Archbishop Desmond Connell
WHILE THE report
is critical of Catholic Church inaction in relation to Tony Walsh's
abuse, it says archbishop Desmond Connell acted decisively once be
became archbishop.
Dr Connell, who was archbishop from 1988 to
2004, was one of the first bishops in the modern world to initiate
canonical trials, it says.
His initiative to personally petition the
pope to have Walsh dismissed was "a novel one that created a precedent".
In
1995, he wrote that Walsh was a confirmed paedophile who was abusing
minors even before his ordination.
The report says he worked to have
Walsh laicised in spite of "interference of his judicial vicar and the
Roman rota".
Months after becoming archbishop, Dr Connell sent
Walsh to the UK for treatment in 1988.
However, this was 10 years after
the first complaint received by the archdiocese.
Walsh was
required to give undertakings not to go near children or to visit
Ballyfermot, where much of his early abuse took place.
But in 1989 Dr
Connell gave him permission to solemnise a wedding in Ballyfermot. He
refused Walsh permission to go on a UK tour with the "Holy Show".
In
1990, Dr Connell ended Walsh's ministry and gave him a choice between
voluntary laicisation or dismissal. Walsh was later given a year's leave
to allow him prepare for a lay life.
The dismissal process began
in 1992 and he was dismissed a year later.
However, Walsh appealed this
decision to Rome, which allowed him remain as a priest.
In 1995,
Dr Connell made sure people who made complaints knew Walsh was facing
criminal charges and empowered them to make complaints to the Garda.
In
November that year, he petitioned pope John Paul II successfully to
dismiss Walsh "in the interests of the wellbeing of the church".
After
Walsh was convicted, Dr Connell said he had betrayed his mission and
expressed his deep sorrow and regret for the suffering endured by his
victims.
ARCHBISHOP KEVIN McNAMARA
The
Dublin archdiocese knew Tony Walsh was a serial abuser by 1985, when
archbishop Kevin McNamara transferred him to a new parish.
It was aware
of four specific complaints and Walsh had admitted to the abuse of three
children.
The report says his transfer was clearly an attempt to
avoid further scandal in his first parish in Ballyfermot.
Even though he
was a danger to children, their welfare was not considered, it says. It
was difficult to understand how the seriousness of the situation was
not appreciated.
Archbishop McNamara even wrote to Walsh on his transfer thanking him for his “dedicated work” in Ballyfermot.
BISHOP EAMONN WALSH
In
1990, Bishop Eamonn Walsh suggested at a meeting of Dublin bishops that
archbishop Desmond Connell should tell the “civil authorities about
Walshs homosexual orientation, according to former chancellor msgr
Gerard Sheehy, who had intervened on the priests behalf.
This was
the first time someone had proposed reporting to the Garda but the
report says it was clear that his suggestion did not get very far.
Bishop
Walsh, who did not contact the Garda himself, later told the commission
his concern related to Walshs paedophilia and not his sexuality in
general.
BISHOP JAMES KAVANAGH
ONE OF Tony
Walsh's earliest victims complained to the archdiocese about the
inadequate response of bishop James Kavanagh to his complaints in 1979.
Further abuses could have been avoided, he said, if a more robust response had been taken at the time.
BISHOP WILLIE WALSH
Fr
Willie Walsh, later appointed bishop of Killaloe, was the presiding
judge in the Church’s penal process, which ultimately resulted in the
dismissal of Tony Walsh.
In 1991, he called to Whitehall Garda
station, which was investigating an incident involving Walsh.
A garda
gave him details of the incident, but the file states he did not make
any report of a criminal nature.
At the process, Tony Walsh
admitted to abusing 15 children.
The mother of the original complainant
was one of those who gave evidence, but told the commission later the
process was not explained to her and nobody contacted her after her
evidence.
Fr Willie Walsh later apologised to the woman.
ARCHBISHOP DERMOT RYAN
Archbishop
Dermot Ryan was informed of the first complaint against Tony Walsh,
which occurred within days of Walsh’s appointment to Ballyfermot parish
in 1978.
He asked a vicar general, msgr Richard Glennon, to
investigate.
Walsh denied the allegation and nothing further was done.
The archdiocese made no response to the parents of the boy involved.
In
1984, Dr Ryan gave what the new parish priest in Ballyfermot described
as a “veiled warning” about Walsh, without saying exactly what his
concerns were.
The report says this suggests he wasn’t entirely
convinced by the 1978 report and denial or had heard other reports which
concerned him.
SIC: IT/IE