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Catholic priest organization slams Irish media bias

Association critical of RTE over handling of Missionary’s paternity libel case

CATHAL DERVAN,

IrishCentral.com Staff Writer

Published Sunday, November 20, 2011, 8:03 AM

Updated Sunday, November 20, 2011, 9:42 AM

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The Association of Catholic Priests has accused Irish state broadcaster RTE and sections of the media of a bias against the Church and the clergy.

The ACP made the claims in a statement issued in reaction to RTE’s recent libellous claims that a missionary priest raped a teenage girl in Africa and left her pregnant.

Fr Kevin Reynolds, now based in Galway, won over $1.5million in libel damages after the claims were broadcast on the Prime Time Investigates TV show.

He was forced to undergo a paternity test and take RTE to court before the station backed down on the claims relating to his time as a missionary in Kenya.

ACP spokesperson Fr Seán McDonagh criticised RTE’s "failure to operate normal editorial controls" in the making of the programme.

The ACP statement also referred to a recent survey which indicated that over half of all Irish adults believe one in five priests is guilty of child abuse.

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The statement from the ACP said: “Some months ago, in the aftermath of the Prime Time programme ‘Mission to Prey’ one of our members, Kevin Reynolds, who was featured in that programme, came to us stating that he had been grievously libelled by the programme, that he was out of ministry and that his good name had been destroyed.

“He was looking for someone who would support his efforts to make right the injustice committed against him, and since no Church authority seemed willing to do so, he asked if we could help him.

“Some time previously a legal team had offered their services to us; but since we are a new association with very little money, they kindly agreed to work for us pro bono. So we were able to take on the defence of our colleague.

“The rest of the story relating to the case of Kevin Reynolds is now in the public domain. But we as the Association of Catholic Priests would like to make clear some of the issues that we feel are raised by this case.”

The statement then made the following points:

“We think it is now clear, both from the way the Prime Time programme was produced and presented, and also from the results of the survey commissioned by the Iona Institute regarding attitudes of people towards priests, that there is a serious anti-Catholic and anti-priest bias among sections of the media, including some in the national broadcaster, and that this had led to a one-sided and unfair presentation of issues to do with Church and clergy in recent years.

“We were disappointed by the way the statement of correction and apology was presented by RTE on television and radio after the completion of the case. Reading it quickly and with poor quality delivery seemed almost to imply a lack of sincerity about the content.

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merefalow | Nov 22, 2011, 01:06 PM EST

they have had it all their own way for centuries,now when they get a bit of justifiable well directed adverse pulicity they dont like a bit of cold steel up em,well all they had to do was direct openess,tranceparency,and justice to the perpertrators in their church,this they failed to do and are still failing to do,so perhaps there is a good reason for bias,however,lies and distortion and unproveable lies and accusations have no place in a free press or free society..

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IrelandNorth | Nov 21, 2011, 06:55 AM EST

I'm no apologist for the Holy Roman Catholic and Apostolic Church (HRC&AC) having been adversely affected in my formative years by it. But McCarthyist trial by media is not credible in a liberal democracy like modern Ireland, and RTE deserve to be held to account for sloppy standards.

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IrelandNorth | Nov 21, 2011, 06:51 AM EST

Seems to me to be a case of premature media ejaculation by RTE. Their indecent haste in broadcasting betrays they weren't interested in fair play of objective journalism. One can understand anti-institutional antipathy, but there may be a few good wo/men who are merely guilty by association.

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Collette2 | Nov 20, 2011, 01:45 PM EST

I wonder if this organisation of clergy are among the 80% who have broken their vows of celbacy, 40% sexually active and in relationships and the 1 out of ten out of 5,000 priest's who brag that women are attracted to their clerical birdcatcher collars. Then there's the children born as a result of their liasons. Wasn't Bishop Casey sent off to the missions in Africa? Oh yes, that was AFTER he had the damage wasn't. That country is rife with the rape of women, who have no voice, so too is sex abuse of young boys, many in seminaries.

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hybernia | Nov 20, 2011, 01:06 PM EST

Aaaaaah There There, Diddims, the media not under your thumb anymore. Get used to it.

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CaptainCon | Nov 20, 2011, 12:07 PM EST

Well they would say that wouldn't they? Standard operating procedure in the catholic church is to claim anything less than obedience and obsequience as 'bias' against them. Same as Israeli flaks claim any opposition to zionism is 'anti-semitism'. It is crap of course but it has the useful function of attempting to switch attention away from degeneracy to a different debating subject.

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barneyjo | Nov 20, 2011, 10:16 AM EST

RTE, or for that matter, any media organisation anywhere in the world deserves all it gets, if lies are reported as the truth and as a consequence, harm is done to the reputation of an individual or a group. In doing what it did, RTE did a HUGE disservice to the plight of the victims and survivors of clerical abuse in their quest for justice. I personally would have made the fine even higher. Of course, it also has to be said that were it not for the work carried out by journalists such as Chris Moore, who was largely responsible for uncovering the truth about Brendan Smyth and the subsequent attempts to bury this truth by respective Cardinals and Bishops alike, then we, the faithful, THE CHURCH BODY, would have remained in ignorance of what was done (ostensibly in our name) to protect the good name of the Church, at the expense of broken bodies, broken minds, broken spirits, and broken souls. By reporting lies in this way, RTE have heaped more misery on an innocent priest,the wider clergy, and on the lives of victims and survivors of clerical abuse, and for that RTE should be ashamed!!

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Searlit | Nov 20, 2011, 10:03 AM EST

I agree eiriamach.

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eiriamach | Nov 20, 2011, 09:58 AM EST

It is not the responsibility of the media to "verify" charges against anyone, but only to report that changes have been brought and are being investigated. In this case, bishops acted rightly-- halleluiah!-- and the CPA should not fault them: "surely the Church authorities should have been equally circumspect about any action that could be seen to imply guilt on his part." No, suspension of a man accused of sexual abuse of a child should be immediate and publicized. Again, it is the work of law enforcement and the court system to establish guilt or to show that the accusation is unfounded. Protecting victims and potential victims MUST take precedence over protecting the reputation of the accused. "Innocent until proven guilty" works: especially given the outcome of this case, the CPA ought to have some faith in the secular system to deal justly with both accuser and accused. A falsely accused person pays a heavy price for justice, but it is not heavier than the price paid by the many victims who have been denied justice through bishops' suppression of evidence or who have failed to win justice even when there was compelling evidence against the accused. Fr. Reynolds has a right to complain about his treatment in the media, but let's not conclude that media should give all accused priests kid-glove treatment. That's not the role of the media, and monitoring the workings of justice is an important role of the media. Congratulations to Fr. Reynolds for winning a significant compensation from RTE, and congratulations to the court system for reaching a just conclusion. Now, let's see justice for alleged victims in the many cases that have not yet reached a judge or jury or even a garda.

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cillowen | Nov 20, 2011, 09:19 AM EST

perhaps shatter types run that entity too.

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