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	Abuse Victims Want Their Day in Court By Trish O'Dea The Corkman October 29, 2009 http://www.corkman.ie/news/abuse-victims-want-their-day-in-court-1927741.html THE chairman of the Catholic Church's National Board for Safeguarding Children, Ian Elliot, told a new North Cork group that he would welcome the opportunity to talk to the DPP's office about why complaints of clerical sex abuse are largely returned to Gardai with directions not to prosecute. Mr Elliot met on Thursday night with a new survivors' support group which is made up, so far, of seven survivors of alleged abuse at the hands of one particular priest and both parents of an eighth, deceased, survivor. The group is evolving continually, as survivors become aware of each other through the Gardai. This priest was identified as 'Priest B' in Ian Elliot's explosive report into allegations of clerical abuse in the Diocese of Cloyne, published in December 2008. Of eight comprehensive files, including detailed victim statements, forwarded to the DPP in relation to 'Priest B', six have already been returned with the direction not to proceed to prosecution; two further files are still pending the DPP's decision. During Thursday night's meeting, survivors indicated that they are determined to issue a legal challenge to the requirement for the DPP to consider each case individually. "He can't take the burden of proof into account," one survivor said. "There were no witnesses to these crimes, God was our witness and now the DPP is our witness. In our view the law is preventing him from being able to see a pattern; somebody wrote the law as regards what the DPP's remit is, so somebody can change the law regarding what the DPP's remit is. We will be legally challenging this." Mr Elliot said after the meeting: "At some stage I would welcome the opportunity of talking to the DPP to help understand why these matters don't proceed and people don't get their day in court. He told the survivors that he would estimate that only about eight in every 100 complaints of child abuse proceeds to prosecution and just one of these leads to a conviction and sentence. All of the members of the new group are women aged in their mid-30s to early 50s and all came into contact with Priest B as he was moved around various North Cork parishes through the 70s, 80s and 90s. He still lives in the North Cork area and, it is believed, still says Mass, although he is officially retired. Initial complaints to the diocese were made in 1995 and the priest was placed on restricted ministry. The Diocese of Cloyne is seeking to hold a Canonical Court hearing relating to Priest B - a sitting which would have the power to laicise Priest B - and has asked these women to testify at that court, a request they are reluctant to comply with given that they have already had to give details to the Gardai, to Ian Elliot in the preparation of his report and to authorities within the Cloyne Diocese. Each of the survivors praised the Gardai in Mallow who they said have been "absolutely wonderful and outstanding in their dealings with all of us". Ahead of the proposed Canonical Court hearing, informal meetings have been held between the group and legal representatives of the Diocese of Cloyne and one of the survivors said on Thursday night: "They told us that they would welcome a prosecution."
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