IRELAND
Irish Independent
Religious and Social
Affairs Correspondent
THE Catholic bishops have been accused in a new report of not taking seriously allegations of sexual harassment by the former head of Maynooth College, Mgr Micheal Ledwith, that were brought to their attention in the 1980s.
The finding is contained in the report of Senior Counsel Denis McCullough, which was commissioned by the bishops. The hierarchy has agreed to introduce new procedures to make sure such allegations are taken seriously in future.
Mr McCullough's investigation, which began three years ago, after the allegations against Mgr Ledwith first came to light, found that no allegations were conveyed directly to the bishops.
However, it says that "concerns of apparent propensities rather than accusations of actual crime or specific offences" had been communicated to a number of bishops by the then Senior Dean of Maynooth College, Fr Gerard McGinnity.