a purely commercial basis. "No admission has ever been made of Mr Carrie's allegations against Fr Tolkien, which Fr Tolkien vehemently denied until his death." * It was in Birmingham that J.R.R. Tolkien gained inspiration for his fantasy books, The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. Royalties from the literary classics have made the Tolkien family millions via the Tolkien estate. martyn_leek@mrn.co.uk | 
