CARDINAL Desmond Connell has hired a solicitor whose legal strategies previously led to him -- along with Bishop Donal Murray -- being accused of "nailing to a cross" an abuse victim who committed suicide. The cardinal has brought a High Court action against a State inquiry investigating abuse in the Dublin archdiocese.
Earlier this month, Cardinal Connell secured a temporary injunction in a bid to prevent the inquiry from examining certain files which he claims are legally privileged.
The cardinal made the move after receiving unanimous advice from his lawyers, who include veteran Church solicitor Diarmuid O'Cathain, the principal legal adviser for the diocese of Cork and Ross
Diarmuid O Cathain was the solicitor who advised Bishop Donal Murray, the Bishop of Limerick, when the prelate was engulfed in controversy two years ago following the tragic death of Peter McCloskey.
Mr McCloskey, a 37-year- old father of three, committed suicide two days after mediation talks attended by Mr O Cathain; a nun, priest and a representative from support group One in Four, irretrievably broke down.
The suicide, combined with a furore over McCloskey's efforts to obtain access to Church files, and the diocese's legal strategy, forced Donal Murray to take time off "for health reasons".
Speaking after his death, Mary McCloskey, the dead man's mother, who initially called for Bishop Murray's resignation, said the bishop "and his legal representatives" had nailed her son to a cross.
"Where Christian charity, humanity and the love of Christ were called for, Peter encountered a litigious response, denial of liability... and was threatened with being sued for libel and legal costs," said Mrs McCloskey in 2006.
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