A pervert priest exposed as a serial paedophile by the Belfast Telegraph has taken his secrets to the grave, never having faced justice.Fr John McCullagh (80) was found dead in the Maghera retirement home he fled to after it was revealed he had sexually abused a girl in Londonderry for seven years from when she was just eight-years-old.
The priest never revealed the full extent of his depravity against young girls, with many more victims thought to have remained silent.
It was not until her 18th birthday in 1989 that his victim finally broke down and confided in her parents about the years of abuse she had been subjected to.
She said McCullagh would take her for drives in his car and that "there is not a road in either Co Derry or Donegal that I wasn't abused on".
Other victims did come forward in the wake of the Belfast Telegraph expose, but McCullagh never faced justice in court.
His vile actions were covered up by the then bishops of the Derry Diocese who were party to a confidentiality clause which the victim was forced to sign in 2000 as part of a settlement which was finalised on the day the case was due to be heard in court.
Dozens of priests and the three retired bishops of Derry Diocese are expected to take part in a funeral Mass for McCullagh at his home parish of St Patrick's Gortin in line with other clerical funerals, where he will be buried with full religious honours.
In contrast, his victim and her family will spend the day at home in quiet reflection, knowing that the man who wreaked such devastation across their family circle will never harm another child.
Speaking to the Belfast Telegraph, her mother said her thoughts are with the other victims who missed out on justice.
She said: "I was a bit stunned when I heard he was dead but once I got over the shock my thoughts turned to all the other victims. We got justice of a sort, we got him named in the paper so that everyone knew what he really was and what he did, but we know our daughter was not the only girl he hurt and it is those others that I feel for now.
"I know there were priests and bishops that knew how guilty he was and they helped cover it up, let them look to their own conscience now too. But the way I am looking at it, he will have to face God and be judged.
"Maybe now we can at long last put this behind us."
McCullagh died at the retirement home in Maghera where he moved to after leaving the parochial house in Barrack Street in Strabane where he was placed by Auxiliary Bishop Francis Lagan after his victim's family reported his abuse.
He was forbidden from saying Mass in the parish but it is thought he did still say daily Mass at the convent in Strabane.
He shared a house with the parish priest, Fr Declan Boland, who later said at no time did any of the bishops tell him about the allegations against McCullagh.
Fr McCullagh's body was removed yesterday evening to St Patrick's Church in Gortin for Requiem Mass today at 3pm and interment afterwards in his family burial ground.
Traditionally when a member of the Catholic clergy dies, a large number of priests from a various dioceses attend the funeral, and in the case of the Derry Diocese it is normal for all three retired bishops to also attend.
The Media Liaison Officer for the Derry Diocese, Fr Michael Canny said he was unsure what the arrangements were for McCullagh's funeral but added he thought they would be similar to any other priest's funeral.