Groups involved in abuse to be held accountable - McEntee

Minister for Education Helen McEntee has said the religious groups involved in historical sexual abuse "will be held accountable".

The minister's comments follow the Government's commitment to establish a Commission of Investigation into allegations of historical sexual abuse in schools across the country.

Further work will be carried out to examine the matter of financial redress and how any future scheme could be funded.

Details of the Commission of Investigation were outlined by Minister for Education Helen McEntee after Cabinet.

The commitment to establish a commission is contained in the Programme for Government.

A scoping inquiry found more than 2,000 allegations of abuse at over 300 schools.

Minister for Education Helen McEntee will outline the details of the Commission of Investigation

Minister McEntee said the Terms of Reference were set out very clearly to ensure the commission does not go over time and closely reflect the recommendations of the scoping inquiry.

Further recommendations of the scoping inquiry have also been accepted by Government.

"There is a very clear pause within the first two years to make sure that the Commission can highlight any problems that arise," she said.

"But also it works both ways, that the minister can then identify if issues are emerging, how the work is being done, and whether or not that will result in an outcome that is appropriate."

Minister McEntee said a further body of work was needed in relation to establishing a redress scheme for survivors, but in the event of it being established, it would be funded by religious orders and those who "are accountable for the awful abuses which happened in our schools".

She said: "The work that is happening in parallel is further examination of the religious orders, what funds they have, what assets they have, what levers may be used by governments to ensure that funding is provided by those religious groups and orders."

"And it's only after that that obviously a decision would have to be taken on a redress scheme," Minister McEntee added.

Minister McEntee said she hoped the most important outcome of the commission was to answer the question of how historical sexual abuse was allowed to happen in schools over a long period of time.

She said: "I believe, as a State, we need to shine a light on what is a very dark part of our past, but we need to do so in support of survivors and what they went through."

Minister McEntee said the chair of the commission will be supported by a team of commissioners, one which will look at the investigation into the handling of sexual abuse claims in religious schools, continuing the work of the scope of inquiry.

She said the second commissioner will begin work on the investigation into sexual abuse at non-religious-run schools.

A third commissioner will focus solely on a non-adversarial survivor engagement forum.

She said: "There will be no cross examination. It will be anonymised, and it will mean that every single person who wishes to come forward, to tell their story, to tell what happened to them, in that non-adversarial way, that they would be able to do so, and it will allow all survivors to do this.

"The investigation piece itself, then, obviously, would allow for different witnesses for cross examination.

"But any survivor who came forward in that sense would be and has to be supported through every step of the process."

Commission to examine allegations of historic sexual abuse

The scoping inquiry recommended that the Commission examine the handling of allegations, suspicions and concerns of historical sexual abuse in schools, and that it consider all primary and post-primary schools, have been accepted by Government.

The Commission of Investigation will undertake "preliminary work" over the coming months, and will seek initial expressions of interest from people who may wish to provide information to it in due course.

An Inter-Departmental Group (IDG) was established to examine the recommendations of the scoping inquiry and it has advised that further recommendations relating to child protection, survivors' experiences of the justice and legal system, support for survivors and commemoration and memorialisation be accepted.

The scoping inquiry report recommended that consideration be given by government to establishing a redress scheme for survivors of historical sexual abuse in day and boarding schools run by religious orders.

The Government considered that a further phase of detailed investigation and data analysis on this issue will be essential, particularly given the expressed wish of many survivors that those running schools where sexual abuse occurred should be held accountable financially.

Mr Justice Michael MacGrath has been appointed as the chair of the commission by Minister McEntee.

Mr Justice MacGrath was appointed to the High Court in 2018 and has been a judge on the Court of Appeal since 2024.

He attended University College Dublin, where he later lectured in law.

As a judge, he has presided over civil cases, including commercial law, regulatory law, judicial review, family law, Hague Convention matters, employment law, and medical negligence.

On the criminal side, he has presided over trials in the Special Criminal Court and jury trials in the Central Criminal Court between 2020 and 2024.

The letter states that the Commission of Investigation will be independent in its operation and will have its own working methods and procedures and that when the commission begins its work formally in the coming months, it will be widely advertised.

Bishop provided reference for ‘deranged’ former employee

A trainee priest who embarked on a “Baby Reindeer-style” campaign of stalking and harassment, leaving her victim fearing he would be murdered, was endorsed by a Scottish bishop at the centre of bullying allegations.

Venessa Pinto sent dozens of threatening, obscene and sexually explicit messages and images to a fellow church member after he rebuffed her advances.

Pinto, 30, falsely accused Jay Hulme of racism and theft, posted his address online and urged him to drink rat poison during a 21-month hate campaign after he politely told her he was gay and had no romantic interest in her.

She was elected to the Church of England’s governing body, the general synod, but stood down before pleading guilty to causing serious distress and harm by stalking and sending more than 100 unwanted messages to Hulme between 2021 and 2023.

It emerged that Pinto was formally installed as a “pioneer minister” by the Right Rev Anne Dyer shortly after she became the Anglican bishop of Aberdeen and Orkney in 2018. 

Church insiders claimed that Dyer vouched for Pinto’s character, despite serious concerns being raised over her conduct, and facilitated her move from northeast Scotland to Leicester, where she met her victim.

Gerry Bowyer, the former rector of St Devenick’s Church in Aberdeen, said Pinto’s 16-month stint in the city proved disastrous. 

“It quickly became clear that Venesssa was not suited to this kind of role,” he said. “She would not do the work we were asking her to do and was prone to outbursts of anger. A neighbour of hers even got in contact to raise concerns about her abusive behaviour.”

Bowyer made an official complaint about Pinto, who in turn accused him of racism and bullying. 

One investigation found no evidence to support her claims but suggested he should have done more to support her, while another concluded she had anger management problems. 

“There is absolutely no way that Bishop Anne did not know what was going on,” Bowyer claimed.

A church member said: “When Venessa found out that a complaint had been lodged against her, the very first thing she did was to call Bishop Anne to ask for help.”

Pinto’s wages were paid by the Church Army, an independent Anglican evangelical group, but she worked directly with Scottish Episcopal Church (SEC) staff and was personally licensed by Dyer to carry out her duties.

Bowyer was left so distressed and disillusioned by the episode that he left his job and cut all ties with the SEC. 

“I could have stayed in ministry but it got to the point where I was spending most of my time looking over my shoulder, “ he told The Sunday Times. “I was exhausted, my wellbeing was suffering and I just didn’t have the emotional capacity to carry on.”

He continues to perform lay preaching with independent churches but embarked on a completely different career. 

“I’ve gone from being the rector of a beautiful parish and a leader in the church to driving a truck to pay the rent,” he said. “I don’t feel safe to work [in the SEC]. I feel that my vocation was stolen from me.”

It is understood the Church Army only provided a generic reference for Pinto. 

A Church of England insider said: “Because there was no specific personal detail about Venessa, contact was made with the diocese of Aberdeen and Orkney. They were asked whether there were any concerns over her and we were told there was nothing to worry about. Bishop Anne effectively vouched for her and she got the job in Leicester.”

Pinto sent a barrage of messages to Hulme after she took up her new role as a licensed lay minister.

One read: “Go and kill yourself. That will make my life so much easier. DIE!!! I mean it, monster.”

Another said: “I will make your life hell, I promise you. You could also drink rat poison. That’s a painless way of dying.”

Court orders extradition of former priest and serial child abuser Oliver O'Grady

The High Court has ordered the extradition of former priest and prolific child abuser Oliver O'Grady - who was featured in an Oscar-nominated documentary - to serve a one-year prison sentence in Portugal for having more than 9,000 images and 29 videos of child sexual abuse.

O’Grady (80) of Rostrevor Court, Mackin Street, Dublin 2 was arrested on January 21st, 2025 on foot of a European Arrest Warrant (EAW) issued by a court in Faro in Portugal.

The EAW states that O'Grady was tried on a charge of possession of "pornography of minors", convicted and sentenced to one year in prison in his absence by a Portuguese court after he failed to attend his trial on May 7th, 2024.

In opposing his surrender to Portugal, O'Grady complained that his fair trial rights were not adequately protected in the process that led to his conviction. He said that he had been unable to contact a lawyer appointed to defend him in Portugal.

He further complained that his surrender would be incompatible with the European Convention on Human Rights and the Charter of Fundamental Rights and Freedoms because of a real risk of inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment in the Portuguese prison system.

To bolster his claim, he said he spent time in the Prisional de Setubal in Portugal in October, 2019 after he was arrested on foot of an EAW from Ireland. 

He maintained that while incarcerated there he was not provided with medication, the facilities were unhygienic and, as a segregated prisoner on remand in respect of sexual offences, he was abused and had apples thrown at him.

However, Mr Justice Patrick McGrath at the High Court in Dublin found O'Grady's evidence relating to the trial process to be "disingenuous and self-serving". The judge found that O'Grady had tried to control the proceedings.

Portuguese authorities, through An Garda Siochána, notified O'Grady of his obligation to attend his trial and the consequences of failure to attend, the judge said.

There was no impediment to him travelling for his trial and, being a man familiar with the court system, he knew his inability to contact a lawyer did not excuse him from attendance, Mr Justice McGrath said.

O'Grady revealed his true mindset in an email he sent to the Portuguese prosecutor on April 11th, 2024, the judge said. In the email, O'Grady showed that he knew of the impending hearing date but suggested he might not attend unless he could be assured of being admitted to bail.

Mr Justice McGrath said: "This is not the mindset of a person who is unaware of a duty to attend at court and of the possible consequences of non-attendance, but rather shows a person who is trying to control the outcome of proceedings."

Mr Justice McGrath added that O'Grady was "clearly trying to manipulate the system to try to secure a certain outcome".

Had he attended his trial, as he was required to do, he would have been given proper legal assistance before entering a plea, the judge said. His failure to obtain effective legal assistance flows from his failure to attend, Mr Justice McGrath added.

In relation to the risk of inhuman or degrading treatment, Mr Justice McGrath said the conditions at the Carreguiera prison in which O'Grady will be housed in Portugal have not been criticised.

He said he is satisfied from assurances given by the Portuguese authorities that no such risk exists.

O'Grady has a long history of sexual offences against children.

Originally from Limerick, O’Grady emigrated to America after joining the priesthood.

In 1993 he was convicted in California of lewd acts against children for repeatedly molesting two brothers. He was released after serving seven years in prison before being deported to Ireland in 2001.

His crimes in California were the subject of a 2006 documentary titled 'Deliver us From Evil', in which O'Grady gave an account of his offending.

In January 2012, he was jailed in Ireland for three years for possessing hundreds of thousands of images of child pornography.

The images were discovered after he left his computer on an Aer Lingus flight in February 2010 and a staff member who discovered the files on the device alerted gardaí.

Some 280,000 images showing children in sexual poses and 1,000 video files of child abuse material, known in law as "child pornography", were discovered on the device.

He moved to Amsterdam where he lived for several years before returning to Ireland. It was on this flight back to his home country that he left his laptop behind.

In 2020, he was sentenced to 22 months in prison at Waterford Circuit Court for possessing child pornography.

He had pleaded not guilty to one charge of possessing a video of an underage girl engaging in a sexual act on a date between December 2015 and March 2016 at St Otteran’s Place, South Parade, Waterford city but was convicted by a jury.

A former housemate reported O’Grady to gardaí after discovering a sexually explicit video on the computer.

Diocesan Appointments 2025 - Down & Connor

Having reviewed the pastoral needs of the people of the Diocese of Down and Connor, Bishop Alan McGuckian S.J. announces the following retirements – reassignment and appointments with effect from Saturday 16th August 2025.

Retirements – Reassignment

Very Rev Canon John Murray formerly Parish Priest of Downpatrick to be Pastor Emeritus and to assist within the Downpatrick Family of Parishes.

Very Rev Peter O’Hare formerly Parish Priest of St Anne’s Parish, Belfast to be Pastor Emeritus.

Appointments

Very Rev Derek Kearney SMA to be Administrator of the parishes of Kilmore and Killyleagh.

Very Rev Brian McCann to be Parish Priest of Newtownards and Comber.

Very Rev Manuelito Milo to be Administrator of the Parish of Larne.

Very Rev Francis O’Brien to be Parish Priest of St Patrick’s Parish, Belfast.

Very Rev Martin O’Hagan to be Parish Priest of St Anne’s Parish and Derriaghy Parish.

Very Rev Eugene O’Neill to be Parish Priest of the Parish of Downpatrick.

Very Rev Nideesh Varghese to be Administrator of St Luke’s Parish, Twinbrook and Nativity Parish, Poleglass.

Rev Colin Grant formerly Aquinas Diocesan Grammar School to be Assistant Priest within the Upper Falls Family of Parishes and to continue as Director of The Catholic Schools’ Support Service.

Rev Benedict Kurian to be Healthcare Chaplain in addition to his appointment as Chaplain to the Syro-Malankara community.

I would like to record my thanks to all involved in and affected by these appointments for their co-operation and I wish them God’s blessing, good health and fulfilment in their respective ministries.

On behalf of the faithful of the diocese, I extend my heartfelt gratitude to Very Rev John Murray and Very Rev Peter O’Hare who have retired from the office of Parish Priest after many years of ministry and fruitful service.

I warmly welcome Rev Benedict Kurian into the Diocese of Down and Connor from the Diocese of Mavelikara, India, who, in addition to ministering to the local Syro-Malankara community, will assist as a Healthcare Chaplain.

Finally, I express my gratitude to the many permanent deacons, religious and lay faithful across the Diocese of Down and Connor who collaboratively support the priests and minister alongside them in our Families of Parishes, particularly in the fields of funeral ministry, adult faith development and parish leadership.

With every blessing and good wish,

I gCroí Íosa

+Alan McGuckian SJ

Bishop of Down and Connor

Scale of Commission of Investigation reflects 'deep impact on families'

The scale of the Commission of Investigation into allegations of historical sexual abuse in schools across the country reflects the thousands of lives affected and the deep impact on families and communities for generations, according to an organisation working with abuse survivors.

This afternoon, the Government announced that is to establish the Commission of Investigation, with further work to be carried out to examine the matter of financial redress and how any future scheme could be funded.

One in Four, which works with people who have been subjected to abuse, welcomed "the commitment to a broad and inclusive approach, covering all schools and with a definition of concerns of sexual abuse that includes formal allegations, information and witnessed behaviours".

It expressed hope that by investigating how concerns and allegations of child sexual abuse were handled by schools, religious bodies and state agencies, the Commission will uncover the failures to prevent sexual abuse, identify lessons for the future, whilst ensuring that the voices of those affected lead to meaningful change.

Given the scale of the issue, One in Four has said it recognises that not every individual case can be investigated.

"We urge the Commission to ensure its sampling methods are transparent so that all survivors and the wider public can understand how cases are selected and trust that the process is fair, open, and accountable," it said.

It has expressed concern that the issue of redress will be further delayed.

"While we appreciate this is complex, survivors have shown immense resilience and patience; therefore, we are concerned about any further delay.

"Delays disadvantage survivors and may allow institutions to avoid accountability."

It added that the Commission of Investigation is not an alternative route to justice for survivors, its focus is on examining how concerns were handled and learn from past failures.

It has pointed out that the Survivor Engagement Programme, while not a legal process, offers survivors a confidential and supportive space to share the impact of their experiences, ensuring their voices inform the Commission's recommendations.

CEO Deirdre Kenny said that examining how concerns were managed is vital for understanding past failures and building a safer, more accountable future for all children.

Commission of Investigation 'long overdue'

Labour Party leader Ivana Bacik said it is long overdue and one made possible only through the bravery of survivors and tireless campaigners.

She called on the Government to urgently move ahead with a parallel redress scheme to ensure justice is delivered in full.

"While this Commission is a welcome move, it must not stand alone. Labour is again calling on Government to urgently establish a parallel redress scheme for survivors of school abuse.

"It is essential that survivors are not made to wait years for justice and that any scheme is fully resourced, transparent, and survivor-led.

"We must also ensure that religious orders - many of whom were directly responsible for the care of children in these schools - are compelled to pay their fair share towards any redress fund.

"These orders cannot be allowed to hide behind trusts and legal mechanisms to avoid accountability."

Social Democrats education spokesperson Jen Cummins said the thousands of people who were abused in schools have waited far too long for this action.

"This endemic sexual abuse is a scandal of unprecedented and unparalleled proportions.

"These predators acted with impunity, were protected by religious orders, and they destroyed the lives of countless innocent children.

"This is why the minister must ensure that religious orders contribute to any redress scheme. We cannot have a repeat of this Government going to religious orders, cap in hand, pleading for contributions – as happened, most recently, with the Mother and Baby Home redress scheme.

Call for a public holiday to honour St. Colmcille in Meath

A Meath councillor has backed a motion originally put forward by Donegal County Council to establish a new public holiday in Ireland to honour St. Colmcille.

Also known as St. Columba, St. Colmcille is regarded as Ireland’s third patron saint, alongside St. Patrick and St. Brigid.

The proposal put forward by Councilor Sean Drew at the July meeting of Meath County Council initially suggested that a public holiday would not only commemorate Colmcille’s legacy but also recognise his connection to Meath.

The Fianna Fáil councillor said: “We have three national saints in Ireland and only two of them are recognised. St. Colmcille was a Christian and he had a strong connection to the county.”

The name Colmcille translates from Irish as “Dove of the Church.” 

Many historical sites across the northwest and east of Ireland are associated with him, including Gleann Cholm Cille, Toraigh, Kells, and Swords.

Cllr Drew, who represents the Kells district added: “We are below the EU average of public holidays. My principle behind this is to get a public holiday in honour of Colmcille.”

Ireland had nine bank holidays until St Brigid’s Day was introduced in 2023.

Independent Councillor Noel French spoke in support of the motion, noting that St. Colmcille’s influence extends far beyond Ireland. 

Born in Gartan, County Donegal in 521 AD, Colmcille was a key figure in spreading Christianity across Ireland and Scotland. 

He is also recognised as the patron saint of Derry, which in Irish is Doire Cholmcille, meaning “oakwood of Colmcille.”

Meanwhile Councillor Peter Caffrey suggested adding the celebration of St Colmcille to St Patrick’s day.

The mayor of Navan, Padraig Fitzsimons said a new bank holiday would not be “fair” to businesses.

He said: “It will be a huge cost to business at a time where a lot of businesses are struggling. I think it is going to be unfair on them.”

Councillor Gerry O’Connor proposed renaming the June bank holiday in Colmcille’s honour. 

In response, Cllr. Drew indicated flexibility with the proposal, saying: “My main purpose was to get a day named after him.”

The amended motion was unanimously agreed upon by the councillors present at the meeting.

St. Colmcille died on 9 June, 597, in Iona, an island off the coast of Scotland where he established a monastic community. 

Today, many schools, churches, and GAA clubs across Ireland are named after him

Redress as part of Commission of Investigation into allegations of historical sex abuse in schools could run to ‘tens of millions’

Education Minister Helen McEntee has set up a new Commission of Investigation, this time into sexual abuse in secondary schools, both lay and religious.

It follows a scoping inquiry which heard 2,395 allegations of historical sexual abuse in day and boarding schools run by religious orders, involving 884 alleged abusers in 308 schools across all areas of the country.

Ms McEntee pledged that it would not involve endless extensions and runaway costs – as reflected in recent Dáil remarks by the Taoiseach, who added that they don't often deliver closure for survivors either.

"I do believe we are learning," the Minister said, when asked about the Farrelly report into the Grace case, which is set to top a taxpayer cost of €20 million and which ran to eight years with repeated extensions – only to deliver an "unreadable" report of 2,000 pages, with no Executive Summary, as minister Norma Foley had requested.

Ms McEntee claimed that religious orders would contribute to the vital element of redress – despite the failure of religious orders to live up to their responsibilities for a quarter of a century now.

She offered no ceiling for compensation payments, or any minimums for church contributions, but said the Government would be looking to identify assets held by religious organisations.

The Minister was vague however about forcing redress, declining to refer to sequestration or seizure of assets, which the Attorney General has been asked to study by Ms Foley.

She said only that the Attorney General had been involved in drawing up the terms of reference and guidance, which sets a limit of five years for the project, with a requirement for an interim report after two years.

Mr Justice Michael McGrath will chair the commission.

Ms McEntee said she wanted to thank every single survivor for their bravery in coming forward, acknowledging the late Mark Ryan and his brother David, "who were absolutely instrumental".

The findings of the scoping inquiry were "nothing short of devastating," she said. "What is clear is that survivors want accountability.

"They deserve accountability, and that is why I am today announcing the establishment of a Commission for Investigation."

The inquiry will begin this work "in the coming months," she said, beginning with a survey of survivors that will be oriented towards their needs.

The chair will be assisted by two commissioners who will look at the handling of sex abuse claims in both religious and State schools, while engaging with survivors.

The latter taking of evidence will be "anonymised, non-adversarial and with no cross-examination," the Minister insisted, adding that it would involve a sampling approach.

The terms of reference were set out "to ensure that we do not go over time," she said, but the redress would be a "significant amount," she said.

Ms McEntee added: "We are talking in the tens of millions."

Shock in Italy at the news that a Vice Parish Priest in the Diocese of Novara, Don Matteo Balzano, has taken his own life

A 35-year-old priest killed himself in a town on the Piedmont shore of Lake Maggiore at the weekend, prompting fears of burn-out among young Italian clerics.

Cannobio parish priest Don Matteo Balzano took his own life on Saturday.

He had not recently called for help with his pastoral work, Church sources said.

Theology lecturer Giorgo Ronzoni, a Padua parish priest, said more research was needed on the stresses priests face.

"In 2020," said Ronzoni, "the French bishops courageously published the results of the "study on the health of active priests", without hiding problems such as a certain abuse of alcohol by two-fifths of the clergy.

"In Italy, on the other hand, until now it has been preferred not to undertake research of this magnitude".

Second priest urges Catholic MPs who voted for assisted dying and abortion up until birth to repent

A prominent London priest urged any MPs in his congregation on Sunday who had voted in favour of Assisted Dying and or legislation allowing abortion up until birth to repent via the Sacrament of Confession or else desist from receiving Communion.

The Very Reverend Julian Large, the Provost of Brompton Oratory in West London referred in his homily to Fr Ian Vane, who refused to give communion to a Catholic MP who voted in favour of a bill legalising assisted dying.

Vane, of St Joseph’s parish, Dorking, Surrey announced at three Masses he would deny communion to Chris Coghlan, the Liberal Democrat MP for Dorking and Horley, because he voted in favour of assisted dying.

Four days before the House of Commons voted on Kim Leadbeater’s Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill on 20 June, Vane emailed Coghlan to say he would deny him communion should he become complicit in a “murderous act” by voting in favour of the bill. Such a vote would be “a clear contravention of the Church’s teaching”, wrote Vane.

On Sunday 6 July, Fr Julian Large commended Fr Vane for his courage and charity in urging Coghlan to repent. He said he did not recognise any of the names of the Catholic MPs who voted in favour of either of the bills and therefore would not be in any position to refuse them Communion. 

However, he pleaded out of fraternal charity, that if any were present at Mass, they should repent of their sins and receive absolution in the sacrament of Penance before receiving Communion.

Large, who was awarded the OBE in 2024 for services to faith and integration, encouraged Catholics to reflect on whether they were receiving Communion worthily. 

He said that Catholics should approach Holy Communion as though it were their first and their last. 

Earlier this week, Coghlan spoke in The Times of a “public witch hunt” against Catholic politicians who had voted in favour of Assisted Dying or Abortion up until birth. 

He said he knew 13 Catholic MPs who had done so. Coghlan added: “The Catholic press is pushing for them to be denied communion as well.”

He described Vane’s actions as “utterly disrespectful” to his “family, constituents, the congregation and the democratic process”.  

He said Fr Vane had given First Holy Communion to his daughter.

Coghlan added: “But we’re not here as Catholic MPs, we’re here to represent our constituents … this is a clear attempt to meddle with the political process by the church.”

Brutal death of Roscommon priest can still be solved, says international policing expert

An international policing expert believes the brutal death of a Roscommon priest can still be solved, if new witnesses come forward.

Today is the 40th anniversary of the killing of Fr Niall Molloy.

The 52-year-old died in Clara, Co Offaly, on July 8th, 1985, in the home of Richard and Therese Flynn.

Richard admitted hitting him at least twice and was charged with his manslaughter - but he pleaded not guilty and was acquitted.

Stormont urged to remove ‘cruel clause’ in mother and baby homes Bill

Stormont has been urged to remove a “cruel clause” that “writes out” thousands of women, girls and their children in a mother and baby homes Bill.

Campaigners, including survivors of the homes run by the Catholic Church, religious orders, some Protestant denominations as well as the state, and relatives, gathered at Parliament Buildings on Monday.

More than 14,000 women and girls are thought to have passed through the institutions, with many found to have been mistreated, held against their will and forced to give up their children for adoption.

The Inquiry (Mother and Baby Institutions, Magdalene Laundries and Workhouses) and Redress Scheme Bill was introduced at the Assembly earlier this year, and is being scrutinised by the Executive Office Committee.

The Bill is to establish a statutory public inquiry and a statutory redress scheme, with a payment of £10,000 to be made to eligible claimants, and a £2,000 payment to eligible family members on behalf of a loved one who has died since September 29 2011.

Adele Johnston, of Birthmothers and their Children Together, described the 2011 cut-off date as “cruel”.

“On one hand we are pleased we have finally got as far as the legislation being written but there needs to be a lot of work done to make it acceptable to victims and survivors,” she said.

“There are a lot of aspects that need to be discussed and hopefully amended.

“We are quite hopeful going forward, but it all depends on their decisions at the end of the day.

“It’s been a long, long campaign, and a long, hard campaign, jumping through hoops, meeting ministers, baring our souls to the public. It’s not easy.

“But with one cruel clause in the Bill, they have written out thousands of women, girls and their children.

“The 2011 date for posthumous claims is utterly unacceptable and we will continue to fight that.”

Their mother Madeline Morris was sent to the Marianville Mother and Baby Home on the Ormeau Road in south Belfast when she was 18, after becoming pregnant, and forced to give her baby up for adoption.

Mrs Morris died in 1992, and the Bill as it is currently written will not recognise her.

“That’s why we’re here today,” Roisin Morris said, adding that they had not found out what happened to their mother until her first child came searching for her last year.

Lisa Morris said: “As things stand at the minute, our mummy won’t be recognised, and it’s very unfair, so we’re going to be her voice.”

Parish criticised after walking funeral processions are stopped: 'Convenience over compassion'

A decision to stop walking to the graveyard in Lurgan after a funeral, to ease pressure on local priests, has been ‘strongly objected’ to by a former priest and praised by others.

Announcing the end of the tradition to walk from St Peter’s Church to St Colman’s Graveyard after a funeral, Parish Priest of St Peter’s Church, Fr Colum Murphy, said that changes must take place ‘given the ever increasingly difficult workload and pressure we find ourselves under’.

While the walk to St Colman’s Graveyard is a long held tradition in Lurgan, this is not the norm in other parishes. This walk can take even longer if the cortege is held up at the railway gates.

Fr Murphy said that priests or deacons had been left waiting at the cemetery for an hour and a half or more waiting on a funeral to arrive.

With clergy having so many other responsibilities and things to do, such as attend the sick and visit other families in bereavement, the Lurgan clergy believe there has to be a compromise.

While many believe that priests’ time and commitments should be respected, former priest Mr Kieran McPartlan, who was a member of the clergy at the same parish 20 years ago, has written a letter from his home in Australia to ‘strongly object’ to the new arrangements.

Mr McPartlan, who is now married with 2 children, described the ‘directive’ by the local parish priest as ‘disappointing and insensitive’.

After a meeting with clergy within Lurgan, Parish Priest of St Peter’s Fr Murphy wrote in the parish bulletin: “We think it is important, that as things continue to change at a rapid pace in terms of what we are able to provide, we want to let you, our parishioners, know that what may have been expected in the past may no longer be the case.

"As you may already be aware we are no longer able to provide for funerals on a Sunday in either Parish, including in the case of a member of the Clergy from outside the Parishes offering to do this.

"The practice of how graves are allocated in St. Colman’s Cemetery has also changed and was published last year in the Parishes. If anyone wishes to be reminded of the new rules of allocating a grave, then please ask through the Parish offices.

"We would also now ask that walking to the cemetery after the Funeral Mass or Service be stopped. On an increasing number of occasions recently the Priest or Deacon has been left waiting in the cemetery for an hour and a half or more and, given the multitude of other things that we have to do, then if the family chooses to walk to the cemetery there is a strong possibility that there may not be a Priest or Deacon available for the burial.

"Within the next short period of time, the way that the Church has offered funerals previously will change. We fully understand that at times of a bereavement, when people are grieving, that emotions are heightened and feelings can be very raw. With this in mind though, we ask that you might understand our position; that we wish to provide, as we always do, the best care and consolation that we can for you, but that this might not always be as you ask or expect of us.

"As things change, we will keep you informed as best we can of anything that may be happening in regards to this in the Parish bulletins. If anyone has any questions or concerns, please address them to me as Parish Priest through the Parish offices,” said Fr Colum Murphy, PP

Mr McPartlan described the ‘directive’ by the local parish priest as ‘disappointing and insensitive’.

In a letter to the Lurgan Mail, Mr McPartlan said: “I strongly object to to the recent notice in the Parish Bulletin of St Peter’s in Lurgan advising that walking funeral procession to the cemetery will no longer be permitted due to Priests having to wait longer for the funeral to arrive. “This directive is clearly disappointing and insensitive. It prioritizes convenience over compassion and disregards the emotional and spiritual needs of grieving families. Walking with a loved one on their final journey is not just a tradition, it is an act of profound respect, reflection and community support.

"St Peter’s Parish is fortunate to have four Priests and a Deacon and this is more than sufficient to accommodate funeral arrangements. Grief cannot be rushed for the sake of scheduling. This decision sends an unfortunate message that the pastoral care of the bereaved is secondary to timing matters which is contrary to the role of the church as a source of comfort and support during life’s most difficult moments.

"I urge the Priests of the Parish to reconsider this insensitive decision and to reinstate the option of walking funeral procession allowing families the dignity of saying farewell in the way that best reflects their faith and grief,” signing the letter off as Kieran McPartlan & Family.

However one parishioner, living in Lurgan, described the decision as ‘commonsense’ adding: “While the walk to St Colman’s is a long-standing tradition, I don’t think it is of major importance in comparison to remembering the loved one we have buried. Many of us who have done that walk would rather have not as it can be physically difficult for the older folk.

"Priests are thin on the ground and have people to visit – some also going through dark times and bereavement. While it is important to show respect for the dead and those mourning, it is important to be aware that priests too have time-sensitive commitments including other funerals.

"Those families who are waiting for the Last Rites for their loved ones would appreciate if they didn’t have to wait on a priest held up because of a walking tradition.”

Commission to investigate historical sexual abuse allegations in schools

A COMMISSION OF Investigation into allegations of historical child sexual abuse in every school across the country is set to be established. 

Minister for Education Helen McEntee announced the move this afternoon, adding that work is already underway to establish a redress scheme for victims, which will be funded by schools where incidents of abuse were found to have happened.

Mr Justice Michael McGrath has been appointed to chair the commission by McEntee.

A survivor engagement programme will also be established, following a recommendation by a scoping inquiry last year.

That scoping inquiry gathered almost 2,400 allegations of sexual abuse of children in over 300 schools run by 42 religious orders. The report recommended that the scope of an inquiry be broadened to investigate all schools.

Speaking in Dublin this afternoon, McEntee said the independent commission will seek initial expressions of interest from people who wish to provide information to the investigation through a widely-advertised campaign.

A five-year deadline has been set for the commission by government, which will use “all potential levers that can be brought to bear to secure funding” from schools where incidents of abuse are found to have taken place.

In October last year, then-Taoiseach Simon Harris told The Journal the government may legislate so that organisations are required to pay into the redress scheme.

McEntee said today: “This is important to many survivors, that it is viewed as a measure of accountability for those responsible for sexual abuse in schools, and it is important to get this right.”

After two years, the Commission will report back to the minister with an update of its investigation. McEntee said the investigation will cost “tens of millions”.

No limit has been put on the level of redress currently, the minister said. McEntee said work must begin first to understand the exact and correct compensation is to be granted.

The scoping exercise was only tasked with looking into abuse in day and boarding schools run by religious orders. 

Most of these allegations were reported from the records of some 42 religious orders who currently or previously ran schools in Ireland. 

However, the report recommended that the terms of reference for any future inquiry be extended to cover all schools.

The Programme for Government contains a commitment to establish a Commission of Investigation. 

Drone restrictions over Tuam site ahead of full-scale excavation

A restriction against flying drones over the site of a former mother and baby home has been put in place in Tuam, Co Galway ahead of its excavation.

The full-scale forensic dig of the site of St Mary’s mother and baby home, where it is believed up to 800 babies and young children were buried between 1925 and 1961, is scheduled to begin next week.

The limit on the use of drones, issued by the Irish Aviation Authority, arises out of the sensitive nature of the work and the requirement for privacy.

The excavation area, surrounded by a 2.4 metre-high hoarding, is subject to security monitoring on a 24-hour basis to ensure the forensic integrity of the site.

The excavation is scheduled to begin on Monday and is anticipated to last two years.

The work at the burial site, which is being undertaken by the Office of the Director of Authorised Intervention Tuam (Odait), will involve the exhumation and analysis of all remains uncovered.

The team will work to individualise and identify the remains where possible before their re-interment.

Odait leader Daniel MacSweeney said there had not been any issues with security of the site since the team’s took control of the area for pre-excavation work in the middle of June.

He said: “We need to deal with it as a forensic science, we need to deal with it like a police investigation scene.

“That’s the standard we’re held to because that’s what’s in the legislation, and therefore it’s not possible for the public or whatever to actually enter.

“So, once it’s under forensic control, which it is now, then we cannot have people entering the site.

“Therefore we have security, and we have the hoarding around the site.”

‘Today is a small light at the end of a big tunnel’ – excavation works begin at former Tuam mother and baby home

Anna Corrigan was visibly emotional as she stood at the site of the former mother and baby home in Tuam, Co Galway.

Her two brothers are believed to be two of 796 children buried in a disused sewage tank under the site.

Ms Corrigan attended the site on Monday, July 7, as preliminary works for the site’s forensic excavation come to a close. Ground is due to be broken next Monday, with the full works expected to take around two years to complete.

A visit for families and survivors to the perimeter of the site to view the works is taking place on Tuesday, July 8.

Ms Corrigan said: “We never thought this day would come. I see this day as a small light at the end of a big tunnel.

“There are 9,000 children lost in homes in Ireland and that's only the ones that were examined. So Tuam is the tip of the iceberg, and we do hope that every child's voice is heard, because I think they've been crying for a long time.

"This is the start of something, so we may not get all the answers, we don't know, but it's the next stage.”

During her visit, Ms Corrigan also read a letter to her mother, published in the book My Name is Bridget. The letter was a personal account of the difficulties she faced during her search for the truth about her family and the hardship faced by others in similar situations.

“These children were denied every human right in their lifetime, as were their mothers. They were denied dignity in life, and they were denied dignity and respect in death.”

Ms Corrigan’s brothers, John and William Dolan, died in the home in 1947 and 1951, respectively. She said recovering their remains would bring closure to her family.

“If they find that they are there, it's the answer, it's the truth. I can go to my mother's grave, and I can tool ‘predeceased by her sons John and William’. That is the closure, that is the answer, and that is the truth we're looking for.”

Daniel MacSweeney, Director of Authorised Intervention, Tuam, said the overarching aim of the operation is to “restore dignity” to the children that were lost by appropriately burying their remains and, where possible, identifying individuals.

“Even if a full identification is not possible, we can at least figure out their biological sex, their age, and maybe some other information. All these things I think will at least restore dignity in death,” he added.

Mr McSweeney said the Bon Secours Sisters had provided The Office of the Director of Authorised Intervention (Odait) with access to its archive material and it is hoped that this will also help the identification process.

Meanwhile, 14 people have provided DNA to Odait to assist with identification thus far.

Around 80 others have expressed interest in providing DNA samples to the team, including 30 who made contact in the last month. Mr MacSweeney said he hopes that more people will get in touch as the work proceeds.

“From our regular contact with families and survivors, it is a very emotional time because there has been this long search for answers; this long wait for this excavation to start.

“The fact that it's finally starting is something that I think they are happy about, but it also is very difficult because it then brings forward the possibility of finding answers to these very challenging questions.”

International experts from Colombia, Spain, UK, Canada, Australia and the US have joined Irish specialists to start the forensic excavation at the site.

The team has a €9.4m budget for 2025, with further allocations yet to be finalised by the Department of Public Expenditure.

The work will involve a highly complex process of recovering all the remains within the site followed by separating the co-mingled skeletal specimens by sorting them by age and using processes to assess sex.

This will allow for the individualisation of each set of remains. The team will also attempt to establish cause of death where possible.

Niamh McCullagh, forensic archaeologist with Odait, said a 2016 “test excavation” discovered 20 chambers within a disused sewage tank that contained infant remains ranging from 35 foetal weeks, up to three years old, from a period matching the operation of the institution between 1925-1961.

Dr McCullagh said it is difficult to estimate how long it will take for the works to be completed, as they are yet to establish the scale of the work ahead.

She explained the work will be complicated, as excavators expect to uncover artefacts relating to previous uses of the site, including as a workhouse.

Pre-excavation work has been ongoing since mid-June, when Odait took control of the site.

Investigation opened into York parish church after concerns raised over its financial controls

The Charity Commission has opened a statutory inquiry into The Parochial Church Council of The Ecclesiastical Parish of Holy Trinity with St. John, Micklegate and St. Martin Cum Gregory, York

The charity, whose working name is Holy Trinity Micklegate PCC, is a Church of England parish church situated in York city centre and was registered with the Commission in 2018. 

The Commission initially engaged with the charity after it failed to submit its annual accounting information for the financial years ending 31 December 2022 and 2023.  

During the course of its engagement, the Commission received a report from the current trustees highlighting serious concerns about the charity’s previous financial management, and it has now escalated its case to a statutory inquiry.  

The regulator’s inquiry will examine the administration, governance and management of the charity, with particular regard to:   

whether the charity is being managed in accordance with its governing document and has a sufficient number of willing and capable trustees

the financial management of the charity including whether the charity has appropriate and robust financial controls in place

the management of potential conflicts of interest and connected party transactions, and whether there has been any unauthorised personal benefit 

whether the charity has suffered a financial loss as a result of any misconduct and/or mismanagement by the trustees 

The Commission may extend the scope of the inquiry if additional regulatory issues emerge. 

It is the Commission’s policy, after it has concluded an inquiry, to publish a report detailing the issues examined, any action taken, and the inquiry’s outcomes. 

The Charity Commission is the independent, non-ministerial government department that registers and regulates charities in England and Wales. Its ambition is to be an expert regulator that is fair, balanced, and independent so that charity can thrive. This ambition will help to create and sustain an environment where charities further build public trust and ultimately fulfil their essential role in enhancing lives and strengthening society. Read further information about what the Commission does 

On 4 June 2025, the Charity Commission opened a statutory inquiry into the charity under section 46 of the Charities Act 2011 (“the Act”) as a result of its regulatory concerns that there is or has been misconduct and/ or mismanagement in the administration of the charity. 

A statutory inquiry is a legal power enabling the Commission to formally investigate matters of regulatory concern within a charity and to use protective powers for the benefit of the charity and its beneficiaries, assets, or reputation. 

The Commission does not investigate criminal allegations which are matters for the police.

Experts prepare to start formal excavation at site of Tuam Mother and Baby Home

A team of international experts is preparing to commence a formal excavation at the site of the former Mother and Baby Home in Tuam, Co Galway.

Those overseeing the process say they hope it will add "depth and detail" to questions that persist around burial practices at the home over a 36-year period.

Forensic anthropologists and archaeologists from Columbia, Spain, the UK, Australia and the United States have joined Irish counterparts in recent weeks to take part in the process.

They have been participating in pre-excavation briefings over the last fortnight, before ground is broken at the site in the Dublin Road estate next week.

It is expected to take at least two years to complete the dig.

A media briefing to provide an update on the work is being held this morning. It has attracted a large number of local, national and international news outlets.

The Director of the Office for Authorised Intervention in Tuam (ODAIT), Daniel MacSweeney, has again emphasised the importance of ensuring that survivors and relatives of those who lived and died in the Tuam Home are at the centre of the process.

They will take part in a private visit to the location where the works will take place tomorrow.

Mr MacSweeney said the first objective was to recover all of the human remains from the site and to re-bury them with dignity. Where possible, the remains will be identified and returned to their families.

He said the complexity of the task could not be underestimated, given the size and nature of the site in question.

Dr Niamh McCullagh, the Senior Forensic Consultant who will oversee the excavation and exhumation process, said the random nature in which remains were buried added to that difficulty.

She already carried out preliminary excavations at the site in 2016 and 2017, which revealed the presence of 20 individual chambers two metres below ground. Each contained co-mingled (mixed) skeletal remains of children, aged between 35 foetal weeks and around three years of age.

Dr McCullagh said that while radio carbon dating on some bones places their time of living between 1925 and 1961, they have lost their "skeletal order", further complicating the process. For this reason, the skeletal identification is one of the most significant challenges.

DNA samples have already been collected from a small number of relatives and this process will be expanded in the coming months to gather as much genetic evidence as possible.

The Bon Secours Sisters, which operated the Home for Galway County Council, has provided the ODAIT with its archive. This will be cross referenced with other records available as the process continues.

'Unprecedented challenge'

Mr MacSweeney said that in the last month, they have been contacted by 30 family members who had not previously contacted them

Speaking to RTÉ's News at One, he said he expects that number to rise due to the level of media engagement around the excavation.

He said the ultimate objective of the excavation is to "restore dignity".

The remains are currently in a "manifestly inappropriate place", he said, and he hopes a "respectful and dignified burial" would still be possible.

He said it is an "unprecedented challenge" because the site is in the middle of a housing estate.

"It's surrounded by houses on all sides and it's got limited access. Before the site was a Mother and Baby Home, it was a work house, so there were also famine remains recovered nearby," he said.

"All of these things make the site more challenging. The fact that we are dealing with large numbers of co-mingled infant remains is very difficult. It's very difficult to distinguish male from female at that age, so there are huge challenges in terms of the site and the remains that we will deal with."

Mr MacSweeney said there was also a lack of archival data and a lack of clarity about family trees.

He said they have access to the records of the institution itself, and also records of the Bon Secours, and they are going through those now.

"You cannot underestimate the complexity of this, it really is an unprecedented situation. This is why we have brought together international experts to meet the complexity of it," he said.

Families to visit Tuam mass grave site ahead of excavation

Families and survivors of a notorious former mother and baby home in the west of Ireland are to visit the site on Tuesday ahead of its major excavation next week.

The full-scale excavation of the site of St Mary’s mother and baby home in Tuam, Co Galway, will try to identify the remains of infants who died at the home between 1925 and 1961.

In 2014, research led by local historian Catherine Corless indicated that 796 babies and young children were buried in a sewage system at the Co Galway institution across that time period.

The St Mary’s home for unmarried mothers and their children was run by the Bon Secours Sisters, a religious order of Catholic nuns.

In 2021, Taoiseach Micheál Martin delivered an apology on behalf of the state for the treatment of women and children who were housed in mother and baby homes across Ireland.

The Bon Secours Sisters also offered a “profound apology” after acknowledging the order had “failed to protect the inherent dignity” of women and children in the Tuam home.

Speaking to the PA news agency on Monday, Ms Corless said she found it “overwhelming” to see the excavation work proceed after her 10-year campaign.

“There was no will to do anything for those babies except leave them there and put a monument over them.

“But this was a sewer system and I couldn’t give up on them. They were all baptised, they deserve to be in consecrated ground.”

Ms Corless said it was a “huge relief” to be able to “let go and back off”, after being faced with obstacles in her campaign from people she initially thought would be helpful.

“It is huge for me to know those babies are finally going to get the dignity they deserve – it is a wrong put right.”

Anna Corrigan, who discovered that she had two older brothers who were born while her mother was a resident at the Tuam home, visited the site on Monday.

Speaking to reporters, she said: “These children were denied every human right in their lifetime, as was their mothers.

“They were denied dignity – and they were denied dignity and respect in death.

“So I’m hoping that today maybe will be the start of hearing them because I think they’ve been crying for an awful long time to be heard.”

The work at the burial site, which is being undertaken by the Office of the Director of Authorised Intervention Tuam (ODAIT), will involve exhumation, analysis, identification if possible and re-interment of the remains at the site.

On Monday, ODAIT held a media briefing which gave members of the press access to the site.

The site, surrounded by a 2.4 metre-high hoarding, is subject to security monitoring on a 24-hour basis to ensure the forensic integrity of the site during the excavation.

The excavation is scheduled to begin on Monday and is anticipated to last two years.

Speaking to reporters, ODAIT leader Daniel MacSweeney said the family and survivor visit will be “the most important event of the week”.

He said: “We continue to work closely with the residents living close to the site to ensure minimum disruption is caused to them by the works.”

Mr MacSweeney said the excavation will work to international best practices when it came to forensic standards.

He said ODAIT was trying to restore dignity in death for the infants, adding that the remains would be reburied following consultation with families.

The work will involve a long, complex process of recovering all the remains within the site and then separating the “mixed up” skeletal specimens by sorting them by age and using processes to assess sex.

This will allow for the individualisation of each set of remains and it is hoped that identification of some of those buried can take place with the assistance of DNA provided by families as well as other records.

Mr MacSweeney said the Bon Secours Sisters had provided ODAIT with access to its archive material and it is hoped that this will also help the identification process.

The team will also attempt to establish cause of death where possible.

Dr Niamh McCullagh, a forensic archaeologist with ODAIT said a 2016 “test excavation” discovered 20 chambers within a disused sewage tank that contained infant remains ranging from 35 foetal weeks up to three years old, from a period matching the operation of the institution between 1925-1961.

Asked if it was possible that criminal cases may arise out of the work, Dr McCullagh said ODAIT is obliged to notify the local coroner of any evidence of violent or unnatural deaths.

Dr McCullagh said it is difficult to estimate how long it will take to separate and complete the process of identification of the “commingled remains”, as they are yet to establish the scale of the work ahead.

The team also expects to find personnel effects associated with the operation of the institution, having discovered items like shoes and feeding bottles in the 2016 dig.

However, the work will be complicated as excavators expect to uncover artefacts relating to previous uses of the site, including as a workhouse.

Meanwhile, 14 people have provided DNA to ODAIT to assist with identification thus far.

Around 80 others have expressed interest in providing DNA samples to the team, including 30 who made contact in the last month.

Mr MacSweeney said he expects that more people will get in touch as the work proceeds.

The team has a €9.4 million budget for 2025, with further allocations yet to be finalised by the Department of Public Expenditure.

Diocesan Appointments 2025 - Raphoe

Statement from Kat and Ben Gibson on their experiences with the Diocese of Leicester in the Pinto affair

On Sunday 29th June, the BBC released a radio documentary named Stalker in the Church, as part of their File on Four Investigates strand, as well as an accompanying article. 

It describes how Venessa Pinto, a woman employed by the Church of England Diocese of Leicester, and licensed by the Bishop of Leicester, caused untold misery and distress to colleagues and others. 

Kat and Ben Gibson, a couple who shared their experiences as part of the investigation, have released a statement which can be read in full here.

On Sunday 29th June, the BBC released a radio documentary named Stalker in the Church, as part of their File on Four Investigates strand, as well as an accompanying article. It describes how Venessa Pinto, a woman employed by the Church of England Diocese of Leicester, and licensed by the Bishop of Leicester, caused untold misery and distress to colleagues and others. Pinto later pleaded guilty to stalking and served a community order.

The way that the situation was handled by the Diocese caused additional distress to those involved. They include Kat Gibson, who was employed by the diocese at the time, and her husband Ben. The Diocese have made a series of statements defending their actions.   

Following the release of the documentary and Leicester Diocese’s response, Kat and Ben Gibson issued the following statement on 3 July 2025. 

We are thankful to Aleem Maqbool and Steve Swann from BBC News for giving us the opportunity to share our story and advocate for change in the Church of England. We have been consistently impressed by the professionalism and care they have demonstrated throughout this process. We are also thankful to Jay and Gerry for their boldness in speaking out about their experiences. We wish to share some additional thoughts and experiences that didn't make it into the radio documentary. Between us, we were interviewed for around 3 hours, so inevitably there was much we wanted to say that there wasn't time to include. We also wish to respond to parts of the statements put out by Leicester Diocese in response to the article. It grieves us deeply that it came to the point of speaking out publicly, but we refuse to be complicit in the coverup that has taken place. 

Support from Leicester Diocese 

Firstly, a response to the following quote from Leicester Diocese's statement: "Pastoral support and counselling were offered to those affected throughout the process". 

We are thankful for the support that the Diocese offered to Kat following Vee's license being revoked. They paid for her counselling sessions for over two years. Bishop Martyn personally gave her six weeks of paid leave to recover from the situation, gave her a retreat, and he and another senior member of clergy met with us both to listen and offer support on several occasions. We felt that Bishop Martyn genuinely cared and wanted to improve things, and that out of the several parties implicated in the situation he was the only one to take personal responsibility for his part in it or to offer an apology. 

However, we were consistently disappointed by the lack of support or follow-up offered to the other people we knew to have come forward to the Diocese to share their difficult experiences of Vee Pinto. We invite Leicester Diocese to clarify whether anyone other than Kat or Jay was actually offered counselling sessions, as we know of several people who definitely weren't. This includes Ben, who made the Diocese aware in writing on several occasions that he had needed counselling as a result of the situation and wasn't offered any help with this. In total he has spent well over £500 on counselling sessions focused primarily on this situation. 

The support that Kat was offered was significantly counterbalanced by the fact that the programme board overseeing the project we were part of decided not to recruit a replacement for Vee. This put enormous pressure on Kat as she tried to do the work of two people by herself, at a time when she was still trying to recover from this very traumatic situation. We got to the point of essentially pleading with the programme board, telling them we weren't coping and that they were making our worshipping community (this term essentially refers to an informal church project) impossible to sustain, but they went ahead and reallocated funding for the role. 

The worst betrayal of our lives 

In their statements, Leicester Diocese have chosen not to make any reference to the concerns that were raised prior to 2022. Kat and others raised serious concerns about Vee from as early as 2020. Here is a quote from an email that Ben sent to Kat and Vee’s manager at the time, Lusa Nsenga-Ngoy, on 26/5/21: 

“…it seems very clear to me that things can’t be allowed to continue on the way they have been; it’s abusive, deeply unhealthy, and not sustainable for anyone involved. I am also very concerned that [Vee] might start treating others at [our worshipping community] in similar ways to how she has treated Kat.” 

When Kat raised her concerns, she felt that sometimes Lusa seemed to take the situation seriously and view Vee’s behaviour as abusive, and on other occasions he would seem to frame it as an interpersonal dispute or clash of cultural communication styles between Kat and Vee. At times she felt that she was being blamed, that it was being implied that her difficulties with Vee were the result of her own cultural prejudices, and that her suitability for ministry was even called into question. This has obvious parallels with Jay and Gerry's suitability for ministry being called into question when they raised their concerns, and it seems to be a common experience for survivors of abuse in the Church of England. 

We have since been told by senior members of staff at the Diocese that, at the time that Jay’s allegations were being investigated, they were not aware of the extent of the concerns that we and others had raised about Vee in 2020 and 2021, and that it appeared that Lusa and others had failed to pass this information on to them. 

According to their timeline, Leicester Diocese first became aware of allegations against Vee involving online harassment in January 2022, and an official complaint was made in March, before she was asked to withdraw from ministry on 30th June. This means that the Diocese kept Vee in a position of leadership in our worshipping community, without suspension, for five months after becoming aware of serious criminal allegations with substantial evidence against her, after Diocesan staff had already received serious concerns about her from multiple people over the course of two years. We didn’t learn about the criminal allegations until Jay reached out to us in September 2022. We were absolutely horrified to learn that the Diocese had kept her in post for so long after becoming aware of Jay’s allegations, and felt that they had knowingly put us and our community at risk. It was the worst betrayal of our lives, and it’s still very painful for us today. 

Ongoing nightmare 

Here is another quote from Leicester Diocese’s statement: 

“Although Ms Pinto remained formally employed by the diocese for a further four months, she was on leave for the duration of this period and asked not to engage in any ministry. She was also asked to not contact any members of the worshipping community where she had served, at their request. 

An agreement was reached to end her employment in November 2022.” 

This is all true. However Vee continued to contact some members of our worshipping community anyway. We wanted to warn them about the allegations against her and advise them not to be in touch with her, but we were told by the Diocese that we couldn’t tell them the real reasons why she had left or the fact that her license had been revoked. This continued indefinitely once the Diocese reached their agreement with Vee, as it included a clause meaning that neither party could speak ill of the other. We felt silenced by the Diocese, and that they had taken away our ability to share our story and to warn others who may have been at risk. At one point Kat became aware that Vee had applied for a job that would involve working with vulnerable people. Kat wished to warn this prospective employer, but was told by a member of staff at the Diocese that she must not do this. 

When Vee finally left in November 2022, the Diocese put out the following statement: 

“Venessa (Vee) Pinto will be leaving her post as inter-cultural pioneer minister with the diocese from 30 November to pursue alternative vocational opportunities. The Diocese recognises the positive contributions that she has made to its work over the past two and a half years and wishes her well in the future.” 

Note how incongruent this statement is with the following quote from Leicester Diocese’s 29/6/25 statement: 

“We remain deeply appalled by the serious criminal behaviour that led to Venessa Pinto’s conviction and our thoughts and prayers are with those affected by her actions.”  

The positive tone of the former statement felt like an extraordinary betrayal to us and everyone who had been affected by Vee’s behaviours. It felt like we were all being gaslit and discredited, and like they were trying to cover up what had happened. After this, Kat was regularly approached by people, including colleagues at the Diocese, who cheerfully asked after Vee, assuming that they were good friends. It was horrible for Kat to have these regular reminders about her traumatic experiences, from well-meaning people, and to not be able to tell them the truth about what had happened. 

Please note that after Vee’s license to minister was revoked by Bishop Martyn, any decisions related to her employment and role ending were the remit of the Diocesean Board of Finance, who were Kat and Vee's employer, not the Bishop's Office. They are a separate legal entity. 

We felt very distressed about all of this, and still do to this day. We felt silenced by the Diocese, unable to speak up about our experiences or to warn others. We felt that Lusa had made serious failures in his handling of the situation but faced no accountability, and was rewarded by being made a bishop. These factors, combined with the fact that a replacement had not been recruited for Vee, meant that we felt no sense of resolution to the situation. It was not a difficult experience that had finally come to an end, it was an ongoing nightmare feeling trapped inside an institution that had totally betrayed us and had chosen to silence us from speaking up about the abuse we experienced. 

Since then, we have tried hard to advocate for accountability and change, initially within the 

Diocese, then at a national level. In June 2024, Kat had conversations with the C of E’s National Safeguarding Team, as well as the bishop who oversees safeguarding nationally, having been advised to speak with them by the wonderful charity Safe Spaces. We were so shocked by two things that the representative of the National Safeguarding Team said that Ben raised a formal complaint. They told Kat that in many cases bishops can’t be held accountable for things they did before they became a bishop. They also told Kat that there was essentially no process for dealing with situations of bullying and abuse that didn’t meet the criteria for a Clergy Disciplinary Measure or Safeguarding issue, and that realistically it might be 10-15 years before an adequate process is in place. Again, we felt so betrayed, and saw the extent to which we were dealing with problems that were national and not just local. 

One of the parties that Kat spoke with suggested that she could ask Leicester Diocese to call for a process called a lessons learned review, in which somebody external to Leicester Diocese would be brought in to investigate what went wrong and make suggestions for how they might improve their processes. On 1/7/24 Kat emailed Bishop Martyn, asking whether he had already commissioned a lessons learned review, and what the learning had been if so. Shortly afterwards, Bishop Martyn announced that he was calling for one of these reviews. The Diocese have chosen to omit from their statement the detail that they did not take the initiative to call for the review until prompted by Kat, 19 months after Vee left. 

In its statement on 30/6/25, Leicester Diocese said:  

“The Independent Reviewer did not offer any specific criticisms of the bishop or any other member of staff.” 

The Diocese have seriously misrepresented the nature of the lessons learned review in their statement. The HR consultant who conducted the review made it clear that criticism of specific staff members or holding people to account was not part of its remit - the purpose was for recommendations to be made on how Leicester Diocese might improve its processes, communications, support frameworks, and ways of enabling people to feel confident in raising any concerns. The results were submitted to Bishop Martyn and the Chief Executive of the Diocese of Leicester, who had control over how and which parts of its contents were disseminated. We can evidence these things through an email exchange with the HR consultant that took place between 22/9/24 and 21/10/24, which includes a description of the remit of the review in the consultant's own words. 

The review produced some helpful recommendations around processes, but we were disappointed that it offered no prospect for accountability, and we felt that the major issues with the Diocese and Church of England more broadly were much bigger than its remit. At this point we felt that we’d exhausted every available avenue to pursue accountability and positive change internally. 

On 31/7/24, Kat found out that she was going to be made redundant in 2025. 

A deeply sick institution 

The impact that going through all of this has had on us both has been enormous. We have both experienced anxiety attacks and PTSD symptoms. Kat had a breakdown at the end of 2022. At times felt like a shell of the person she had been. Her difficulties with chronic pain and fatigue got so bad that Ben was worried that he was on the path to becoming her carer. Ben developed chronic stress problems that affected his physical health. When Kat’s role finally ended, Ben crashed and had to take several weeks off work with stress. We have both needed extensive counselling in relation to this situation. 

There are so many wonderful Anglican churches full of lovely people and communities. However, over the past few years it has been horrifying to realise how common and widespread it is for bullying and abusive behaviour to be mishandled and covered up in the Church of England. At the same time as we were going through all this, we knew others who were going through similar experiences in other Dioceses. It was horrific to see them feeling crushed and betrayed in parallel with our own situation. 

As we have shared our experiences with people over the past couple of years, it has been disturbing to see the sheer number of people that have responded by sharing their own similar experiences with us. Even just over the past few days since the BBC documentary came out, so many people have messaged us thanking us for speaking out because they have been through similar experiences, both in Leicester Diocese and elsewhere. 

This is the main reason we decided to speak out publicly. This is not just a problem with Leicester Diocese, this is a national crisis of accountability within the Church of England. It is a deeply sick institution, and its systems and structures are geared towards prioritising protecting the institution over protecting victims, and towards covering up abuse. Here is how one abuse survivor put it, in a 2022 Leicester Mercury story: 

“However, the bureaucracy I encountered was harder to deal with than the initial abuse I’d experienced. The process took many months and each stage was painful, drawn out and felt heartless. Again - I speak of the institutional process rather than the local diocesan support I had.” 

In response to the recent BBC article, there has been much anger directed towards Leicester Diocese, and rightly so. But this story is just a small part of a wider picture of the Church of England's failures at a national level. This is the bigger issue that needs to be discussed and addressed, and about which we must demand change. If you have been a victim of abuse or bullying which has been mishandled or covered up by the Church of England, we urge you to consider speaking out publicly about your experiences. There are so many of us. We join with Matt and Beth Redman, and so many others, in saying let there be light. 

For support and advice related to experiences of abuse in the Church of England, we recommend getting in touch with the wonderful charity Safe Spaces. 

‘Gardaí must investigate St John of God chief’ urge internal and external critics

The leader of the St John of God order in Ireland should face criminal investigation for the reckless endangerment of children who were abused by a notorious paedophile, internal and external critics believe.

Speaking this weekend, former HSE board member Fergus Finlay said revelations about a St John of God cover-up that allowed children to be abused in Africa should be criminally investigated.

‘Gardaí should be investigating that with the view to bringing charges of reckless endangerment,’ he said. Mr Finlay is just one of the growing ranks of critics of the order’s response to the revelations last weekend.

These include international funders of the order Kindernothilfe (KNH), a senior medical consultant, Paul Moran, who works for the order, and victims of St John of God, Brother Aidan Clohessy. Together, they have demanded that Donatus Forkan, the Provincial of the St John of God order, resign or be removed from any service provision role pending the outcome of any criminal inquiry.

KNH is one of Europe’s largest children’s charities and a vital funder of St John of God’s operations in Africa. But when the main Irish funder of St John of God (SJoG) – the HSE – was asked for its view on the revelations and Br Forkan’s position, they instead directed the questions back to the order.

Last week saw the publishing of harrowing stories of child abuse victims from Malawi who had been abused by serial paedophile Clohessy, who was sent into their midst by Br Forkan in 1993 until his removal from public ministry in 2012.

On June 23 and 24, Clohessy was sentenced to more than five years in prison for the historical abuse of six children at St Augustine’s, a school for the intellectually disabled in South Co. Dublin, where Clohessy was a teacher and then principal between 1969 and 1993.

Our reporting revealed that while in Malawi, Clohessy continued to abuse as his superiors oversaw secret settlements to victims back home and told the authorities he had no access to children. Knowingly placing children in danger has been a crime in Ireland since the enactment of the Criminal Justice Act 2006.

By law, a person can be prosecuted for recklessly endangering a child ‘by causing or permitting any child to be placed or left in a situation which creates a substantial risk to the child being a victim of serious harm or sexual abuse.’

Mr Finlay – a former CEO of children’s charity, Barnardos – said that in his experience of the St John of God order, ‘money matters to them almost more than anything else.’ He called on Br Forkan to step down immediately from any role involving services to vulnerable children and adults.

As Provincial of his order, Br Forkan remains a long-standing board member of the St John of God Hospitaller Services Group. This entity is a parent company to St John of God Community Services, a charity for intellectually disabled children and adults, funded entirely by the HSE to the tune of hundreds of millions annually.

Mr Finlay said: ‘I strongly believe – strongly believe – that he should step down or step aside from or be removed from every position of authority in relation to the provision of services. What the order does is entirely a matter for the order, as far as I’m concerned, but the service provision end of it, the publicly funded companies that are involved in providing services, he should not be a director of those under any circumstances.’

Asked if the HSE should insist Br Forkan be removed, Mr Finlay replied: ‘If necessary yes, but I think the board, in the first instance, should address that, if they have the wherewithal to do that.’ 

However, as of last night, both the board of the St John of God Hospitaller Services Group and the HSE were refusing to address the issue.

When asked about Br Forkan’s position, the HSE said questions need to be re-directed to St John of God itself. 

St John of God, meanwhile, had no comment to make about Br Forkan’s position. This silence is in stark contrast to the willingness of international funders and senior medical staff within the St John of God group to speak up – even at some risk to themselves.

Paul Moran, a consultant psychiatrist employed by St John of God, said: ‘I am aware that in coming forward, I may be putting myself at risk, professionally, but in light of the inadequate response from the organisation, I feel I must speak out and ask questions.

‘I am anxious not to scare current service users and want to reassure them that the service safeguards are better now than they were, but we have a situation where, in the shadows, we have this order which sits above the management of these services and has power and control and is basically under the direction of one of the main guys who allowed this to happen.

‘So, while the service is committed to protecting people, the people they report to have a record of not doing so, and that raises a question as to who is in a position to guarantee that the required standards are met.’

Mr Moran questioned whether Br Forkan should be allowed to have a role in governing services. ‘In light of what has been revealed and what has been proven in court, his role needs to be investigated. And until such time as these investigations are concluded, should he be allowed an active role in governing services for vulnerable people?’

Mr Moran also criticised the manner in which the St John of God order had spent millions on private settlements with Clohessy’s victims in Malawi and Ireland. He said the order ‘appears more committed to looking after the interest and reputation of the order ahead of everything else, including the rights and safety of victims’.

He added: ‘Paying off of victims to prevent court cases happening is not consistent with any of the policies or safeguarding guidelines, or the stated values of the order.’

One of the order’s main international funders – German children’s charity KNH – last night welcomed Clohessy’s prosecution. ‘It is crucial that cases of sexual abuse are consistently pursued through legal channels and that perpetrators are held accountable, regardless of when or where the offences were committed,’ a spokesperson said.

‘Our deepest sympathies go out to the victims. Their voices deserve to be heard, justice must be served, and their protection ensured. Protecting children must always be the highest priority in any society and institution.’ KHN also called for Br Forkan to be investigated for recklessly endangering children.

‘With regard to Brother Donatus, it is in our view now urgent that an independent and transparent review of all related events be conducted,’ a KNH spokesperson said. ‘We think an independent investigation into Donatus Forkan’s role in sending and tolerating Brother Aidan’s presence in Malawi is a necessary step after the court ruling.

‘This is essential not only to clarify responsibility but also to draw structural consequences and improve systems for child protection,’ the charity said.

KNH added: ‘Religious institutions, like all other institutions, must never evade responsibility or remain silent. Instead, they must implement effective child protection systems. All known abuse cases must be fully investigated and published, regardless of the perpetrator’s position or rank.

‘Those who have failed – whether through active cover-up or neglect – must be held accountable. Abuse must never be dealt with internally. External, independent bodies are needed to investigate and monitor incidents.’

Clohessy’s victims this weekend said more investigations and prosecutions are required. Abuse survivor Joe Devine said Clohessy should be prosecuted for the abuse he committed in Malawi. ‘There should be a trial, the same way there was a trial here in Ireland,’ he said.

Mr Devine’s wife, Sally, also said Br Forkan should be investigated. ‘Although I know he wasn’t actually carrying out the abuse, he was complicit in allowing it to go on.’

Another survivor, Patsy Carville, criticised the Church authorities. ‘It’s the Catholic Church you have to blame,’ he said. He [Clohessy] was told not to go near children, and he was there for 20 years. It’s a disgrace nobody checked up on him,’ he said.

Victim Wayne Farrell said the abuse of children in Africa was ‘horrendous’. ‘I think justice should be done for them here, and I’d like to hear something from the Irish Government on it,’ he said.

Another victim, Gerry Quinn, said the role of Br Forkan needed to be exposed. ‘He needs to be exposed and the people who backed him, they need to be exposed as well. That monster [Clohessy] was left roam free over there.’

The State child and family agency, Tusla, said it could not comment on any individual case. 

However, a spokesperson said: ‘Organisations who are providing services to children have a statutory responsibility under the Children First Act 2015 to keep children safe from harm while availing of those services, carry out a risk assessment, prepare and publish a Child Safeguarding Statement and to refer any concern regarding a child to Tusla.

‘When Tusla suspects that a crime has been committed, and a child or children have been wilfully neglected or physically or sexually abused, Tusla notifies An Garda Síochána where they investigate the crime.’

A Department of Health spokesperson advised that the Department of Children should be contacted for comment. However, that department did not respond. A spokesperson for the Association of Leaders of Missionaries & Religious of Ireland declined to comment last night – but confirmed that the matter would be referred to the next meeting of the executive.

Last week, the SJoG order refused to comment on its role in the cover-up of Clohessy’s crimes in Ireland and Africa. 

 

Instead, Br Forkan posted a brief statement on the St John of God website. He said in the statement: ‘I apologise to anyone who has experienced hurt in our services in the past. ‘As a community, we unequivocally condemn any action that harms or diminishes others.

‘These recent times have reflected pain for so many and brought emotional turmoil for all affected. We think especially of those who came forward to report hurt that they had experienced, we acknowledge their bravery and courage and we think of their families and loved ones.’

This week, a spokesperson for St John of God declined to specifically address queries about the role of Br Forkan. ‘The order encourages anyone who has experienced hurt to seek support and talk with the authorities,’ he said, before providing abuse helpline phone numbers.