CARDINAL Sean Brady has increased the pressure on at least 10 bishops criticised in the Murphy report into the handling by the Dublin Archdiocese of complaints about paedophile priests. Cardinal Brady backed Archbishop Diarmuid Martin's call for explanations from the bishops.
Explanations have been sought by Archbishop Martin from beleaguered Bishop of Limerick Donal Murray for his "inexcusable" failure to pursue properly an investigation -- when he was an auxiliary bishop in Dublin -- of paedophile priest Fr Thomas Naughton.
Along with Cardinal Connell, Bishop Murray failed to tell nuns that their chaplain in Wicklow, Fr James McNamee, was a known paedophile.
Retired Bishop Dermot O'Mahony was found by the Commission to have particularly badly investigated complaints against a 'Fr Vidal' and the notorious Fr Ivan Payne.
Current Dublin auxiliaries, Bishops Eamonn Walsh and Ray Field remain under the direct jurisdiction of Archbishop Martin.
Bishop Walsh, who was Rome's choice to take temporary charge of the diocese of Ferns after the resignation of Bishop Brendan Comiskey, spoke to 'Fr Dante' about concerns raised by an altar boy who claimed the priest made him sit on his knee without wearing underwear.
Bishop Walsh reported this as "inappropriate behaviour rather than child sexual abuse".
Fr Dante was sent away for treatment after a further inquiry by another priest, and overall the Commission said this complaint had been handled appropriately.
Bishop Field was found not to have fully informed a parish priest about abuse complaints against a 'Fr Benito' after he was moved to another parish. In turn, Bishop Field was left in the dark about other cases by his colleagues.
Treatment
Laurence Forristal, the retired Bishop of Ossory, based in Kilkenny, was chided by the Murphy report for procrastinating about a 'Fr Cicero' by allowing him to work in the diocese's marriage tribunal and waiting two years before sending the pervert cleric for psychiatric treatment.
He also did not follow up a complaint against a 'Fr Hugo' who was allowed to stay in parish work for a further two years. Bishop Forristal was the only bishop to unequivocally admit not handling complaints satisfactorily.
Bishop Fiachra O Ceallaigh, a Franciscan, retired recently on becoming 75. He investigated 'Fr Septimus' and 'Fr Benignus. Although not singled out by the Murphy report, it was critical of the overall handling of these two priests.
Also on Archbishop Martin's correspondence list are two former Dublin auxiliaries, Jim Moriarty, Bishop of Kildare and Leighlin, and Martin Drennan of Galway.
It is not clear if Archbishop Martin has written to Cardinal Connell whom the Commission found to have been slow to recognise the scale of abuse and did not cooperate with the gardai until mid-1995.
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