October 27, 2005

Priest was sent to London when first allegations emerged

Fr Donal Collins:

IRELAND
One in Four

When the first reports of child sexual abuse were made to the Ferns diocese in 1966 about an abusing priest, Fr Donal Collins, he was sent to a parish in London for two years, the report said.

However, it noted that the then bishop of Ferns, Bishop Donal Herlihy, did not tell the diocese of Westminster to which he was sent why he was removed from St Peter's College in Wexford, where he had been a science teacher. "Such omission warrants very serious criticism," the report said.

The report also said that after Fr Collins spent two years in Britain, he returned to teach at St Peter's again.

Posted by kshaw at October 27, 2005 03:14 PM