The former Bishop of the cross-border Catholic diocese of Clogher Joseph Duffy
has been criticised for unsatisfactory responses to child abuse
allegations and risky behaviour by priests there in a report published
today.
A review by the National Board for Safeguarding Children
(NBSC), the Catholic Church’s child protection watchdog, found that
“opportunities for preventive interventions were consistently missed
when concerns of abuse by clergy were highlighted in the past” in
Clogher.
Bishop Duffy, a former spokesman for the Catholic bishops, led the diocese for 31 years until his retirement in 2010.
The NBSC review, published this morning,
covered the period from January 1st, 1975. It found a line had been
drawn “between the practice of this diocese today and some of the
practice that existed previously”.
That was its general conclusion for all six
dioceses and one religious congregation reviewed and for whom reports
were published today in the third tranche of such reviews.
Its review of Galway diocese found that in the
1980s and 1990s two previous bishops there, Bishop Eamon Casey and his
successor Bishop James McLoughlin, did not handle separate, credible
allegations of abuse against priests there appropriately.
The NBSC review of Ferns diocese found that 12
further allegations were received b y the diocese, involving six priests
investigated by the Ferns Inquiry, after the Ferns report was published
in October 2005. In all cases the alleged abuse took place prior to
April 2002.
It found that three priests of the diocese were
the subject of allegations that had not been examined by the Ferns
Inquiry, which investigated 21 priests. Allegations against the three
priests were received by the diocese in 2011 and 2012.
The NBSC review found that in all three cases
the priests were asked to step aside from ministry and that Bishop Denis
Brennan “took every appropriate action”.
The seven NBSC reports published today included
the dioceses of Killala, Elphin, Galway, Ferns, Waterford &
Lismore, and Clogher. A report of its review into the Society of African
Missions was also published.
Today’s findings have been described as
“gratifying” by NBSC chief executive Ian Elliott. “The overall picture
is a very positive one with the vast majority of the criteria used to
assess performance against the Review standards as being fully met,” he
said. There was, he said, “clear evidence of steady progress in
developing robust safeguarding structures in all these authorities”.
He noted that all 20 Church authorities
reviewed by NBSC to date had invited the reviews and had and co-operated
with them. All review findings had been fully accepted and the
recommendations were already being implemented, he said.
NBSC chairman John Morgan said the reviews were
“a critical building block for the future for the Church” and that
“work on the fourth tranche begins immediately when a further eight
Church authorities will be reviewed”.
The report on Clogher diocese found 23
allegations had been made against 13 priests there, two of whom had been
convicted.
In Elphin diocese, there had been 19 allegations involving
16 priests, none of whom had been convicted.
In Killala, there had been
just four allegations against three priests, none convicted.
In Galway 38 allegations had been made against
14 priests, one of whom was convicted.
In Ferns, 100 allegations had
been made against 24 priest and three were convicted.
In Waterford
& Lismore 30 allegations had been made against 15 priests. None were
convicted of any offence.
Where the Society of African Missions were
concerned 32 allegations had been made against 21 priests one of whom
had been convicted.
All reviews are available at safeguarding.ie or, separately, on each relevant diocesan website and that of the SMA congregation.