IRELAND
eircom.net
From:ireland.com
Friday, 21st April, 2006
Bishop Donal Murray of Limerick last night issued a statement detailing the sequence of meetings his diocesan office had with a man who died suddenly two days after walking out of a meeting with church representatives about his claim that he had been abused as an altar boy.
Dr Murray again extended his deepest sympathy to the family of the late Peter McCloskey and expressed sadness that the church's efforts to address the 37-year-old man's complaint "did not bring him more comfort".
Peter McCloskey died on April 1st, after walking out on mediation talks with diocesan representatives in Limerick two days earlier. His mother called for the bishop's resignation over the manner in which he dealt with her son's complaint.
In his 1,500-word statement, Dr Murray outlined a series of measures, including residential therapy, arranged by the diocese between April 2002 and January 2005 for Mr McCloskey. Mr McCloskey, a mature student at Mary Immaculate College in Limerick, made allegations in 2002 that he was sexually abused when an altar boy in 1980/81 by Fr Denis Daly. Fr Daly, who was ordained in Sydney, returned to Ireland in 1978 and failed to get work in two dioceses before going to Limerick, where he worked until his death in 1987.