By Henry McDonald
The Guardian
November 30, 2011
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/nov/30/catholic-church-child-abuse-priests-ireland?newsfeed=true
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| Patrick Doab from County Clare holds his crucifix as he joins other abuse victims in Dublin last year to mark the first anniversary of the Ryan report on child sex abuse in educational institutions run by the Catholic church. Photograph: Julien Behal/PA |
One of Ireland's leading Catholic bishops admitted on Wednesday that "poor judgments" had been made on how paedophile priests were dealt with.
Responding to a damning report into clerical child sex abuse in the diocese of Raphoe, County Donegal, Phillip Boyce said it had highlighted a "significant level" of paedophile crimes over the past decades.
A separate report for the Derry diocese in Northern Ireland said it had dealt with 23 allegations of sex abuse against priests. Six reports are due out on Wednesday on the extent of clerical abuse in dioceses in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.
The Raphoe report pointed to "significant errors of judgment" by "successive bishops". The report concluded that "judgments were clouded, due to the presenting problem being, for example, alcohol abuse and an inability to hear the concerns about abuse of children".
The report said allegations were made against 14 priests between 1975 and 2010.
They included Father Eugene Greene, who was jailed for 12 years in 1999 for abusing 26 boys over 20 years.
The Garda Siochána received 52 allegations concerning priests in the diocese between 1975 and 2010.
Eight priests are now "out of ministry" or have left the priesthood. Four have been convicted of abuse. Six were found to be still in ministry or to have retired.
Accepting serious errors of judgment by the hierarchy in the Raphoe diocese, Boyce said that "insufficient emphasis was placed on the needs of victims, often in the misguided attempt to protect the reputation of the church".
He added: "This review has concluded that the diocese now has a robust safeguarding policy and procedure in place for safeguarding children." The bishop said the diocese intended to contact victims of sex abuse to ensure that their needs were met.
"The people of the diocese of Raphoe have suffered much over the last 20 years with a proportionately high number of priests with complaints of child sexual abuse made against them," he said.
A separate review was also published on Wednesday in the diocese of Dromore. The archdiocese of Tuam and the dioceses of Ardagh and Clonmacnoise, and Kilmore are also publishing their reports.
All six reports have been prepared by the National Board for Safeguarding Children in the Catholic Church.
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