BishopAccountability.org
	Gardai Failed to Pass on Abuse Complaint to HSE By Michael Kelly Irish Catholic January 6, 2011 http://www.irishcatholic.ie/site/content/gardai-failed-pass-abuse-complaint-hse The State inquiry into the handling of allegations of clerical abuse in the Cloyne diocese has allegedly been hampered by a lack of co-operation between State authorities. Previously published documentation, including an audit of the management of abuse complaints in the diocese, found that the Gardaí had failed to inform childcare authorities about at least one allegation of sexual abuse for more than two years after they had been told about the alleged incident. Now, a report in The Sunday Business Post newspaper alleges that the Bishop of Cloyne, John Magee, informed a senior garda in December 2005 about a complaint which came to the bishop's attention. However, when the alleged victim asked the Health Service Executive (HSE) about the status of the case in August 2007, the HSE claimed it had never been informed about the matter, either by gardaí or by Church authorities. After the bishop passed the details of the complaint onto a senior garda, members of the force held more than a dozen meetings with the bishop, the victim and representatives of the self-confessed abuser. However, at no stage did they contact the HSE's childcare and protection team, according to the HSE. This instance is understood to feature prominently in the report of the commission, which was submitted to Minister for Justice Dermot Ahern last month. The report will now be submitted to the Attorney General Paul Gallagher, who will decide what parts may be published. It will also be sent to the office of the Director of Public Prosecutions, James Hamilton, to ensure that none of the persons named in the report is currently facing trial and could have the case against them prejudiced by publication. Legislation also provides that the Minister can submit the report to the High Court for adjudication on whether it should be published in full or in a redacted form. Bishop Magee came in for sustained criticism after a 2008 audit found that his child protection policies were inadequate. Archbishop Dermot Clifford was appointed by Pope Benedict XVI as administrator of Cloyne in early 2009 and Bishop Magee resigned a year later.
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