Almost six weeks after the publication of the devastating
report of his mishandling of abuse allegations against priests of his
diocese, John Magee, the former Bishop of Cloyne, has yet to face the
public to provide an explanation of, or to apologise for, his
misbehaviour.
Instead, the former secretary to not one but three Popes is playing what
amounts to a game of hide and seek as he seeks to avoid not just the media
but, more importantly, the abuse victims who were denied justice when he
protected their abusers with his failure to follow church guidelines for
dealing with reports of abuse.
After spending some time abroad, Bishop Magee
recently returned to Ireland. Given the widespread public interest in the
Cloyne case it is inconceivable that he could do so without the support of
many within the Catholic Church.
It is only the Catholic Church that could provide him with the protection he
would require to stay out of public view.
Why is the church, or at the very least significant elements within it, still
protecting the disgraced bishop?
Is it that the Catholic Church still places the protection of its own clergy
above the protection of vulnerable children by paedophile priests?