(UNITED KINGDOM)
The Irish News [Belfast, Northern Ireland]
August 1, 2024
By John Breslin
Down and Connor Diocese admits failing to fully acknowledge the damage done to victims even after James Donaghy was convicted and sentenced to 10 years
The bishop of Down and Connor has apologised to a priest who was sexually abused as a young adult by a fellow member of the clergy.
Fr Paddy McCafferty gave evidence in the trial of James Martin Donaghy who was jailed for 10 years in 2012.
Months after a review was commissioned by Down and Connor Diocese, Bishop Alan McGuckian issued a full apology on Thursday.
The Catholic Church failed to show any “demonstrable regret” even after the serial sex abusing priest was convicted and sentenced to 10 years in prison, Bishop McGuckian said.
In an apology to those targeted and abused by Donaghy, Bishop McGuckian said he wanted to “take this opportunity now to apologise sincerely to all the victims in that case and all cases”.
The apology from the diocese particularly singled out Fr McCafferty, abused by Donaghy when he was a vulnerable young adult and who tried to raise the alarm about the activities of the then serving priest but was essentially ignored.
A review was carried out last year into how the late Bishop Patrick Walsh and the diocese handled the case of Donaghy and his multiple victims. Donaghy, jailed in 2012, was released from prison in 2017 after serving five years of his sentence.
Bishop McGuckian said FrMcCafferty in the early 2000s correctly and entirely appropriately reported abuse at the hands of Donaghy.
“Fr McCafferty came forward out of concern for others who could be at risk. He showed courage and leadership in the face of incredulity, disbelief and animosity on the part of many, including clergy of the diocese,” Bishop McGuckian said.
He added: “On behalf of the diocese, I apologise to Fr McCafferty most sincerely and I readily acknowledge the toll all of this has taken on him over the years since his initial reporting in 2001.”
The bishop recalled how the diocese in 2006 supported Donaghy after the public prosecution service decided not to charge the priest with any crimes, a move that was “ill-judged” and “compounded the hurt and pain for all the victims”.
“Indeed, when James Donaghy was finally convicted there was a lack of demonstrable regret in the apology from the diocese for the wrongs done to his victims,” Bishop McGuckian said.
Fr McCafferty, a parish priest in Ballymurphy in Belfast, said: “I welcome today’s apology from Bishop Alan on behalf of the diocese of Down and Connor. This has been a very long and painful road. Today is an important step towards further healing and recovery.
“When I was being raped and abused as a young adult, by the then Fr Jim Donaghy, the way I coped was to dissociate and pretend it wasn’t happening.
“For decades, I have suffered, since the abuse stopped, with Complex Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Two and a half years ago, the enormity of what Donaghy inflicted hit me like a ton of bricks. This is because I was now strong enough to face the horror of what I suffered.”
John has worked at The Irish News since August 2022, bringing an eye for compelling stories from his previous roles at publications in Belfast, Dublin, and the United States.