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Irish Bishop accused of major cover-up over child sex abuse priest

Offender continued to abuse children after parish transfer

PATRICK COUNIHAN,

IrishCentral Staff Writer

Published Monday, October 8, 2012, 7:23 AM

Updated Monday, October 8, 2012, 7:23 AM

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Bishop of Clonfert John Kirby accused of covering up sexual abuse in the Catholic Church

Photo by Irish Times

In a ‘special message’ read at all Masses in Clonfert on the weekend of September 15th/16th, he repeated: “I am not aware of any abuse allegations from the parishes to which they [the two priests] were moved.”

The Irish Times reports that the man referred to as Priest A in the NBSC review of Clonfert abused a total of 17 victims in the diocese.

It says nine of these were in Kiltormer parish, from where he was removed by Bishop Kirby when it emerged in 1990 he had abused a child there. He was then moved to Creagh parish where, it is believed, he claimed to have abused five more children.

Priest A also said he abused a further two children in Portumna and one other in the diocese.

The Irish Times understands that Priest A disclosed all these details to Bishop Kirby, as well as to statutory authorities, while serving his prison sentence in Arbour Hill.

The paper says that in 1994, Priest A was sentenced to 10 years, with five suspended as he pleaded guilty. He was in prison until 1998.

It also reports that Priest A gave the 17 names to Bishop Kirby after the bishop had been approached by a mother in the diocese who was anxious to know whether her son had been abused by Priest A. Bishop Kirby visited Priest A at Arbour Hill to secure the list of victims. It did not include her son.

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seamus60 | Oct 25, 2012, 09:01 PM EDT

Seano. Nothing would surprise me anymore. Except just how many people are blinded by sheer loyalty. Pride in ones religion (or leadership of) can be very cruel.Keep the faith, just change the leadership for one that will practice what it preachs.

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seanomelb | Oct 10, 2012, 06:20 PM EDT

BTW Seamus the CC of police has just accused the catholic church in Victoria of deliberately destroying evidence and aiding pedophile priests.

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seamus60 | Oct 10, 2012, 08:20 AM EDT

Jacer. We had a coach load of old people from Australia come to the Northwest to be re-united with families most didn`t even know existed until shortly before their visit. They were pretty sure of what had happened to them as children in care of the church. The Derry journal covered their stories that were upsetting for families and public alike. Have they not been stealing new born children until quite recently from mothers believing their infants had died ?

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seanomelb | Oct 09, 2012, 07:12 PM EDT

Jacer I don't need specs to see through your extreme religious beliefs. Be careful now don't upset yourself or you may say a few choice words which may send you running to the confessional a chara.

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jacersagain | Oct 09, 2012, 06:23 PM EDT

seamus 60 – I agree 100% with your post apart from the Ozzie granny parent’s part. Most Oz people wouldn’t know how to speak, let alone spell, words of English or of Faith without help from the Irish CBs and Nuns who departed from their homes in Ireland in pursuit of their vocation from our Christ. Covers-up are a huge problem in every aspect of life, not just in the Catholic Church but also in the EU, the ECB and the IMF, the new Capitalist-aspring-to-be-Communist Troika. Mind you, the CBs and Nuns didn’t always get it rite, did they…? The numbers of people who expertly convey opinions online using misspeelings of 'there’, ‘their’ and ‘they’re’ must be proof of dat. I agree with you seamus all, no respect at all, atall atall.

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Smyrnian | Oct 09, 2012, 04:07 PM EDT

In defense of TisEyerish I believe the point is in respect of the coverups at all levels of the church including the movement of known offenders to places where they had continued proximity to children amidst a population that was unaware of the offenders past. That's what's getting to people big time.

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jacersagain | Oct 09, 2012, 02:23 PM EDT

Yes eiriamach I’ve seen, on this lovely Irish Autumn evening, that ICentral has in probity published selected parts of the Bishop’s response to the Irish Times's reporter's allegations. I saw the Bishop’s response in Irish newspapers yesterday but I agree with you in that there is sufficient ‘slithering’ in his words to not make it an honest openly understood answer. If he knew more, he should at least openly admit it. If he didn’t know more, he should offer enough proof to satisfy everybody’s suspicious mind. I see today that the reporter who made the allegations has stood by his report in the Irish Times paper, a paper which claims to be one of record and which has also published many apologies for getting it wrong. One man’s word against another’s – eh? We’ll await further clarity but what that will ever achieve is anyone’s guess.

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eiriamach | Oct 09, 2012, 12:37 PM EDT

@jacers, RE: your complaint that IC hasn't published Bishop Kirby's response to the Irish Times' allegations, see today's IC article "Catholic bishop Kirby disputes newspaper's allegations of ..." IF you read Kirby's replies closely, you will see that his denials are carefully worded to slither around the allegations made by the Times. Once Kirby had the list of 17 names, he knew that the priest had abused many, not just the one he'd admitted to at the time of his transfer. If the list did not include where and when the abuses took place, the bishop can claim "I am not aware of an acknowledgement by 'Priest A' that he abused any child subsequent to October 1990, the date when I first learned of his sexual abuse of a child," and that he had not "received any complaints that 'Priest A' has abused a child in either of the parishes he has been transferred to." However, these "denials" do not add up to a straightforward denial that he had the names of 17 other victims of that priest, whether or not he knew where and when the priest abused them. Bishop Kirby is obviously too experienced at clever denials to remember how to tell the truth, the whole truth, with no evasions mixed in.

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seamus60 | Oct 09, 2012, 06:10 AM EDT

Jacer. With respect its nothing to do with the percentages. Cover ups are the problem for your 98% or whatever other it could be. Lets not forget either all the other dirty antics the church have been getting up to for many decades. We have grand parents returning from Australia and other countries with their stories of never being taught to read or write by the christian brothers who used them as slave labour at the end of brutality. The list goes on. To gain any respect one must practice what one preachs. Has`nt and isn`t happening.

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Collette2 | Oct 09, 2012, 01:25 AM EDT

I wonder if Australia has caught up with this yet. They have definately been keeping their finger on the pulse todate.

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jacersagain | Oct 08, 2012, 09:17 PM EDT

Yes to TisEyerish’s complaints except for the fact that only 2% (as of last studies) of members of the Catholic Clergy committed the disgusting offences. That’s about the same %-age as in TisEyerish’s own local community. That, to me, is not a good enough reason to lapse being a Catholic, or a Christian. While a few of us are adept at naming the bad people in our communities, I would challenge TisEyerish to name the other 98% good people in the community s/he lives in.

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TisEyerish | Oct 08, 2012, 08:46 PM EDT

It seems as though this is a world-wide epidemic and it's sickening. I am amazed that the Catholic church as any followers left. How much more corrupt can any organization be? I've been a lapsed Catholic for decades and, to be honest, I'm glad I am. While I have very fond memories of the religious experiences I had as a child, they could never bring me back to Mother Church again...especially not that I now know how many innocent children had their childhood shattered by these beastly pedophiles.

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jacersagain | Oct 08, 2012, 08:02 PM EDT

AlanJBall – Irish Central doesn’t do honest journalism; it robs off other good journalism sites. Read the start of article again. It says “A Catholic bishop (sic) has been accused of lying by the Irish Times (newspaper)” and builds it up from there. So far, ICentral hasn’t published the Bishop’s response. The Irish Times might just be lucky to get away with a money-draughting damning law suit.

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AlanJBall | Oct 08, 2012, 07:39 PM EDT

A'major coverup'... just out of interest...When the 5/6 minutes researching this story elapsed ,you came up with this stunning piece of journalism. Who did your research? The pope?....lmfao....

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jacersagain | Oct 08, 2012, 07:15 PM EDT

Barneyjo – nice to see you onboard again! You could take your comment further to include an enquiry into the Royal Family of Queen Elizabeth II’s Lord Mountbatten’s much-alleged privileged abuse of boys in Nth Ireland. And that of all who allegedly consorted to enable his abuse and of those who partook of the abuse before and after him. That can’t be verified independently by a police force that actively partook in child abuse with a lot of wink-wink, nod-nod and lots of har-hars afterwards.

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