THE Bishop of Raphoe, Dr Philip Boyce, has described as "extraordinary" the fact that no evidence was found of complaints against notorious paedophile priest Eugene Green.
The bishop was speaking after the publication of the audit into child sex abuse in the Diocese of Raphoe in Donegal.
The audit found there was a total of 52 complaints made against 14 priests.
Bishop Boyce said the first he knew about allegations against notorious paedophile priest Eugene Green, who accounts for up to 26 of the complaints, was in 1997 during the lead-up to the court case against Green in 2000.
He said a father of one victim claimed he had written to former Bishop of Raphoe Dr Seamus Hegarty, but no trace of the letter could be found.
"We couldn’t find any trace of letter. I expressed my sincere apology to these people and something should have been done but there was no trace of the letter until it came out in the court case. There was no copy of the letter.
"That is extraordinary. It may reflect on the culture at the time. To my knowledge, nothing was destroyed since I came into the diocese," he said.
He added that Bishop Hearty was quite meticulous and he did not believe he destroyed any letters.
"The letter wasn’t there and it’s a great disappointment that it wasn’t. I am truly sorry for what happened and nothing was done at the time.
"It was the 1970s and we weren’t aware of the damage that child abuse could do. It makes me all the more determined to make our parishes a safe place for our children," he said.
Bishop Boyce added that there has not been any letters of complaint from survivors of child sex abuse.
"It is quite incredible but that is the truth," he said.
He said he would have no problem with a Government enquiry into the Diocese abuse "if that is what is requested."
Chief executive of the National Board Safeguarding Children in the Catholic Church, Ian Elliott, said errors of judgement were made by bishops in Raphoe when responding to child abuse allegations.
"Too much emphasis was placed on the situation of the accused priest and too little on the needs of their complainants.
"Judgments were clouded, due to the presenting problem being for example, alcohol abuse and an inability to hear the concerns about abuse of children, through that presenting problems.
More attention should have been given to ensuring that preventative actions were taken quickly when concerns came to light. This view is based on an assessment of cases reported to the diocese and includes a number which were received during the previous bishops’ time in office," he said.
The report added however that it commended Bishop Boyce on his willingness to "learn the painful lessons of the past and to apply them to current practice in the diocese".
The report revealed that of the 14 priests against whom complaints were made, eight are "out of ministry" or have left the priesthood.
The audit found there was a total of 52 complaints made against 14 priests.
Bishop Boyce said the first he knew about allegations against notorious paedophile priest Eugene Green, who accounts for up to 26 of the complaints, was in 1997 during the lead-up to the court case against Green in 2000.
He said a father of one victim claimed he had written to former Bishop of Raphoe Dr Seamus Hegarty, but no trace of the letter could be found.
"We couldn’t find any trace of letter. I expressed my sincere apology to these people and something should have been done but there was no trace of the letter until it came out in the court case. There was no copy of the letter.
"That is extraordinary. It may reflect on the culture at the time. To my knowledge, nothing was destroyed since I came into the diocese," he said.
He added that Bishop Hearty was quite meticulous and he did not believe he destroyed any letters.
"The letter wasn’t there and it’s a great disappointment that it wasn’t. I am truly sorry for what happened and nothing was done at the time.
"It was the 1970s and we weren’t aware of the damage that child abuse could do. It makes me all the more determined to make our parishes a safe place for our children," he said.
Bishop Boyce added that there has not been any letters of complaint from survivors of child sex abuse.
"It is quite incredible but that is the truth," he said.
He said he would have no problem with a Government enquiry into the Diocese abuse "if that is what is requested."
Chief executive of the National Board Safeguarding Children in the Catholic Church, Ian Elliott, said errors of judgement were made by bishops in Raphoe when responding to child abuse allegations.
"Too much emphasis was placed on the situation of the accused priest and too little on the needs of their complainants.
"Judgments were clouded, due to the presenting problem being for example, alcohol abuse and an inability to hear the concerns about abuse of children, through that presenting problems.
More attention should have been given to ensuring that preventative actions were taken quickly when concerns came to light. This view is based on an assessment of cases reported to the diocese and includes a number which were received during the previous bishops’ time in office," he said.
The report added however that it commended Bishop Boyce on his willingness to "learn the painful lessons of the past and to apply them to current practice in the diocese".
The report revealed that of the 14 priests against whom complaints were made, eight are "out of ministry" or have left the priesthood.