ARMAGH (UNITED KINGDOM)
Belfast Telegraph [Belfast, Northern Ireland]
August 26, 2023
A group representing victims of clerical abuse has criticised the decision to invite a prominent US cardinal to Northern Ireland.
Timothy Dolan, the Archbishop of New York, is visiting Armagh on Sunday.
He will celebrate Mass at St Patrick’s Cathedral to mark 150 years since its dedication in August 1873.
However, abuse victims have expressed dismay at the invite.
Previously Cardinal Dolan has been criticised for authorising payments to abuser priests in exchange for their departure.
In the US, survivors of clerical sexual abuse have also raised concerns over Cardinal Timothy Dolan’s cover up of sexual abuse of children by Catholic clergy.
The Dromore Group said it was “appalled” at the decision.
It comprises survivors of Ireland’s most predatory paedophile priest, Fr Malachy Finegan, and their families.
The group has written to Archbishop Eamon Martin criticising the invite.
Its letter states: “The Dromore Group sees Dolan’s participation and role in the mass, and your part in that process, as grossly insensitive and disrespectful of clerical abuse victims and survivors.”
It said members wanted Cardinal Dolan, who also previously completed a three-year term as president of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops, to be withdrawn from the mass.
Abuse survivor Anthony Gribben said: “Dolan’s officiating at the Armagh mass triggers grisly memories of Fr Malachy Finegan’s active participation in a celebratory mass in Hilltown despite requests from Finegan survivors to have him removed from the ceremony.
“That incident eventually led to Dr McAreavey’s embarrassing resignation in 2018.”
Dr John McAreavey was Bishop of Dromore.
He resigned ‘with immediate effect’ five years ago, following claims he celebrated Mass alongside a priest he knew was a paedophile; Fr Malachy Finegan.
Mr Gribben continued: “Dolan’s participation in the Armagh mass empowers and enables the man who has failed to effectively address allegations of complicity in clerical abuse survivors in the US. His cover-up of sexual violence against children is a travesty of both canonical and criminal justice.”
A decade ago, The New York Times said that files then released by the Catholic Archdiocese of Milwaukee, revealed that in 2007, Cardinal Dolan requested permission from the Vatican to move almost $57 million into a cemetery trust fund to protect the assets from victims of sexual abuse who were demanding compensation.
In 2018, Dolan openly argued against a proposed amendment to the statute of limitations in New York for cases of sexual abuse, which later became law, that was introduced to empower victims to come forward.
The Catholic Church has been contacted for comment.
St Patrick’s Cathedral in Armagh serves as the seat of the Catholic Archbishop of Ireland, Primate of All Ireland.
On August 24, 1873, massive crowds gathered from all over Ireland and beyond to witness the official day of opening and dedication.