IRELAND
Irish Times
Barry Roche
A Catholic priest has called on the Church to put proper structures in place to protect priests who have been the subject of false allegations of child sexual abuse.
Fr Tim Hazelwood (57) from Castletownroche in Co Cork spent six years fighting to clear his name following a false accusation.
He told The Irish Times that he was going public about his own experience as he knew of other priests who had been similarly abandoned by the Church after they were falsely and maliciously accused of child sex abuse.
“Priests are sitting ducks for this sort of thing because there is no protection for us within the Church and we live now in a climate both in society and in the Church which presumes priests are guilty until they prove their innocence,” he said.
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