Bishop Tells Cloyne Priest To Stop Commenting On Abuse

A priest who was heavily criticized in the Cloyne report over his handling of clerical child abuse cases has been urged by his bishop to refrain from any more public comment on the controversy.

It follows the publication of a letter last week in The Irish Catholic newspaper from Monsignor Denis O'Callaghan.

The Murphy Commission found that O'Callaghan, who was responsible for child safety as Bishop John Magee's child protection delegate, had failed to implement safety guidelines.

Mgr O'Callaghan disagreed with the Irish church's mandatory reporting guidelines, and for nine years, played a leading role in concealing the majority of serious complaints against priests in the Cloyne dioceses from Gardai.

In his letter to the Irish Catholic newspaper last week, Mgr O'Callaghan said he should have quit his position on a point of principle, rather than continue in a job where he didn't agree with the guidelines.

He defended his actions, saying that for "most of those priests accused in Cloyne the complaints alleged incidents dating back over 30 or 40 years.

"Of those priests some would now be terminally ill while others would be under constant medical care," he said.

"The literal guidelines did not allow for any discretion to bishops and to their delegates. Reporting was to be made immediately. No exception was to be made even when an accused priest was on his death-bed."

In July, Monsignor O'Callaghan said he was sorry that in responding to allegations of abuse he had sometimes become "emotionally and pastorally drawn to the plight of the accused priest".

He criticized the Commission saying: "Judge Yvonne Murphy was made aware of the Cloyne commitment to pastoral care, but the commission focused on its remit of reporting on whether or not procedures were fulfilled."

Archbishop of Cashel and Emly, Dr Dermot Clifford, who is currently the administrator of the Cloyne Diocese, urged Mgr Callaghan not to make any more public comments on the matter.

He said that to do so would only cause further distress to survivors of abuse and their families.

Dr Clifford said he agreed that Mgr O'Callaghan should have resigned, and quoted the Murphy Commission's view that the guidelines for mandatory reporting do not preclude a pastoral response.

The controversy over Mgr O'Callaghan's remarks came just days after Bishop John Magee broke his silence on the findings of the Cloyne report.

Dr Magee, a former private secretary to three popes, went to ground after its publication, refusing all media requests for the past six weeks.

But in an interview with RTE outside his home last week, Bishop Magee reiterated his apology and offered to meet victims.

He said he felt ashamed by the findings.

"I feel there is nothing I can say now which will ease the pain and distress for victims," he said

"I fully understand why they are angry - I let them down, by not fully implementing the guidelines which were available to me.

"To the victims I say I am truly horrified by the abuse they suffered - it is very clear to me when I read the complete report - and if through my not fully implementing the 1996 guidelines which we had, I have made any victim suffer more, on my bended knee, I beg forgiveness, I am sorry."

However, his apology was slammed as "insincere" and "empty" by victims and others.

"His response has insulted and outraged victims because, regardless of his intentions, it came across as being quite formulaic," One in Four executive director Maeve Lewis said.

"A five-minute interview is insufficient, and victims deserve a much more thorough set of answers from Bishop Magee ."

One woman who was abused in Cloyne said his apology was "meaningless". The woman, speaking under anonymity, said Dr Magee had "cultivated the art of telling lies".

"I spoke to that man in 2005. He pretended to be so shocked by my story, yet we read in the Murphy Report they knew about this particular priest so many years ago," she said.

"He has no concept at all of the abuse.

"He said he was 'horrified' when he read the report at what happened on his 'watch'.

"The point is he knew exactly what was going on. He has known about this abuse for so long, yet he turned a blind eye. What was he doing on his watch that he was able to look the other way?"

Another woman told Irish newspapers that she didn't believe his sincerity.

"He said he would go down on bended knee to apologise, but why didn't he look for our phone numbers when the report came out? I don't find anything sincere in anything he said.

"He should come out for once and for all with hands up and say 'We lied. We covered up, and we did it in the name of God'."

And while Catholic bishops welcomed his offer to meet victims, the Association of Catholic Priests also strongly criticized Dr Magee's words.

"A five-minute doorstep interview after a month of silence is not at all adequate for the extent of the difficulties around the Cloyne report," Fr Tony Flannery said. "He needs to do more than that."