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	Man Committed Suicide after Talks over Abuse Claims By Jimmy Woulfe Irish Examiner April 14, 2006 http://www.irishexaminer.com/pport/web/Full_Story/ did-sgq8owO28P-0YsgdL11Zs5FWAE.asp A LIMERICK man, who claimed he was sexually abused by a priest, took his own life two days after he had mediation talks with priests in the diocese, it was confirmed last night. It emerged last night that Peter McCloskey, 37, was found dead last week. He had met representatives of the diocese of Limerick 48 hours before his body was found, in a bid to address allegations of sexual abuse he said happened in the 1980s. Mr McCloskey claimed he was abused by a priest when he served as an altar boy at 10 years of age. The priest at the centre of the allegation had returned from Australia to serve for a period of four years in Limerick and died in 1987. At a meeting with diocese representatives on March 30, it is understood Mr McCloskey was asked to sign a confidentiality agreement. Two years ago, he told a reporter in Limerick that he received no sympathy from the diocese and the priest who he claimed assaulted him allegedly assaulted others. He said the priest raped him repeatedly over an 18-month period. He said he never had a proper life afterwards as the memories of the abuse haunted him. Deirdre Fitzpatrick of support group One-in-Four said Mr McCloskey had travelled to Sydney, where he uncovered the offending priest's sordid file held by the Australian diocese. He had run foul of police for amoral acts. Thirty years of correspondence between church authorities in Australia and Ireland was contained in that file. The church in Ireland had never acknowledged the correspondence. Fine Gael TD Michael Noonan said: "He told me it had overtaken his life and it was dominating his life and he hoped it could be resolved without going through the courts." Bishop Donal Murray of the Limerick diocese said he withheld no information on the case. "I honestly think everything we did was designed to find a solution to his problem," he said. A spokesman for the diocese said last night: "It is with sorrow, shock and grief that we heard of Peter's death. It is a source of the greatest sadness that his life ended so tragically." He said that anybody troubled on hearing of the Mr McCloskey's death is welcome to contact the diocesan office in Limerick as Bishop Murray is anxious that any person who needs help would receive it.
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