IRELAND
One in Four
The Ferns Inquiry identified more than 100 allegations of child sexual abuse made between 1962 and 2002 against 21 priests operating under the aegis of the Diocese of Ferns.*
Six of the priests had died before any allegations of abuse were made against them. Three more died subsequent to the allegations.
The nature of the response by the church authorities in the diocese of Ferns to allegations of child sexual abuse by priests operating under the aegis of that diocese has varied over the past 40 years. These variations reflect in part the growing understanding by the medical professions and society generally of the nature and the consequences of child sexual abuse and in part the different personalities and management styles of successive bishops.