Accused priest given victims file in new church scandal

Child protection delegate handed over a confidential file containing evidence of child abuse to the priest at the centre of the allegations

Published Friday, June 25, 2010, 7:35 AM

Updated Friday, June 25, 2010, 7:45 AM

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The Catholic Church are currently investigating claims that the child protection delegate in the diocese of Clone handed over a confidential file containing evidence of child abuse to the priest at the centre of the allegations.

Fr Bill Bermingham was appointed child protection delegate for the the Clone diocese by the Catholic Church's National Board for Safeguarding Children (NBSC) in 2008.

The NSBC is currently seeking to meet with Birmingham to determine his motivations behind the handing over of the confidential file to the accused.

It was revealed that Birmingham took an informal statement from a woman last year and gave a copy of the statement to the accused priest before he was questioned by the police.

It has also emerged that several other priests saw the confidential statement.

The alleged victim was made aware of the leaking of her statement and subsequently lodged a formal complaint to the NSBC a few months ago.

Archbishop Diarmuid Dunne has been informed of the incident as has the Catholic Church's clerical abuse helpline, Faoiseamh and victim support group, One in Four.

According to the Irish Examiner, Birmingham has not responded too any requests for an interview and the Clone diocese has refused to comment on the situation until the Dublin Archdiocese report is published in the Autumn.

One in Four chief executive Maeve Lewis said she was "horrified by" the actions of the Clone diocese but refused to make any further comments as the victim is one of her clients.

"This action may not have broken specific Church protocol but it is a horrific betrayal of a victim," said Lewis.

Birmingham was appointed child protection delegate for the Clone diocese after child protection standards were found to be "inadequate and in some respects dangerous".

The victim who wishes not to be named released a damning statement: "Nothing has changed whatsoever in the past 18 months despite claims to the contrary.

"I feel like I have been run over by a number of trains in the way I have been treated by the Church in the past year.

"I am so angry and appalled any information about me could be passed on to anyone else. Yet I am told no criminal law was broke. Where is the justice for the likes of us?"

Nster.com

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JBRAFTREE | Jun 27, 2010, 01:27 PM EDT

Folks all: lets not overlook that we Catholics are the Church and have the ultimate say in what happens therein.

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catkatie | Jun 25, 2010, 08:22 PM EDT

Whoever wrote this disgrateful email has no understanding of the Catholic Church. Christ founded this Church and He told us that it was upon this rock (Peter) I will build my Church and the gates of Hell will will not prevail. There is too much emotional response to this pedofilia in the Church. Granted it is wrong and the people involved should be disciplined and removed from any contact in future. They need theraphy and counselling. The Church of Christ will last to the end of time despite the sins of its people because there is still the Holy Spirit guiding our way. Forget these pontificating Archbishops ,Bishops and Cardinals they are just human beings and we know that some are not worthy. i SINCERELY HOPE THAT OUR PRESENT pOPE IS NOT TAINTED, WE HAD OUR BAD POPES OVER THE HISTORY OF OUR CHURCH. To conclude, the Church that Christ came to build is a far realization form His original conception.Come follow me and leave all materil this behind. Look at this Hierearchy and wealth today This is our problem. We are meant to take care of the poor and not to line our own pockets .

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glorybe1929 | Jun 25, 2010, 01:53 PM EDT

Who cares what this evil church does or says...??It is run by the devil and has been for millenium. The fact lies in the people, who still think it is a viable place to put their faith in. Their Faith should be in the Lord Jesus Christ and not this evil institution of the devil . All the talk about this priest or that bishop, or the pope, does nothing to change WHAT this evil place is. Get the picture! Go to the police if you have something to say, not to the church. Then stop thinking there is anything redeemable about it. There is nothing in the institution that God can forgive, as they have committed the Unforgiveable Sin. What is that? It is the SIN AGAINST THE HOLY SPIRIT. GOD FORGIVES ALL OUR SINS BUT NOT THIS SIN. Think about it? Who are the most vunerable with no one to believe them or help them? They are our sweet children and the marginalized? That's right! They are the precious ones in HIS care.(God will not take away man's free will, thus evil happens) There is always a choice to be made...good or evil, they chose evil and were calling themselves God's representative here on earth. Even to the point of making it a necessary thing for man or child, to confess their sins to them , rather than go to God Almighty when they were sorry for their sins. The beasts who do these crimes and those who allow them to continue are the ones who will pay. and those who stick by them and say,"so what". All will pay for doing NOTHING and allowing THE UNPARDONABLE SIN TO CONTINUE. The ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH NEEDS TO BE BROUGHT TO THE WORLD COURT AND TRIED AND CONVICTED OF THE GREATEST CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY, SINCE THE THE BEGINNING OF TIME!

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Searlit | Jun 25, 2010, 11:19 AM EDT

Too much money and power can corrupt people, and once they have become corrupted, they won't give up their power or their money, for anything.

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Intercessor | Jun 25, 2010, 10:10 AM EDT

The abused Catholics of Boston were the first to realize that the Church's "Extended hand of Help" was not meant to actually "help" the Survivors/victims, but rather to discover what they knew and who else was aware (like legal authorities), of the allegations of abuse that were successfully covered up for years. The Church's commission "to help" the Survivors of Priest Pedophilia was little more than a way of containing the financial and revelatory damage of abuse, as well as the orchestrated coverups of abuse by the Hierarchy. Those abused were warned by other Survivors not to see "Church Psychiatrists," for it was feared that those, who were paid by the Church would operate by the Church's agenda, rather than out of a Christian/brotherly concern for the Survivors. Yes, that kind of behavior is unethical, but so was the behavior of priests raping and sodomizing kids and the subsequent coverups by bishops, archbishops and Cardinal Law. Too much money was at stake, as well as the reputation of the Holy(?) Roman Catholic Church. Now, the same scenario is playing out in Ireland and probably all around the globe. Trusting and traumatized survivors are telling their stories to Church authorities only to be psychologically raped again, by revelation that their allegations are being revealed, in detail, to their abusers. I guess this is the Church's way "of being transparent!" The only one to experience the Church's "transparency" is the Abuser! Yesterday, the headquarters of the Belgian Church was raided! As one commentator wrote, "Bravo, Belgium!" Wouldn't it be wonderful if the legal authorities in Cloyne would do the same? After yesterday's revelation that a Victim/Survivors allegations of abuse had been revealed to their abuser, wouldn't a raid by justified?

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