Parents Demand Apology from Priest after Explicit Image Incident

Tyrone Times
April 4, 2012

http://www.tyronetimes.co.uk/news/local/parents-demand-apology-from-priest-after-explicit-image-incident-1-3695183

The Auxilary Bishop of Armagh the Reverend Gerard Clifford conducted the confirmation of pupils from St Mary's PS Pomeroy, St Joseph's PS Galbally and Sperrin Veiw special school. The servixe was concelebrated by Fr Martin McVeigh PP Pomeroy, Fr John Connolly and Fr David Moore.

PARENTS who were present when sexually explicit imagery appeared on screen during a presentation given by the Parish Priest of Pomeroy, have demanded an explanation and apology following the incident.

According to a “unanimous” statement issued on behalf of parents of Primary Four children from St Mary’s PS in the village - who had gathered last Monday night to attend an information event given by Fr Martin McVeigh in preparation for First Communion - a number of questions remain unanswered as to what action has been taken by the Archdiocese of Armagh in light of what took place.

Both the Council for Catholic Maintained Schools (CCMS) and Cardinal Sean Brady’s office have confirmed that the incident is under investigation.

Police have also been notified, according to Cardinal Brady, however, they have indicated that, on the basis of the evidence available, no crime has been committed.

The handling of the incident to date by the Archdiocese of Armagh has been strongly criticised by parents who had gathered at the meeting.

In their statement, the parents were at pains to point out that the matter was dealt with correctly and efficiently by St Mary’s PS, and that staff of the school are “in no way involved in this nasty incident”.

Outlining the sequence of events, the parents say that approximately 16 “indecent images of men” appeared on a large screen set up for the presentation.

It is understood one child was also present at the time of the incident.

The parents continue by stating that the images were seen by nine parents and the child.

At the heart of the parents’ concerns is the apparent lack of an explanation or apology offered to them by Fr McVeigh, as well as uncertainty regarding any suspension procedures taken by the Archdiocese.

The statement continued: “The parents are enraged that Fr McVeigh has been entrusted with the pastoral care of their children, he has given no explanation for why he left the room for 20 minutes after the incident or no apology to the offended child, parents or teachers.

“The good name of the school is being tarnished with a matter that should be dealy with by the Church not through the media.

“We feel that the situation is not being treated with the gravitas that it warrants and we as parents feel that the Church are doing nothing and hoping that we will go away.”

Asked for clarification regarding Fr McVeigh’s clerical position following the incident, a spokesperson for the Archdiocese of Armagh refused to comment further.

In a statement, however, Cardinal Sean Brady confirmed: “On the evening of Monday, 26 March, at a meeting of parents in a primary school in the Archdiocese of Armagh, inappropriate imagery was inadvertently shown by a priest at the beginning of a Powerpoint presentation, causing concern to those present. This was immediately removed from the screen.

“The priest has stated that he had no knowledge of the offending imagery. The Archdiocese immediately sought the advice of the PSNI who indicated that, on the basis of the evidence available, no crime had been committed.

“The priest is co-operating with an investigation of the matter on the part of the Archdiocese.”

The Tyrone Times attempted to contact Fr McVeigh following the release of the statement on behalf of the parents present, however, he was not available for comment.

In an interview with another newspaper regarding the incident at the school, Fr McVeigh said he did not know how the image had been saved on to a memory stick alongside a religious presentation.

Fr McVeigh said the device belonged to the parish rather than to him and is used by other people.

“I didn’t know it was on the memory stick”, he said.

“It was a little thumbnail so some people didn’t see it but I spotted it after three or four seconds and removed (the memory stick).

“I was shocked and bewildered. How did that come to be there?”

Fr McVeigh said the civil and Church authorities were involved in an investigation into the incident “and I am co-operating fully with it”.

“It is not a memory stick I’ve been using very often. It’s used for different reasons.

“I thought it had been corrupted by one way or another. I’m not a computer expert by any description.”

The Parish Priest said parishioners had been telephoning and visiting his home to offer support since the incident.