BishopAccountability.org
	'Inadequate' Handling of Abuse Case Irish Times March 25, 2010 http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/breaking/2010/0325/breaking8.html?via=rel IRELAND -- The Bishop of Waterford and Lismore Dr William Lee has described as "seriously inadequate" his handling of abuse allegations against a priest in his diocese during the mid-nineties. It was reported this morning that Dr Lee apologised for delaying for two years before reporting the priest in question to the authorities. In a statement issued to RTÉ, the Bishop said he particularly regretted that he had not sought the 'immediate' withdrawal fo the priest from all ministry. The Bishop said three individuals approached him in December 1993 and told him they had been sexually abused by the priest. In his statement, Bishop Lee told RTÉ he sought professional advice from a psychiatrist. He said he satisfied himself about the 'support' being provided by the complainants. The priest was moved to another area but it is not known if he had contact with children during this time . Two years later, in October 1995, the Bishop said he concluded that his handling of the case had been "seriously inadeqaute" and, informed by the Church's guidelines on sex abuse, he reported the man to gardaí. He was removed from his ministry six weeks later. The latest revelation comes after the resignation of the Bishop of Cloyne Dr John Magee was accepted by the Vatican. It has since emerged that gardaí spoke to the Bishop in recent weeks about a complaint that he had withheld information from officers investigating allegations of child sex abuse.
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