Pedophile Inquiry needed in every diocese in Ireland

Only then can Church move on, recover

NIALL O'DOWD,

IrishCentral.com Publisher

Published Sunday, December 20, 2009, 8:05 AM

Updated Sunday, December 20, 2009, 6:25 PM

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8 Comments

Bishop Donal Murray's resignation this week was only the tip of the iceberg.

News / Ultimatum to four Irish Catholic bishops: Quit or be fired / Click here

What you need to know about the resignation of Bishop Donal Murray of Limerick this week is that it is the tip of the iceberg. Murray resigned in Rome after evidence of his role in covering up pedophile priests in Dublin became public.

Two more bishops are said to be in the sights of the Vatican, which wants the mess cleared up and the Irish Church restored to normalcy.

Good luck with that. Two others may also have to go. Cardinal Desmond Connell, who has been pathetically dancing on the head of a pin trying to avoid any association with the scandal, may also be censured.

The facts are that two major inquiries in Irish dioceses have taken place. In Wexford, then-Bishop Brendan Comiskey was forced out after the horrific deeds of pedophile Father Sean Fortune were revealed. In Dublin, five bishops are under the spotlight.

The question is, of course, what would happen if the Murphy report into wrong-doing in the Dublin Archdiocese was duplicated in every diocese in Ireland? That is what clerical abuse watchdogs have called for.

The fallout would be horrific, but nonetheless I think it should be done.

It is time once and for all for the pedophiles and their enablers to be utterly exposed. Recently two very elderly Nazi guards at prison camps were placed under arrest and tried. Justice was seen to be done and the world can move on. The six million Jews who died can rest a tiny bit easier. The little children whose lives were ruined by pedophile priests all over Ireland need that same closure.

There are many fine bishops and priests all over Ireland who had nothing to do with pedophiles or cover -ups. Yet they are under the same suspicion as the real offenders.

Archbishop Diarmuid Martin in Dublin has shown the way by forthrightly addressing the issue in the wake of the Murphy report. The Church in general needs to follow his lead, stop backpedalling, explaining away the inexplicable. A cleaning-out is needed from diocese to diocese where wrongs occurred.

Only then can the Church in Ireland regain its momentum.

Nster.com

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8 Comments

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mollymcgee | Jan 11, 2010, 11:10 AM EST

These liers of the cloth have destroyed lives for years.....Pluck them as you would wilted flowers..........for they are the bad seeds...and those that befriend them .... the same!!! Deception is the bitterest pill swallowed by man, and he never forgets..... The catholic church as it was `IS GONE.....and the boot only of all `proven linked to this tradgety` ..... will restore credibility!

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michaelOgCollin | Dec 26, 2009, 01:36 PM EST

Niall, just a question: how come you never got on your high horse about the pedophile activities of Cathal o Searcaigh of "Fairytale of Kathmandu" notoriety. Like the Faerie prince of the Irish Seanad, David Norris, do you grant him a special exemption because he is "Ireland's gay poet of the native tongue" or is it because he doesn't wear a collar. The pedophile priest problem was certainly badly mishandled by the Church hierarchy, but many like you in the Irishmedia think Cathal should get a pass on his behavior and the failure to prosecute his transgressions smells of a double standard, much like the Matthew Shephard/Jesse Dirkheising murders. Gays are always the victims, never the perps;however, given your water-carrying activities on behalf of brendan fay and the pink and lavender mafia with respect to the St Pat's parade in NYC during the 1990's I am not surprised.

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irishathens | Dec 21, 2009, 12:49 PM EST

Kickstar Just a simple question....Are you angry all the time...chill..and leave Henry V111 at peace

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kickstar | Dec 21, 2009, 12:33 AM EST

Get these people away from the children of Ireland,Nothing less will do. They have broken a sacred trust They can NEVER be trusted to EVER be around our Children again. Take the Schools away from them. Take all their property Convents Monasteries etc, Do like Henry the eighth did God Bless him.

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KathyCallahan | Dec 20, 2009, 04:19 PM EST

If it's even possible for me to cut to the chase here by way of a good enough analogy based on my work in hospitals: Patient care standards and safety regulations that are enacted by the Joint Commission for U.S Hospitals are uniform. The joint commission manual and procedures are routine. Inspections lead to 'commendations and sanctions'and corrections must be made. Mount Sinai Medical Center and The Cleveland Clinic must uphold the joint commission rules and regulations manual. Safety standards et al must be met. And their is a hot line that a patient or staff member can call to report a violation in progress or past infraction. Every hospital is inspected on a regular basis by a highly trained team. There is a joint commission manual and check list. Patients and staff are randomly interviewed, complaints are analyzed. It is thorough and systematic like military procedures. And the Joint Commission practices and procedures are continually updated and improved upon. "The Joint Commission for Irish Catholic Children" is a very good name and the kind of model and manual that is long over due for the Irish Catholic Church and every county school and parish they over see to follow. It all starts and ends in The Vatican with our tribe of course. Pope Benedict and Cardinal Law come out come out wherever you are. To do anything less will lead to sloppy in the shadows conduct and a never ending litany of unaccountable behavior, practices and a litany of unverifiable decisions and procedures that should be out lawed.

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KathyCallahan | Dec 20, 2009, 03:50 PM EST

'The ? is, of course, what would happen if the Murphy report into wrong-doing in the Dublin Archdiocese was duplicated in every diocese in Ireland? That is what clerical abuse watchdogs have called for.' Anything less than "Duplication Investigations" will undermine and discredit all of the slow but sure progress that is unfolding and quickening in Dublin as the long winding and slithering dark veil is being lifted miraculously by Brian Cowan. after decades upon decades of seamlessly well organized cover ups effectively enabled pedophiles to 'Thrive and Multiply under the radar in rectories, on and off school and church properties. All united together in the cause of satisfying their obsessive and compulsive urges and desires that are all about and no matter what: -Getting off on Overpowering and Shattering the emotional, developmental, family ("keep it all quiet and inside or else." roars, the priest to a 7 year old little boy! I forbid you to tell your ma or da!") Thereby, breaking the bond between mother, da and child. And last but certainly not least of all: physical and spiritual: Robbing these children of their faith (and any sense of security) These guys multiplied and flourished across county lines and all the way to Dorchester MA and back to the Vatican again where Cardinal Law and others are living scott free under 'high holy' house protection because deep deep down they do not believe in or think that they have to honor or uphold or have to answer to the laiety criminal child protection laws, procedures and sentences. None of it applies to them because what they are doing to children is really and truly okay...Unilaterally deciding children do not need such laws to be honored and punished. There living into action philosophy calls to mind another org.

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jacersisityourself | Dec 20, 2009, 03:12 PM EST

I agree. A bit over the top though for irishathens to label good men, despite their wrong actions in relation to covers-up to be perverted people. And don't forget, members of An Garda Siochana, our police force, who listened to pleas from bishops and others re allegations about certain eveil-doing priests of the time, could also be implicated in the covers-up, along with some Irish Govt officials, particularly of the DEpts of Justice and Education. This thing is really big and a thorough delivery of justice is needed.

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irishathens | Dec 20, 2009, 10:09 AM EST

Niall, I agree entirely...This is exactly what I have been saying from the beginning...Now the 'fun' begins..We won't have to wait long to see devious schemes to save their perverted skins

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