Ongoing religious scandals

robindch

Bishop John Magee's former deputy, Monsignor Denis O'Callaghan, believes that allegations should not be made against priests who are seriously ill, so the archbishop has asked him to keep his mouth shut:

http://www.rte.ie/news/2011/0825/cloyne.html

Delirium

Priests in Tullamore go on a fast in solidarity of sex abuse victims. The fast doesn't even last 24 hours, and they're not making any calls on the higher ups to do more for the victims. Skip 1 days worth of meals and alls ok again :rolleyes:

A number of Cathloic priests in Co, Offaly are holding a 24 hour fast in a show of solidarity towards victims of clerical child sex abuse.

Despite no cases being reported in the parish, the Tullamore pastoral team say it's important that those in the Church acknowledge that things were wrong.

An all night prayer vigil was held at St Mary's church of the Assumption last night and those taking party will stay fasting up until 8 this evening.

Fr Shane Crombie, curate in Tullamore Parish says the gesture is a timely one.

Source

Dades

koth wrote: »

Priests in Tullamore go on a fast in solidarity of sex abuse victims.

Maybe they're running out of cash faster than was reported last week. :pac:

Penn

koth wrote: »

Priests in Tullamore go on a fast in solidarity of sex abuse victims. The fast doesn't even last 24 hours, and they're not making any calls on the higher ups to do more for the victims. Skip 1 days worth of meals and alls ok again :rolleyes:

That's just the priests excuse for no longer being able to afford food

robindch

Bolivia. Evangelicals.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-14688458

Galvasean

robindch wrote: »

Bolivia. Evangelicals.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-14688458

Ad that the the dossier titled "Religion is often bad for you" which we plan to mail to David Quinn and his IONA Institute buddies. The blasted thing will probably be bigger than his house!

MrPudding

Interesting report from the NSS.

http://www.secularism.org.uk/nss-submits-report-to-un-over-ir.html

Lots of info in there.

MrP

CiaranMT

Cork Boarding school:

Inquiries into alleged abuse in Cork


PATSY McGARRY, Religious Affairs Correspondent

Three investigations are under way into the handling of clerical child sex abuse allegations by the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart congregation while managing their Coláiste an Chroí Naofa school outside Cork city.

Last night both the Minister for Children Frances Fitzgerald and Minister for Justice Alan Shatter welcomed decisions by the HSE and an Garda Síochána to investigate “concerns regarding the welfare and protection of children who attended a boarding school in Carraig na bhFear, Cork, run by the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart”.

It is also understood the congregation requested that the Catholic Church’s child protection watchdog, the National Board for Safeguarding Children, conduct a review of child protection procedures at the school, which is currently under way.

State investigations there have been initiated by HSE national director Gordon Jeyes, and by Det Supt John McCann of the Garda’s Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Investigation Unit.

Last night Ms Fitzgerald said she “met Gordon Jeyes to discuss the issues involved and welcomed the priority being given by the HSE to the inquiry”.

The Ministers said she also felt that it was important to state they have been assured “that none of those against whom allegations have been made are currently engaged in any work activities which bring them into contact with children”.

In the Seanad on July 27th Fianna Fáil Senator Mark Daly named a priest who had taught at the school. Despite seven cases of alleged child abuse against the priest being reported to four different Garda stations between 1986 and 2008, the Director of Public Prosecutions declined to pursue a criminal prosecution against him, said Mr Daly.

Mr Daly said the Sacred Heart Missionaries had settled a civil case in relation to this priest before it was brought to court and accused them of failure to enforce restrictions placed upon the priest.

Last year, he said, the priest had been advertised as spiritual director for a pilgrimage abroad, where he could have unsupervised access to children.

Arcus Arrow

If any other organisation had such a mountain of evidence against them they'd be put out of existence. How many children have to be raped and tortured before it's obvious the Vatican is running a worldwide paedophile ring.

Delirium

Opinion piece from Irish Times site.

A FORMER Catholic priest in Queensland, Australia, went to confession more than 1,500 times to admit sexually abusing boys. He was told to go home and pray. In a 2003 affidavit, then 68-year-old Michael Joseph McArdle, who was jailed for six years in October of that year, claimed to have made confession about his paedophile activities to about 30 priests over a 25-year period.

He noted: “As the children would leave after each respective assault, I would feel an overwhelming sense of sadness for them and remorse, so much so it would almost be physical. I was devastated after the assaults, every one of them. So distressed would I become that I would attend confessionals weekly and on other occasions fortnightly and would confess that I had been sexually assaulting young boys.” He said the only assistance or advice he was given was to undertake penance in the form of prayer.

He claimed that after each confession, “it was like a magic wand had been waved over me.” McArdle’s affidavit would appear to contradict a widespread view in Ireland that child sex abusers are unlikely to admit such abuse to a priest in the confessional. Common sense would suggest that priest abusers particularly, and as above, would be likely to avail of the seal of the confessional as they seek forgiveness for what they have done and maybe even help in controlling their impulses. More is required in such cases of the confessor priest than penance, prayer and sympathy.

In that context it was unfair and disproportionate of the Catholic primate Cardinal Séan Brady last Sunday to portray proposed new child protection legislation, which would make it mandatory in all cases to report child abuse, as an attack on freedom of religion. In Knock, he said “the inviolability of the seal of confession is so fundamental to the very nature of the Sacrament that any proposal that undermines that inviolability is a challenge to the right of every Catholic to freedom of religion and conscience”.

Minister for Justice Alan Shatter has said that new child protection legislation would apply to doctors and priests, even where this information is revealed in the confessional. Minister for Children Frances Fitzgerald has said on the matter that “if there is a law in the land, it has to be followed by everybody. There are no exceptions, there are no exemptions.”

In this newspaper yesterday she said “what is required is a positive piece of legislation which will encourage a culture where child protection is taken seriously” and that such legislation would “require a careful teasing out”. It will.

That is what all sides should now be about. Freedom of religion is an important principle in a pluralist society but all should remind themselves that the most important issue here is the protection of children. Other jurisdictions deal with the issue of priest-penitent privilege in various ways. With goodwill, it ought to be possible here to negotiate through conflicting rights and freedoms in the primary interest of children.

Kila

Careful now - our bad atheist secular behaviour is going to cost us a pope visit, and then where will we be?

In other news, lots more news blaming atheists for the demise of all that's good and kind and equating us to child molesters and rapists are bound to convert us back, right? Right? Uff.

Blog about this, should anyone fancy a read. In summary, if you don't want to read it all, there's a weird undercurrent of blaming society and atheists for the demise of the church, but I think they should probably take a little look inwards before they place the blame at the feet of those who don't believe in god.

Sarky

I remember reading a story that had something to do with eyeballs full of splinters and/or planks. Can't remember the title of the book though. Meh, I doubt any Christians have read it...

Arcus Arrow

John Waters is delusional, paid a hefty sum of money for demonstrating in newspapers and was appointed to the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland. This country is upside down. No wonder we'er screwed.

Delirium

Seems a Garda report on reports of child sex abuse against priests is set to reveal more cases of protecting priests, by both Gardai and the clergy.

A national audit by gardai of clerical sex abuse is expected to reveal a huge volume of complaints against priests dating back 80 years when it is completed within months.

The audit is being conducted by the gardai's sexual crime unit, in conjunction with the Health Service Executive, in the wake of the religious child abuse scandals revealed in the Ryan and Murphy reports.

Sources said the audit was at a "very advanced" stage and could be completed in two months. It will count all allegations of sexual abuse against priests "proven or otherwise" that were reported to gardai and health, church and other authorities since the foundation of the State.

Gardai began the massive trawl of the force's own records more than nine months ago and have worked closely with the HSE. They have unearthed complaints against priests and religious dating back to the 1930s and 1940s, according to the source.

The audit may also shed light on the response of the State authorities, which have been found wanting in numerous inquiries into clerical abuse.

The Murphy Report on clerical abuse in the Dublin Archdiocese blamed gardai for facilitating the cover-up of clerical sex abuse by failing to adequately investigate.

It found that some gardai considered clergy to be outside the remit of An Garda Siochana. One garda referred complaints against priests to the archdiocese, rather than investigating them.

The garda sexual crime unit is investigating whether members of the force, along with senior figures in the clergy, broke the law by shielding child abusers.

However, it is understood that detectives are struggling to find a relevant law that they may have broken, as most of the alleged offences pre-date the existing legislation.

The national audit of clerical abuse will attempt to establish, for the first time, the scale of child sexual abuse by priests throughout the country and over decades.

Given that several reports in recent years have revealed alarming volumes of abuse in individual diocese, the findings are likely to be shocking.

The Dublin Archdiocese revealed that child sex abuse allegations were made against 102 priests between January 1975 and 2004.

The Ryan Report on the treatment of children in religious residential institutions said there were more than 800 abusers in more than 200 Catholic institutions.

The more recent Cloyne Report examined allegations of abuse against 19 priests, 15 of which should have been reported to the authorities.

An investigation of clerical abuse in the Donegal diocese of Raphoe by the church's own independent watchdog, the National Body for Safeguarding Children, is expected to be published shortly.

The National Board for Safeguarding Children, the church's own child-protection body, is also conducting audits across each diocese.

There was fury last month when it revealed that some church authorities had withheld 292 complaints which should have been reported to the audit. In the year from April 2010 to March 2011, they reported only 53 complaints, whereas the actual number of complaints was 272.

Minister for Children Frances Fitzgerald said that the audits could result in new inquiries into clerical abuse.

Source

Pompey Magnus

koth wrote: »

It found that some gardai considered clergy to be outside the remit of An Garda Siochana. One garda referred complaints against priests to the archdiocese, rather than investigating them.

I'm half surprised he didn't just skip the archdiocese and say a quick prayer to inform God of the allegation in order to recommend that He investigate and deal with it appropriately.

Caulego

koth wrote: »

Priests in Tullamore go on a fast in solidarity of sex abuse victims. The fast doesn't even last 24 hours, and they're not making any calls on the higher ups to do more for the victims. Skip 1 days worth of meals and alls ok again :rolleyes:

What good is that supposed to do? It seem to be just more of the futile and nonsensical tokenism that tries to make nothing look like something. Maybe if they resigned their posts that might actually make a difference. Maybe if they picketed their bishops and cardinals that might make a difference. Maybe if they informed the Gardai of crimes their brethren comitted on innocent children that might be something, but no; they decide to miss out on a few meals.
It's more of the same old same-old, like the attempt to try to stop global warming by a group of interfaith clergy by praying in front of an iceberg a few years ago LINK They might as well have stayed at home and prayed to an ice cube.

Penn

http://www.independent.ie/national-news/priest-lsquostands-asidersquo-without-explanation-at-belfast-cathedral-2866688.html

A senior Catholic cleric in Northern Ireland has temporarily stood aside, it emerged today.

Father Hugh Kennedy, the administrator of St Peter's Cathedral, in west Belfast, confirmed he took the decision after talks with Bishop Noel Treanor, the Bishop of Down and Connor.

No details have been revealed as to why he had stopped working as a priest at the Cathedral.

In a statement Father Kennedy, 55, said he took the decision after meeting with Bishop Treanor on July 20 last.

He added: "Bishop Treanor requested me to 'stand aside' from all my priestly/cathedral duties on foot of 'information' he had received. This information was not shared with me. Following from this, I have ceased working as a priest at the Cathedral.

"I have no hesitation in co-operating with church/state authorities in light of this development."

Father Kennedy was ordained a priest in 1981 when he was studying at the Irish College in Rome. He was appointed administrator at St Peter's in 2006.

- Deric Henderson

Obviously, nothing in particular has been said here, but interesting how he says "I have no hesitation in co-operating with church/state authorities in light of this development" and was asked to stand aside due to information the Bishop had received.

recedite

"information" was received in citing Dr Kennedy. It was forwarded to the relevant statutory authorities, (Police and Social Services)

We are starting to get some progress then, at least in N. Ireland.

Destroyer666

Priests are like guiness, white top black body get a bad one and youll have a sore arse.

Penn

Barrington wrote: »

http://www.independent.ie/national-news/priest-lsquostands-asidersquo-without-explanation-at-belfast-cathedral-2866688.html



Obviously, nothing in particular has been said here, but interesting how he says "I have no hesitation in co-operating with church/state authorities in light of this development" and was asked to stand aside due to information the Bishop had received.

Follow-up article:

A SENIOR Catholic cleric who is on sick leave after an investigation was launched into his private life has insisted: "I've never molested any children."

Father Hugh Kennedy (55) confirmed he had temporarily stood aside as administrator of St Peter's Cathedral in west Belfast after talks with the Bishop of Down and Connor Noel Treanor.

After his diocesan office made clear that boys belonging to the Cathedral's Schola Cantorum choir were not involved in the inquiries, Fr Kennedy claimed he was going through a personal crisis.

In a statement last night, he declared: "I can categorically state I have never violated or molested a child placed in my trust, either in a private or priestly capacity.

"In order to reassure the parents of the children associated with Schola Cantorum, I am personally willing to engage immediately with as many of them as possible, to satisfy them of my bona fides.

"I am passing through a personal crisis with which I have to deal. I request space in which to do this. I repeat my readiness to cooperate with Church and State authorities. I ask for people of goodwill to pray for me in my hour of crisis."

A spokesperson for the PSNI said: "We do not comment on individual cases, however we can confirm a police investigation is under way."

Fr Kennedy's decision to stop his work at the cathedral followed a meeting with Bishop Treanor on July 20.

In an earlier statement, he said: "Bishop Treanor requested me to 'stand aside' from all my priestly/cathedral duties on foot of 'information' he had received. This information was not shared with me. Following from this, I have ceased working as a priest at the cathedral.

"I have no hesitation in co-operating with Church/State authorities in light of this development."

Fr Kennedy was ordained a priest in 1981 when he was studying at the Irish College in Rome. He was appointed administrator at St Peter's in 2006.

A diocesan Down and Connor statement said "information" was received in mid-July citing Fr Kennedy. It was forwarded to the police and social services.

Fr Kennedy has been on sick leave since early July - before the information was made known

MrPudding

Was thinking it might be a "it was only resting in my account" kind of thing, but then social services would not be involved...

MrP

recedite

Perhaps a George Michael type outdoor event??

robindch

A group has asked the International Criminal Court to investigate the Vatican's cover-up of child sex abuse. Unfortunately, the Vatican is not party to the ICC treaty, so the action is (relatively) likely to be thrown out, I'd have thought.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-14898204

Caulego

robindch wrote: »

A group has asked the International Criminal Court to investigate the Vatican's cover-up of child sex abuse. Unfortunately, the Vatican is not party to the ICC treaty, so the action is (relatively) likely to be thrown out, I'd have thought.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-14898204

Imagine that...the RCC is not party to the ICC teaty...shock, horror...

robindch

Caulego wrote: »

the RCC is not party to the ICC treaty.

Not unexpected, given the RCC believes that its own ethical conduct far exceeds anything that humble man has to offer.

Broads.ie

Could be interesting.

The Pope and three top Vatican officials have been accused of crimes against humanity in a formal declaration lodged with the International Criminal Court (ICC).

A group representing survivors of clerical sexual abuse has alleged Pope Benedict and the officials "tolerated and enabled the systematic and widespread concealing of rape and child sex crimes".

The New York-based rights group the Centre for Constitutional Rights and the group Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests lodged the papers with the ICC in the Hague today.

However it is not clear whether the the ICC, the world's first permanent war crimes court, will take on the case as it lacks jurisdiction over the Vatican.

Read more: http://www.irishexaminer.com/breakingnews/world/abuse-survivors-accuse-pope-of-crimes-against-humanity-520363.html#ixzz1Xw7u1Vnf

cavedave

Wives and mothers of Ireland covered up abuse says Wexford Priest

oldrnwisr

cavedave wrote: »

Wives and mothers of Ireland covered up abuse says Wexford Priest

The Irish Catholic wrote:

“In exposing abuse within the Catholic Church, we have opened the door to hell and stepped inside the front porch, and standing there in horror some have dared to peer further, into the hallway and reception areas of a very dark and unexplored house.”

“In time, I believe Ireland will discover that there is nothing particularly unique in the Catholic bishop’s bungling attempts to deal with clerical abuse...In fact, I believe that covering up is a typical response to child abuse right across the board, at least until very recently.”

Penn

cavedave wrote: »

Wives and mothers of Ireland covered up abuse says Wexford Priest

zico10

From 'The Irish Catholic'

http://www.irishcatholic.ie/site/content/wives-and-mothers-ireland-covered-abuse-says-wexford-priest

Seemingly with the passing of time, any failures of the Catholic Church, in relation to child abuse, will turn out to have been normal practice and in line with contemporary values.
It's a curious defence, is probably the best thing that can be said about the article.