VICTIMS of a defrocked priest have accused a bishop of ‘gaslighting’ survivors and of giving a ‘distasteful’ and ‘condescending’ response to revelations about the abuse they allegedly suffered.
It comes after the Bishop of Waterford and Lismore, Alphonsus Cullinan, broke his silence last weekend following a joint Irish Mail on Sunday/WLR (Waterford Local Radio) investigation revealing how former priest Michael O’Connor is living in a Churchowned property on the grounds of St John’s College in Waterford.
This is despite the fact O’Connor was removed from the priesthood in 2024 following an internal Church inquiry.
The now 84-year-old – a former president of St John’s College seminary and a former captain of Waterford Golf Club – has denied abusing children but admits drying the naked bodies of some children he took swimming in 1972.
Following repeated requests for comment, Bishop Cullinan finally issued a statement last Saturday evening in which he claimed the diocese ‘did not engage publicly in detail at an earlier stage’ due to ‘safeguarding sensitivities’.
He also criticised what he described as inaccurate reporting, without providing specifics.
In his statement, the bishop said: ‘The diocese encourages any person with a safeguarding concern to report it without delay to the appropriate statutory and Church authorities.
‘The diocese has always sought to treat complainants and survivors with respect, dignity and credibility.
‘The voice of the survivor must always be heard and safeguarding matters must be approached with the utmost care, sensitivity and responsibility.’
Bishop Cullinan added the diocese ‘does not intend to enter into further public commentary on this matter’.
However, alleged victims of O’Connor reacted angrily to the bishop’s response this week.
One woman who claims she e was abused as a child by O’Connor described the statement as ‘distasteful’ and a form of ‘gaslighting’.
She said: ‘It appears to be e self-preservation for the Church over everything else. The bishop criticised “public commentary” – as a victim I fully encourage public commentary, the more the better. Too much has been buried over the last decades.
‘And for the bishop to use the phrase “retraumatising” is condescending, to say the least. As if the abuse at the hands of a person ever leaves you… it’s always there.’
O’Connor has admitted he was interviewed by gardaí in two separate investigations in the past but the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) ultimately decided not to pursue the criminal case against him.
The alleged victim asked if ‘information used in initially justifying his dismissal’ as part of the internal Church investigation that resulted in his removal from the priesthood was passed on to gardaí, ‘and if not, why?’
She added: ‘Surely if it was serious enough to dismiss a priest, it should be in the hands of gardaí? And if it was passed on to the gardaí, why has nothing been done?’
The statement by Waterford and Lismore diocese last weekend noted: ‘O’Connor was removed from ministry in 1995 following allegations relating to historical events alleged to have occurred in the 1970s.’
It added that, ‘while no criminal prosecution arose in these matters, the diocese nevertheless removed Mr O’Connor from ministry and continued to apply rigorous canonical safeguarding processes over many years thereafter’.
The statement went on to say that ‘an earlier decision to dismiss Mr O’Connor from the priesthood was successfully appealed to the Vatican at that time, restrictions and conditions were imposed upon him under a canonical precept’. And it added: ‘More recent breaches of those restrictions ultimately resulted in his dismissal from the priesthood.’
Another woman who claims she was molested by O’Connor as a child said she ‘would like to know what the recent breaches of restrictions were’ that resulted in his dismissal. She also asked: ‘Did his “rigorous canonical safeguarding” involve him having no access to minors?’
Bishop Cullinan did not respond to these and other queries relating to O’Connor and his living arrangements this week.
The property O’Connor is living in is administered by the Ecclesiastical Benevolent Society of the Diocese of Waterford and Lismore. It is a registered charity, whose stated aim is ‘to benefit the community’. The society is listed on the diocesan website.
The chair of the Benevolent Society, Clonmel-based priest Fr John Treacy, previously said the house O’Connor is living in had not been transferred over to the charity.
Asked if the property was still owned by the diocese, he replied: ‘Yes, as far as I know it is.’
The Bishop of Waterford and Lismore, Alphonsus Cullinan, is not listed as a trustee on the charity regulator’s website.
But Fr Treacy said the bishop ‘is a trustee in a way as things have to go through him… but he’s on the unofficial list’.
Despite this, Bishop Cullinan last week denied the former priest is ‘residing in a diocesan-owned property’.
He said: ‘The property in question is owned by the Benevolent Society, a separate registered charity established historically by priests to assist priests who may experience financial hardship.’
Despite Fr Treacy’s comments, Bishop Cullinan insisted the diocese ‘has no control over the Benevolent Society whatsoever’.
‘It appears to be self-preservation’
‘Surely it should be in the hands of gardaí?’