Sunday, July 17, 2011

Campaigners call for more abuse investigations

THE Cloyne abuse revelations make it clear that further investigations into child sex assaults by priests must be extended to the rest of the country, campaigners have said.

Speaking after the publication of the Murphy Commission, One In Four executive director Maeve Lewis said the state needs to open investigations into dioceses in Limerick, Donegal and potentially Derry.

She said until the Cloyne findings were published she was unsure about whether such an extension of the inquiries was necessary.

However, Ms Lewis is now convinced the problems and cover-ups in the Cork parish have been repeated across the country.

"Until yesterday I was in two minds about the need to extend the remit, but the findings out of Cloyne have changed that. The entire Church needs to be looked at," she said.

While a full examination of all dioceses in Ireland has been called for, Ms Lewis said those which need to be prioritised are Limerick and Raphoe in Donegal.

She said the Limerick investigation should be prompted specifically by the treatment of the late Peter McCloskey.

The 37-year-old died in 2006, two days after a controversial meeting with Dr Donal Murray and his legal team over allegations of abuse.

His family have insisted there is a need for an urgent audit into what happened to their son and how his treatment by the Church when he came forward with the allegations may have contributed to his death.

It is alleged Mr McCloskey was repeatedly raped by Fr Denis Daly, who has since died, in the Caherdavin parish between 1980 and 1981.

Regarding the diocese of Raphoe, Ms Lewis said there are still concerns, particularly surrounding Fr Patrick Maguire.

He was a member of the Columban Fathers who was convicted of child sex abuse in Ireland and Britain, and ministered in the area in the mid-1970s.

Calls for an inquiry into cases in the North by deputy first minister Martin McGuinness have also been given the preliminary support of Ms Lewis, who said there are issues surrounding allegations in Derry.

Meanwhile, Children’s Minister Frances Fitzgerald has indicated there may be other investigations into clerical child sex abuse in the Republic following the publication of the damning report into the Cloyne Diocese.