Scottish Catholic Observer

Bishop Philip Boyce of Raphoe in the north of Ireland has said that ‘very poor judgements and mistakes’ have been made during the past decades in his diocese, as reports of child protection practices in six Irish dioceses were published on Wednesday.

The reports, by the Church in Ireland’s child protection watchdog, the National Board for Safeguarding Children, mark the beginning of a review of all 26 dioceses in Ireland, as well as other Catholic institutions.

As the SCO went to press, the Raphoe report had been published and was expected to be followed by reports on Derry, Dromore, Ardagh and Clonmacnoise, Kilmore and Tuam.

Raphoe

The report on Raphoe Diocese, which covers most of County Donegal, had been the most keenly anticipated and is where the priest, Fr Eugene Greene, abused more than 20 boys over 20 years.

In a statement, Bishop Boyce (above right) said the review examined all case files from 1975 to 2010 to determine how allegations and concerns were dealt with. The Irish police received 52 allegations concerning priests in the diocese during that period.

Bishop Boyce said that the people of Raphoe Diocese ‘have suffered much over the last 20 years with a proportionately high number of priests with complaints of child sexual abuse made against them.’

He added that he ‘fully accepts the recommendations contained in the review’ and is ‘committed to implementing them.’

“During the past decades there have been very poor judgements and mistakes made,” Bishop Boyce said. “There were horrific acts of abuse of children by individual priests, that should never have happened, and, if suspected, should have been dealt with immediately in the appropriate manner. Insufficient emphasis was placed on the needs of the victims, often in the misguided attempt to protect the reputation of the Church. There were frequent cases of delays or non-reporting of allegations and complaints about child sexual abuse. We are truly sorry for the terrible deeds that have been inflicted on so many by a small minority of priests.

“We offer our humble apologies once more and seek their forgiveness for the dreadful harm that has been done to them, their families and friends.

“Hopefully these grave errors will never be repeated.”

Other reports

The reports could track back as far as 1975, providing details of how these three dioceses have dealt with child abuse since the mid-1970s and how they deal with it now.

If the dioceses come up short on current child protection procedures, they will be told.

Séamus Hegarty, the retired Bishop of Derry, whose resignation on health grounds was accepted by the Vatican last month, is expected to be in the spotlight following the publications.

He served as Bishop of Raphoe from 1982 to November 1994, when he was installed as Bishop of Derry, and questions are expected to arise over how Fr Greene was managed.

As Derry Diocese prepares to publish its own report, a new diocesan administrator has been appointed, pending the appointment of a new bishop. The new administrator is Mgr Eamon Martin, a former head of St Columb’s College in the city.

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