BishopAccountability.org
	Australia Extends Sympathy over Abuse Victim Death By Jimmy Woulfe Irish Examiner April 20, 2006 http://www.suntimes.com/output/news/cst-nws-abuse07.html# By Jimmy Woulfe, Mid-West Correspondent THE Catholic Church in Australia has offered condolences to the family of a former Limerick altar boy, now deceased, who alleged he was abused by an Irish priest who served in Sydney. The Archbishop of Sydney, Cardinal George Pell, yesterday sent his sympathy to the family of Peter McCloskey, 37, who died on April 1 - days after meeting with Diocese of Limerick representatives for mediation talks. Mr McCloskey, a father of three, alleged he was sexually abused by Fr Denis Daly, a Clare-born priest who returned to Limerick from Australia nearly 30 years ago after he had come to the notice of Australian police. The Diocese of Sydney had a record of a "moral lapse" by Fr Daly. Mr McCloskey alleged Fr Daly sexually abused him while he was a 10-year-old altar boy in the parish of Caherdavin, Co Limerick. Yesterday a spokesperson for the Bishop of Limerick, Dr Donal Murray, gave details of a series of contacts between Mr McCloskey and the Diocese of Limerick from the time Mr McCloskey contacted the diocese with his allegations. The spokesperson said Mr McCloskey first made contact in a letter dated April 20, 2002 from his solicitors to Dr Murray and that the diocese immediately offered counselling and support, but Mr McCloskey indicated through his solicitor that he was already receiving counselling. "Peter's next approach to the diocese was through the diocesan delegate, whose task it is to receive complaints of child sexual abuse, on October 25, 2002. The offer of support was again made to him," the spokesperson said. On November 6, Mr McCloskey met Fr Tony Mullins, the diocesan secretary, and later that day he met the bishop for the first time. At each of these meetings he was assured that he was believed, the spokesperson said. "At no time did Bishop Murray, or anyone on his behalf, indicate any lack of belief of Peter's claim that he had been abused," the spokesperson said. He said Dr Murray and Fr Mullins met Mr McCloskey on many subsequent occasions and that the diocese continued to support Mr McCloskey through counselling and in helping with accommodation expenses for a short period. The spokesperson said: "In April 2003, it was explained to Peter that our investigations about the late Fr Daly were ongoing." A file the diocese received in September 2003 from the archdiocese of Sydney contained material about Fr Daly's problems with alcohol. It also indicated some dioceses had not accepted him. "Although the Australian file covered a long period of time, there was nothing in it about the sexual abuse of minors. There was one worrying reference in the file, namely a statement that Fr Daly had been guilty of a 'moral lapse' in 1963, which appears to have led the New South Wales police to insist that he must leave New South Wales," the spokesperson said. He added the Diocese of Limerick made efforts both with the Archdiocese of Sydney and the NSW police to discover what the moral lapse might have been but no further information was available. The spokesperson said questions had been asked about their knowledge of Fr Daly's behaviour in Ireland. He said: "It appears that Fr Daly was prone to becoming involved in altercations especially in public houses. We could not find any evidence that linked any of these incidents to child abuse."
Any original material on these pages is copyright © BishopAccountability.org 2004. Reproduce freely with attribution.