Abuse survivor battled secretive church for 26 years

IT was the courage of abuse victim and now campaigner Marie Collins in insisting rapist Fr Paul McGennis be brought to justice that helped expose how the Dublin Archdiocese protected its paedophile priests.

Church figures knew as early as 1960 that McGennis was abusing children. But he was still serving as a parish priest in Dublin 35 years later when Ms Collins went to the church authorities for a second time to report her abuser.

McGennis is the last of the 102 Dublin diocesan priests investigated by the Murphy Commission to face justice.

However, victims have insisted his jailing does not draw a line under the church's cover-up of abusive priests.

McGennis was given a pseudonym, 

Fr Edmondus, in the commission's report, which traced his abuse to the late 1950s. He used his position as chaplain at Our Lady's Hospital for Sick Children in Crumlin, Dublin, from 1958 to 1960, to molest girls as young as eight.

Among them was Ms Collins, who was recovering from surgery, and was aged 13 when she was abused.

Part of the abuse involved taking photographs of naked girls and, anxious to conceal his crimes, McGennis sent the film to Britain to be developed.

However, a concerned technician at the processing company forwarded the film to Scotland Yard, which then notified gardai.

No garda investigation was launched. 

Instead, the Garda Commissioner met with the Archbishop of Dublin, John Charles McQuaid, who took no action against the priest.

In 1985, Ms Collins reported the abuse to her local curate, who told her he did not want to know the name of her abuser as he would have to do something about it.

A decade later, she made a complaint to Archbishop Desmond Connell, McQuaid's successor, and the diocese assured her it would co-operate with gardai.

She received a letter from Monsignor Alex Stenson, the diocesan chancellor, who said McGennis had admitted the abuse.

However, when she gave the letter to gardai, a furious Mgr Stenson threatened to sue her and the diocese withheld its dossier on McGennis.

McGennis was eventually convicted in 1997 of abusing Ms Collins and another girl in his former parish in Co Wicklow. He received an 18-month sentence, which was later halved on appeal.

Speaking to the Irish Independent, Ms Collins pointed out that even now, as a convicted sex offender, McGennis remained a priest.

"I think they took his age and his vulnerability into consideration (when sentencing), but I think when he was abusing young children, such as myself and this victim, he didn't care about our age and vulnerability."

And while McGennis may be the last of the Murphy Report priests to be brought before the courts, child protection issues are still as relevant as ever.

"Until we can be sure that the old attitude and culture has changed, then a line can never be drawn under the Murphy report."

Source

Justice finally catches up with disgraced paedophile priest (81)

HE knew that, as a priest, his word would never be questioned and this allowed him to continue abusing children for more than 30 years.

Serial sex abuser Fr Paul McGennis (81) was Friday jailed for two years for the indecent assault of a young parishioner in the early 1980s.

The now 42-year-old woman, who was aged just 11 when the abuse began, was in court to see the disgraced priest sentenced. 

She had requested that he be publicly named.

The Circuit Criminal Court heard how her life had been torn apart by the abuse, which took place almost every fortnight in the bedroom of the parish house and in a waiting room over a period of four years.

She had twice attempted suicide.

She was hugged by family members as she saw her abuser taken away to begin his prison term.

A frail looking McGennis sat with his eyes closed throughout the hearing as Judge Desmond Hogan described how he had let both himself and the church down in the gross abuse of his young victim.

He said the "ripples of such an offence were wide and far-reaching" as evidenced in the "harrowing" victim-impact statement read to the court on the last day of the hearing.

McGennis, of Holy Cross Diocesan Centre, Clonliffe Road in Dublin 3, pleaded guilty to eight sample counts of indecent assault on the victim at two locations in the city between June 1980 and May 1984.

Sentencing him to six years, with four years suspended, Judge Hogan said he would have imposed a lengthier sentence but for McGennis's age and ill-health and the fact that he had made a "substantial" offer of compensation to his victim in settlement of her civil proceedings.

The court heard that while McGennis had pleaded guilty, he initially denied the allegations when interviewed by gardai in 2009.

Judge Hogan said there were certain aggravating factors that the court could not ignore, including that McGennis, as a priest, was in a position of trust.

"Taking into account the time at which these offences were committed, (McGennis) must have known he was taking advantage of the fact his word would never be questioned and that placed additional trauma on the injured party.

Uncaring

"She felt she wasn't going to be believed because of the position that the defendant held within society," he added.

He said the offences were committed with the "basest of motives -- namely selfish and uncaring sexual gratification".

Judge Hogan said the defendant was in the twilight of his years and that he had recognised his wrongs, albeit late in the day.

He was suspending the final four years of the sentence on the condition that McGennis abide by requirements already set out by Archbishop of Dublin, Dr Diarmuid Martin.

These include not celebrating Mass publicly, having no unsupervised contact with minors and having no direct contact with any of his victims.

Explaining his decision, Judge Hogan said: "It may seem odd for a court to intrude into certain religious matters . . . but it appears to me all these conditions are conditions imposed to ringfence the defendant so that the likelihood of him having contact with minors is greatly diminished."

Source

Priest hits back at senator's abuse claim

A PRIEST named in the Seanad as a suspected child abuser has broken his silence to protest his innocence.

Fr Donncha Mac Carthaigh also hit out at Senator Mark Daly, who last week used parliamentary privilege to publicly name the member of the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart order. 

Mr Daly alleged the order failed to fulfil child-safety guidelines to keep priests suspected of child abuse away from young people.

In his first public statement, Fr Mac Carthaigh last night said he had never been convicted of an offence in the courts.

He claimed Mr Daly abused parliamentary privilege -- which protects members from any legal repercussions -- to name an "innocent person".

Fr Mac Carthaigh also strenuously denied his sibling had been involved in investigating an allegation of sexual abuse lodged against him.

In a speech to the Seanad, Mr Daly stated an initial inquiry into a complaint of sexual abuse from the 1980s against Fr Donncha Mac Carthaigh had been investigated by his brother, Fr Ciaran Mac Carthaigh, who had been head of the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart Order in Ireland. 

No suggestion of any impropriety or wrongdoing had been made in relation to Fr Ciaran Mac Carthaigh.

Fr Donncha Mac Carthaigh said he strenuously "denies the false allegations".

A solicitor on behalf of the priest stated all allegations made against Fr Mac Carthaigh at Colaiste an Chroi Naofa boarding school in Carraig na bhFear, Co Cork, where he had taught, were taken seriously by the order and reported by its delegate to gardai.

Fr Mac Carthaigh said he had "fully co-operated" with investigations. 

The solicitor stated the DPP decided in each case there was "no case for prosecution".

"Fr Mac Carthaigh is an innocent person. Senator Daly by his abuse of parliamentary privilege has seriously damaged his reputation and good name and has endeavoured to destroy his innocence in law," his solicitor stated.

Monitor

Mr Daly said his "one concern is child safety". 

Addressing the Seanad, Mr Daly said the Sacred Heart Missionaries did not properly monitor Fr Mac Carthaigh's movements. 

The senator claimed this was despite the priest facing seven sex-abuse allegations, including one allegedly settled out of court.

The priest was placed under a restricted ministry order in 1996, which was intended to limit his travel, work and access to children. 

However, he went to Fatima and Rome.

The Sacred Heart Missionaries order said it had met with Mr Daly and passed on details of his concerns to gardai and sought guidance from the National Office for Safeguarding Children.

Fr Mac Carthaigh was not a priest in the Diocese of Cloyne and the allegations do not relate to Cloyne.

Source

Vatican to issue 'strong' Cloyne report response

THE papal nuncio is set to deliver a strong response to the Cloyne Report before the end of August, rebuffing the Taoiseach's accusation the Vatican undermined child protection guidelines.

Archbishop Giuseppe Leanza will present the Vatican's response to Foreign Minister Eamon Gilmore.

The choice of Archbishop Leanza as the intermediary with the Government signals the Holy See's confidence in his diplomatic professionalism.

The Vatican has been exasperated by reports claiming Archbishop Leanza was being moved to Prague in the Czech Republic as a mark of his disfavour with his superiors in Rome.

But sources in the Vatican suggested that Archbishop Leanza will leave Ireland at the end of the year as part of routine changes.

In its response, the Vatican will point out the weakness of Irish state monitoring of child abuse. 

And it will insist that the Taoiseach's comments failed to recognise the efforts of Pope Benedict XVI to ensure bishops comply with national laws.

The Government will also be told that the seal of the confession is sacrosanct.

Mr Gilmore's officials welcomed the Vatican's confirmation it would respond by the end of next month.

Source

Papal Nuncio leaves Ireland without formal notice

THE Department of Foreign Affairs has not received any notice that the Papal Nuncio will be leaving Ireland, despite confirmation from Czech officials that he is due to move to Prague shortly.

Archbishop Giuseppe Leanza, currently in Rome after a dramatic recall to the Vatican following the furore over the Cloyne Report, has only served three and half years here while his predecessors served six, five and seven years respectively.

The timing of his relocation, after the Government demanded that the Vatican respond to criticisms that it discouraged clergy from reporting allegations of child sex abuse, is not seen as coincidental, although the Department refused to make any direct link.

A spokesman said as the Government had not yet received a response, it could not say what the Vatican’s attitude was. He also played down the significance of the Vatican’s failure to notify the Government of Archbishop Leanza’s departure in advance of it becoming public knowledge.

"It’s not unusual not to get much advance formal notice of a diplomat’s departure," said the spokesman. 

"Sometimes you know it’s coming because there’s been a change in government in the country in question. Sometimes you only get a week’s notice. Often it’s part of a complete reshuffle of ambassadors by a country so they won’t announce one until all of the moves have been worked out."

The spokesman said, however, it was the Department’s understanding that Archbishop Leanza would be returning to Ireland to sort out some matters before moving to Prague, and that he would deliver the Vatican’s response to the Cloyne Report. He said it was understood this would happen by the end of August.

It is not known when a replacement for Archbishop Leanza will be announced but the Department spokesman said it was not unusual for there to be a gap between the departure of one diplomat and the arrival of their successor. "It’s very common that the next most senior person would fill in temporarily as a charge d’affaires."

Although there have been calls from some quarters for the formal expulsion of the nuncio in protest at the Vatican’s behaviour, there is no indication that Rome is sufficiently angered by what its spokesman called "some excessive reactions" to seriously consider ending diplomatic links with Ireland.

However, relations are likely to remain strained if the stance adopted by the director of the Vatican Press Office this week is an indicator of what is to come in the formal response to Cloyne.

According to Vatican Radio, Fr Frederico Lombardi told journalists that the Vatican’s observations on the Irish bishops’ abuse reporting guidelines — singled out in the Cloyne Report as a factor which prevented reporting of suspected abusers — were "legitimate".

Fr Lombardi reportedly said those observations reflected concern that Irish policy and sanctions against abusers would be in vain if they were ultimately found to be in contradiction of church law.

Q. What is a papal nuncio?

A. It’s a fancy word for ambassador. Papal nuncios are ambassadors for the Holy See and are in over 100 countries, including Ireland.

Q. But the Holy See isn’t a country — how can it have ambassadors?

A. The Holy See, the headquarters of the Catholic Church, is almost synonymous with the Vatican City, which is an independent state within Italy.

In fact, it even has an ambassador to Italy. 

Likewise, we have an ambassador to the Holy See,although the position is currently vacant.

Q. So, like any embassy, it’s all about trade missions, tourists in trouble, visa applications and lost passports?

A. Not exactly — it’s been a while since holiday-makers have had to be evacuated from St Peter’s because of floods or earthquakes. 

It’s really to do with church-state relations and ecumenical relations with other churches within Ireland. 

The papal nuncio is not only the diplomatic link between Ireland and the Holy See, he’s also the Holy See’s formal link with the Catholic Church in Ireland.

He’s a kind of watchdog and party whip, tasked with making sure Catholic clergy toe the Vatican line.

Q. Who is the current nuncio?

A. He is 68-year-old Archbishop Giuseppe Leanza, a multilingual cleric who took up his post in February 2008.

Q. Is all his work behind the scenes?

A. No, he conducts or attends high profile religious ceremonies — the installment of bishops, for example.

Q. How have relations been with the nuncio here?

A. They used to be very deferential. Up to the mid-70s, the nuncio had one of the finest residences in the Republic — the state-owned former Under-Secretary’s Residence in the Phoenix Park — which he got for a nominal rent of a £1 a year (a practice since discontinued). 

He has also been the automatic choice for Dean of the Diplomatic Corps here — a title which gives him seniority over all other ambassadors when it comes to invitations to formal events, seating arrangements, etc. 

He’s also meant to act as the diplomatic corps’ representative in matters of common concern to them. 

Nuncios are automatically given this honour in many countries, but other countries bestow it on whoever is the longest serving ambassador.

Q. But haven’t there been tensions too?

A. Absolutely. 

The most public examples were initially criticisms by clergy themselves who opposed several nuncios’ appointments to senior roles within the church, accusing them of stifling reform. 

Since the clerical child sex abuse scandals emerged, however, that issue has dominated. In the 1990s, one of Fr Sean Fortune’s victims took a test case, suing the Pope through the then nuncio, Luciano Storero, who promptly claimed diplomatic immunity. 

Storero died before the High Court could determine the case which was later settled with the Diocese of Ferns. 

His successor, Giuseppe Lazzarotto, was criticised in the Murphy Report for lack of cooperation in its inquiry into abuses in the Dublin Archdiocese, and now the current incumbent is the go-between in an unprecedentedly hostile exchange with the Vatican over the Cloyne Report.

Q. Do we need a papal nuncio?

A. For practical purposes, probably not, especially seeing as we have Cardinal Sean Brady, who is also Primate of All Ireland, who could act as a figure-head for the Vatican and diplomatic link if needed. 

For historical purposes, yes, especially if his office still holds documents that would be relevant if further Cloyne-type investigations are to take place in other dioceses. 

For the future, probably not. Arguably, the Catholic Church’s increasingly tenuous grip on the hearts of Irish people, the Holy See probably needs a nuncio here more so than the country needs him to be here. 

For purely diplomatic reasons, probably yes — they say it’s always better to keep lines of communication open even if sometimes the only communication is an argument or stoney silence.

Source

Novena for the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Mary, Queen Assumed into Heaven, I rejoice that after years of heroic martyrdom on earth, you have at last been taken to the throne prepared for you in heaven by the Holy Trinity.

Lift my heart with you in the glory of your Assumption above the dreadful touch of sin and impurity. Teach me how small earth becomes when viewed from heaven. Make me realize that death is the triumphant gate through which I shall pass to your Son, and that someday my body shall rejoin my soul in the unending bliss of heaven.

From this earth, over which I tread as a pilgrim, I look to you for help. In honor of your Assumption into heaven I ask for this favor: (Mention your request).

When my hour of death has come, lead me safely to the presence of Jesus to enjoy the vision of my God for all eternity together with you.

Prayer To Saint Matthew

 

O Glorious Saint Matthew, in your Gospel you portray Jesus as the longed-for Messiah who fulfilled the Prophets of the Old Covenant and as the new Lawgiver who founded a Church of the New Covenant. 

Obtain for us the grace to see Jesus living in his Church and to follow his teachings in our lives on earth so that we may live forever with him in heaven.

Amen.

Naomh An Lae - Saint Of The Day

St Alphonsus Liguori (1696-1787) founder of the Redemptorists

Alphonsus can be a patron for many different kinds of people. Because of a resolution he made and lived up to never to waste time, procrastinators can pray to him. 

He often suffered from scruples. His preaching and his writings caused dissension among the people and there were difficulties and divisions in his order that weren't sorted out till after his death. In his later years he suffered badly from arthritis. 

And still he was a really holy man.  

Failure in a high profile legal legal case led to him give up his practice as a lawyer

Alphonsus was born at Marianella near Naples. His father was a captain in the navy of the King of Naples and his mother was of Spanish descent. They ensured that Alphonsus had a good education at home in languages, the humanities, philosophy and the arts. He loved to play the harpsichord. By seventeen, he earned a double doctorate in canon and civil law from the University of Naples and began practising as a lawyer. However, an oversight and consequent failure in a high profile case on behalf of the Orsini against the Grand Duke of Tuscany led him to giving up his legal practice.

Ordained a priest 1726

Alphonsus decided to become a priest and his father though opposed at first reluctantly agreed, provided he didn't join the Oratorians. Alphonsus was ordained a secular priest in 1726 and three years later he became a chaplain in a college for training missionaries. There he met Thomas Falcoia, who sent him to investigate a nun who had a vision and who wanted to found a new congregation - the Redemptoristines. Alphonsus declared the vision authentic and the order was founded.

Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer

Two years later, Falcoia, who by now had become a bishop, asked Alphonsus to start a congregation of missionaries to work among the people in the rural districts around Naples. This congregation had some difficulties in having its rule approved as Alphonsus sought permission from the King of Naples and not from Church authorities. Eventually in 1749 the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer was approved by Pope Benedict XIV (Prospero Lambertini 1740-58). But the difficulties and divisions within the order were not resolved until after Alphonsus had died.

Preaching missions 

From almost forty years Alphonsus preached in the area around Naples and became much sought after as a confessor and spiritual director. He was both strict and compassionate. His aim in his preaching, spiritual direction and moral was to be as gentle, simple, and intelligible as he could. But he could also use the rhetorical power of persuasion he had developed as a lawyer. One Sunday with a black stole and a flaming torch he is said to have delivered a hair-raising sermon on the day of judgment and the fires of hell.

Built a monastery and a seminary

Alphonsus built a monastery to serve as a retreat centre and a seminary to meet the growing demand for his missionaries.

Theological and devotional writings 

In 1745 he published the first of his many theological and devotional works. His Moral Theology counteracted both rigorism and laxism insisting it was lawful to follow the milder of two equally probable opinions. His views on the primacy of conscience led to a renewal of moral theology in the post Vatican II era.

Bishop of Sant'Agatha dei Goti 

In 1762 - he was already sixty-six years of age - Alphonsus was named as bishop the diocese of Sant'Agatha dei Goti (between Naples and Capua). Here he campaigned tirelessly to reform the clergy, get them to observe the rule of celibacy, celebrate the Mass reverently, and preach in simple language to the people. During this time he suffered bouts of arthritis, sciatica and a curvature of his spine.

Retirement 

In 1775 when Alphonsus was able to have his resignation accepted, he went to live at Nocera dei Pagani, his favourite Redemptorist house. Here he spent most of his time writing. He lived till he was ninety-one, but during his last months he suffered periods of dementia and towards the end suffered from dysentery, gangrene and uremia.

Death and influence 

As he lay dying his confreres brought him a picture of his friend and lay brother in the Redemptorists St Gerard Majella, but Alphonsus muttered: "Even he cannot save me now". He died in 1787 and was canonised in 1839. In March 1871, Pius IX declared him a Doctor of the Church, and in 1950, Pius XII declared him the official patron of moralists and of confessors.

Order to query ex-pupils on abuse claims

SENIOR members of the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart intend to interview former pupils and teachers at a Co Cork boarding school as part of its efforts to tackle ongoing allegations of sexual abuse by a former principal.

A letter from the outgoing Provincial Superior, Patrick Courtney, seen by the Irish Examiner, states that the incoming Provincial Superior, Fr Joseph McGee, will visit Coláiste an Chroí Naofa in Carraig na bhFear, 12km from Cork city, in September to begin a process where he "will personally contact and interview past and present members of staff and past pupils".

"Fr McGee will request details of any incident of abuse which may have come to the attention of these individuals during their time at the school," the letter says.

Senator Mark Daly last month met with the order and the chief executive of the National Board for Safeguarding Children in the Catholic Church, Ian Elliott, to discuss concerns over the handling of Fr Donncha Mac Cárthaigh’s restricted ministry.

Seven different abuse complaints were made against the former principal and Cork GAA county selector and trainer between 1986 and 2008, by six men and a woman.

In the late 1980s, he stepped aside as principal "under a cloud", and became a career guidance counsellor at the school. 

In 1996, he was put on restricted ministry.

Fr McGee will be accompanied by a member of his leadership team, and the order is confident it will "locate a substantial number of past pupils".

A request to visit the school will formally be made by the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart to the school’s principal and CEIST (Catholic Education An Irish School’s Trust).

They also hope to meet with the board of management to further discuss their proposed inquiries into historic abuse at the school.

Despite having been on restricted ministry for 14 years, it was revealed that two years ago, the order let Fr Mac Cárthaigh edit a book to celebrate its centenary. 

Church guidelines state that when on restricted ministry a priest is not to wear his priest’s collar, but Fr Mac Cárthaigh can be seen on the cover of the book in his priest’s garb.

It has also emerged that he travelled to the US regularly and officiated at funerals, weddings and Masses in family homes, despite being forbidden to do so.

He was also a spiritual director on a pilgrimage to Fatima, and, earlier this year, travelled to Rome without the consent of his superiors.

Source

Dispute reveals contrasting perceptions of Benedict's role in Rome

IT IS NOW clear that the one section of the Taoiseach’s attack on the Vatican in the Dáil last week that has thoroughly annoyed the Holy See is that passage in his speech where Mr Kenny quotes Pope Benedict – then Cardinal Ratzinger – in a 1990 Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF) document.

Towards the end of his speech, the Taoiseach talks about “two pieces of legislation” with regard to protecting “the sacred space of childhood” that his Government intended to promote.

At this point, he quotes Ratzinger, saying: “Standards of conduct appropriate to civil society or the workings of a democracy cannot be purely and simply applied to the church.”

Kenny then concludes with an apparently defiant challenge to the Catholic Church, saying that the “standards of conduct which the church deems appropriate to itself, cannot and will not be applied to the workings of democracy and civil society in this republic”.

The clear implication is that given its mishandling of the worldwide sex abuse crisis, the Vatican has no right to inhabit any moral high ground from which it seems to denigrate (or disrespect) democratic principles.

Many have argued that, given the Holy See’s track record of a less than satisfactory, long- distance handling of the Irish clerical sex abuse crisis, such comments from the Taoiseach were long overdue.

While senior Vatican figures now freely, but off the record, concede that the Holy See deserves its share of outspoken criticism for the many mistakes made in the handling of the sex abuse crisis, they hoist the drawbridge when it comes to criticism of the Pope.

Even if it could be argued that Benedict has been a senior and influential church figure for the last 30 years, and as such must bear his share of responsibility for the “company culture”, senior Holy See figures suggest otherwise.

They point to a number of instances that would indicate a genuine desire on the part of the Pope to deal with the clerical sex abuse scourge – his creation of the sex abuse norms in John Paul II’s 2001 Motu Proprio Sacramentorum Sanctitatis Tutela; his (less than fully successful) attempts to denounce notorious church paedophiles such as the late Cardinal of Vienna, Hans Hermann Groer, and the founder of the Legionaries of Christ, Fr Marcial Maciel Degollado; his attack on “filth” within the church in his 2005 Via Crucis homily; the pastoral letter to the Irish and the apostolic visitation to Ireland.

Thus the apparent allegation that Benedict is less than willing to get to grips with the issue is seen as unfair.

In particular, the quote from the 1990 CDF document Donum Veritatis, On The Ecclesial Vocation of the Theologian is seen as taken out of the context of a complex 6,000-word document.

However, the offending paragraph 39, which contains the quote, seems designed perfectly to antagonise church critics.

Discussing the “mystery of communion” represented by the church which is “organised around a hierarchy established for the service of the Gospel”, it says that “all the baptised are to strive with sincere hearts for a harmonious unity in doctrine, life and worship”.

For this reason, it adds, the infamous “standards of conduct” appropriate to a democracy do not apply, while the document also ridicules the idea of “polling public opinion to determine the proper thing to think or do, opposing the Magisterium by exerting the pressure of public opinion”.

All of this would represent “a grave loss of the sense of truth and of the sense of the church”.

Unpalatable to some, such views nonetheless represent classic Ratzingerian thought.

Welcome, Mr Taoiseach, to the Catholic Church, where for a long time people have inhabited a moral high ground that does not so much denigrate or disrespect democracy but which simply takes another road altogether.

In that sense, Holy See figures have difficulty understanding the apparent attack on Benedict, a true custodian of a very orthodox, hardline faith.

 

Source

‘We have waited years for this to come out’

COLÁISTE an Chroi Naofa in Carrignavar was situated on a 300-acre lush farming estate, complete with dairy herd and manmade lake, 12 kilometres north of Cork city.

From September to May, the boarding school was home to hundreds of boys from around the country — coming from as far afield as Donegal and Sligo as the school had a stellar academic reputation and was lauded as a cradle for aspirant GAA greats.

Brochures for the school boasted to middle-class parents how the boys could enjoy life on an estate helping with the dairy herd, grading eggs and taking walks in the woods.

There was a swimming pool, basketball courts, volleyball courts, GAA pitches and boys were promised weekends on religious retreat in West Cork and Galway. The boys — some as young as 11— often spent up to three months away from their parents.

However, ever since the Kerry Senator, Mark Daly used Oireachtas privilege on Wednesday to shine a light on the real horror of life in the school during Fr Donncha Mac Carthaigh’s time, victims have been contacting the Irish Examiner to tell their tale. 

Some have made formal abuse complaints. Others haven’t and are now considering whether to. 

A number said they "wouldn’t be surprised" if Fr Donncha, the onetime principal and guidance counsellor, abused hundreds of pupils as his abuse was so blatant.

One spoke of the infirmary at the end of a 150 yard corridor in the school. A six-bed unit, it was used by the younger boys in the junior cycle.

"Genuinely very sick boys would be sent there and very often, there’d just be one boy in a room with six beds. Dinny Mac Carthaigh was always down there and the way he’d operate, he’d check your forehead, your chest and then somehow end up at your testicles. Sometimes those boys didn’t see a doctor for days," he said. 

"Remember these were very sick children all alone in an isolated room. It was so quiet that you could literally kill someone."

It appeared Fr Donncha had little interest in boys in the senior cycle, preferring to prey on the younger, more vulnerable boarders. Day pupils were never touched, former pupils say.

The first-year dormitory slept between 60 and 70 children. If Fr Donncha was on dormitory supervision, the boys would lie there in the dark petrified that the sound of footsteps would stop near them.

Even though the scene could not be more public, "he’d sit down beside your locker and start whispering away about GAA. All the time, he’d be abusing you" said another victim.

Another man, now in his 50s, said he had always felt for the boys who were "put in charge of things".

"He’d put you in charge of things. It could be in charge of the swimming pool so you’d be in late at night checking the gas levels or cleaning up. Or else you could be in charge of the volleyball courts and then you’d again be there on your own, charged with locking the lockrooms.

"Our hearts all went out to those guys because we all knew what he was really up to," he said.

"He was an absolute beast. It wasn’t all sexual. Many’s the night that I saw him belt a small boy across the face. He was the most brutal, physical man. He’d beat the daylights out of them. Here he was a pillar of the community and yet he was like a preying mantis," he said.

After the headmaster of the school, the next level of the hierarchy were the deanery. 

One of these was Fr Tadhg O’Dálaigh who has been described as Mac Carthaigh’s ‘lieutenant’. 

When Fr Donncha’s brother, Fr Ciarán was celebrating his 40-year jubilee last year, it was Fr Tadhg who wrote his tribute at a special ceremony in Cork. 

Eleven years previous, Fr Tadhg had been convicted of 10 sample counts of indecent assault of a 12-year-old former Carrignavar pupil. He was sentenced to three years in prison.

When a newspaper published the story last year, the Sacred Heart Missionaries said they "sincerely regret the mistake and unreservedly apologise to anyone who is aggrieved".

"There were young boys in Carrignavar who didn’t see their parents for months at a time. Those priests were meant to be there to look after us instead of parents. Instead, we were subjected to some of the most violent men that I have ever seen in my life. We’ve waited for years for this to come out and thank god, it now has," one man said.

Source

Priest’s brother investigated sex abuse claims

THE first complaint of sexual abuse against the former principal of Carrignavar College and Cork GAA selector, Fr Donncha Mac Cárthaigh, was investigated by his brother, who was then the head of his order in Ireland.

The complaint was lodged against Fr Donncha in 1986.

In his statement to the Seanad, using Dáil privilege, Senator Mark Daly revealed how this initial inquiry was headed by his brother, the then provincial superior of the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart, Fr Ciarán Mac Cárthaigh (pictured).

No suggestion has been made of impropriety on the part of Fr Ciarán.

Within a number of years of the complaint, Fr Donncha had stepped aside "under a cloud" from his post as principal, and was installed by the order as a career and guidance counsellor, where he had further access to children.

Six more complaints against Fr Donncha were made over the next 12 years and, in 1996, he was put on restricted ministry.

However, it has emerged that Fr Donncha con-celebrated wedding masses as recently as 2005, another violation of restricted ministry guidelines, and that he wears a priest’s collar — even though Church guidelines on restricted ministry state "you are requested to refrain from being identified as a Roman Catholic priest".

Yesterday, the National Board for Safeguarding Children confirmed it is investigating the order’s child protection policy and handling of abuse complaints.

Fr Donncha was well known in Cork GAA circles as a selector with the Cork minor football team between 1991 and 1993. He was also involved in training under-16 county football teams and was a selector when Cork won the 1981 All-Ireland title.

Mr Daly has harshly criticised the order’s handling of Fr Donncha’s restricted ministry — stating that he travelled to Fatima and Rome in the past two years without receiving permission from the order. On the Fatima trip, he was described as "spiritual director".

Meanwhile, Justice Minister Alan Shatter criticised the Fianna Fáil senator’s decision to use Seanad privilege to name Fr Donncha.

"It was completely inappropriate that an individual who can’t answer for themselves… should be simply pilloried in the Seanad," said Mr Shatter.

The Irish Province of the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart apologised to all abused by members of their order.

"Persons who have allegations made against them have been taken out of active ministry and are subject to restrictions in regard to access and travel," it said.

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Pope's UK visit prompts increase in sex abuse allegations against church

Pope Benedict XVI's visit to Britain last year led to more reports of sexual abuse allegations, finds the National Catholic Safeguarding Commission, the body set up to improve the church's response to abuse claims.

Publicity surrounding the pope's four-day tour, in addition to his statements on the paedophile priest scandal, saw the numbers of abuse allegations rise in 2010 from 20 a year to 63.

The commission, which was established in 2008, said the three-fold jump concerned incidents from the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s.

In its annual report the NCSC also revealed that 37 clergy have been laicised, or dismissed from the clerical state, since 2001. Of these, 23 were diocesan priests and 14 were members of religious orders.

The NCSC said "the overwhelming majority" of the 37 would have criminal convictions but it did not know how many of the convictions dated back to 2001..

The group said the publication highlighted the "many positive developments" in child protection within the Catholic church in England and Wales while acknowledging there was "no room for complacency", especially in the way it dealt with abuse survivors.

"The NCSC is both challenged and heartened by the fact that last year and, in particular, following the pope's visit more people have felt confident enough to come forward to report incidents of abuse in the hope of finding some kind of reconciliation and closure. Overall, however, we are aware that our response [to survivors of abuse] is not always sensitive, timely or appropriate."

The commission's chair, Baroness Scotland, said she was aware there was "still much to do". 

In a foreword she wrote that a point of focus should be development of "a more sensitive and pastoral response to the victims and survivors of abuse".

Richard Scorer, a solicitor with Pannone LLP, who has been involved with several claims against the Catholic church, said that "intense public debate" about the church's failings at the time of the papal visit "undoubtedly emboldened" many victims to break their silence. 

But he warned that it could be years before a full picture emerged.

He said: "It is a well-recognised pattern with child abuse that it produces shame and fear and these often make victims reluctant to disclose often until many years after the event, if at all. 

We simply will not know for some years whether the child protection policies adopted by the Catholic church since reforms in 2001 have been effective or not. Victims of abuse in the last decade may well wait 10, 15, 20 years to disclose."

Scorer accused the church of not taking its legal and moral obligations seriously, citing the lengthy laicisation process and a high-court case in which the church is claiming that it is not responsible for priests' actions.

He added: "Compare how long it takes to defrock paedophile priests with how secular organisations work. We would appalled if a teacher convicted of child abuse had still not been banned from teaching by the General Teaching Council three or five years after the conviction."

The NCSC report comes at a time of renewed criticism about the way the church deals with abuse allegations.

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Spanish cardinal recommends that Catholics receive Communion on the tongue

Spanish Cardinal Antonio Canizares Llovera recently recommended that Catholics receive Communion on the tongue, while kneeling.
 
“It is to simply know that we are before God himself and that He came to us and that we are undeserving,” the prefect of the Vatican's Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments said in an interview with CNA during his visit to Lima, Peru.
 
The cardinal’s remarks came in response to a question on whether Catholics should receive Communion in the hand or on the tongue.

He recommended that Catholics “receive Communion on the tongue and while kneeling.”

Receiving Communion in this way, the cardinal continued, “is the sign of adoration that needs to be recovered. I think the entire Church needs to receive Communion while kneeling.”

“In fact,” he added, “if one receives while standing, a genuflection or profound bow should be made, and this is not happening.”

“If we trivialize Communion, we trivialize everything, and we cannot lose a moment as important as that of receiving Communion, of recognizing the real presence of Christ there, of the God who is the love above all loves, as we sing in a hymn in Spanish.”

In response to a question about the liturgical abuses that often occur, Cardinal Canizares said they must be “corrected, especially through proper formation: formation for seminarians, for priests, for catechists, for all the Christian faithful.”

Such a formation should ensure that liturgical celebrations take place “in accord with the demands and dignity of the celebration, in accord with the norms of the Church, which is the only way we can authentically celebrate the Eucharist,” he added.

“Bishops have a unique responsibility” in the task of liturgical formation and the correction of abuses, the cardinal said, “and we must not fail to fulfill it, because everything we do to ensure that the Eucharist is celebrated properly will ensure proper participation in the Eucharist.”

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For cardinal, a new final resting place

A long-running dispute over the gravesite of Boston’s first cardinal has been resolved through negotiations, and Cardinal William H. O’Connell is finally at rest.

Nearly 70 years after O’Connell’s death, his remains were quietly moved a short distance last week from a crypt beneath a small chapel in Brighton to a courtyard at St. John’s Seminary, ending an unusual court fight over what to do with the bones of one of the most influential Roman Catholic leaders in the city’s history.

The seven-year dispute pitted the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston and Boston College against the living relatives of the late cardinal.

The church and BC wanted to relocate O’Connell’s remains from land the school bought from the archdiocese in 2004 so that the college could redevelop the property.

But the cardinal’s relatives were determined to defend the wishes of their famous ancestor. O’Connell, they said, had clearly chosen the place of his own tomb, a little building on a hill to remind young seminarians to pray for an old cardinal’s soul.

Now, the cardinal’s remains are even closer to the seminary.

The dispute wound up in probate court two years ago but has now been settled.

“In accordance with an agreement reached with the late cardinal’s next of kin and in keeping with the wishes expressed in his last will and testament, his remains have been re-interred on the grounds of St John’s Seminary with prayers performed . . . by Bishop Arthur Kennedy, rector of St. John’s Seminary,’’ the archdiocese said in a statement.

Lawyer Edward Kirk, a relative of the late cardinal and a party to the lawsuit, confirmed that the dispute had ended with an amicable agreement.

“He had wanted to remain in close proximity to the seminary,’’ said Kirk, speaking of his distant uncle.

“When the day comes, and if our paths are ever to cross, I hope he’ll be happy for what we did for him.’’

The cardinal’s new resting place near St. John’s Chapel is less than a five-minute walk from his former tomb.

The new grave is currently unmarked and unremarkable, save for a patch of thick new sod, eight small shrubs, and some fresh landscaping mulch.

The archdiocese plans to mark the grave with a proper stone, said spokesman Terrence Donilon, and will hold a formal ceremony in the fall when the memorial to O’Connell is complete.

O’Connell, born in 1859, was ordained a priest in 1884 and became archbishop of Boston in 1907. He was made the city’s first cardinal four years later. During his nearly four-decade stewardship, he became a hugely influential figure, overseeing widespread growth and expansion of the Catholic Church in Boston.

On his 69th birthday in 1928, O’Connell announced that, one day, he would be buried at a small mausoleum being built near the cardinal’s residence.

At the time, that land belonged to St. John’s Seminary.

That was where his earthly remains “shall repose until the Judgment Day,’’ he said at the time.

He repeated the request to be entombed there in his last will, signed in 1943.

O’Connell died the next spring, April 22, 1944, at age 84.

At his funeral, a dozen police sergeants carried the open casket up a ramp draped in black, to the crypt.

O’Connell’s remains were covered with a purple shroud, and then the casket was sealed, sprinkled with holy water, and slid slowly into the mausoleum, according to a news report from the time.

His repose was uninterrupted for decades, until 2004, when the archdiocese agreed to sell the land to Boston College, to raise money to settle claims from victims of clergy sex abuse.

A condition of the sale was that the archdiocese would “use diligent efforts’’ to remove O’Connell’s tomb from land that had become part of a college campus, according to legal filings.

O’Connell’s relatives objected.

They didn’t want the grave disturbed, out of respect to O’Connell’s burial wishes.

In 2009, the Archdiocese of Boston and BC sued 30 of O’Connell’s descendants in probate court for the right to move the cardinal’s remains, suggesting in the lawsuit that the grounds of St. Sebastian’s School in Needham, to which O’Connell had a deep attachment, would make a better site for the grave.

Relocating the casket to St. John’s was a compromise that made all the parties happy, said Kirk.

Workers for the Catholic Cemetery Association of the Archdiocese of Boston, which oversees cemeteries for the archdiocese, started work to remove O’Connell’s remains July 20, said Donilon.

They carried the casket last Thursday to its new location on a truck, and placed it 5 feet deep in a burial vault.

The bronze casket, weighing more than a ton, was in excellent condition.

The mausoleum was then removed.

“We thought that location would be appropriate and in keeping with his wishes,’’ Kirk said.

O’Connell had wanted to be entombed near the seminary because he thought a conspicuous shrine would lead the seminarians “to think at least once in a while of me,’’ the cardinal said in 1928, “and say a ‘De Profundis’ or an ‘Ave Maria’ for my eternal rest.’’

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Monks Successfully Defend Their Right to Earn an Honest Living

Last week, a federal court in Louisiana ruled that a state law prohibiting sales of caskets by non-licensed merchants was unconstitutional.  

A monastery that has made caskets for over a century sued the state to protect their modest casket business. 

It should come as no surprise that our friends at the Institute for Justice were leading the charge against the law:

Under Louisiana law, it was a crime for anyone but a government-licensed funeral director to sell “funeral merchandise,” which includes caskets. 

To sell caskets legally, the monks would have had to abandon their calling for one full year to apprentice at a licensed funeral home and convert their monastery into a “funeral establishment” by, among other things, installing equipment for embalming.

The Honorable Stanwood Duval of U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana ruled, “Simply put, there is nothing in the licensing procedures that bestows any benefit to the public in the context of the retail sale of caskets. 

The license has no bearing on the manufacturing and sale of coffins. 

It appears that the sole reason for these laws is the economic protection of the funeral industry which reason the Court has previously found not to be a valid government interest standing alone to provide a constitutionally valid reason for these provisions.”

Thus, even though merely economic liberty was at issue and therefore courts need apply only “rational basis” scrutiny to the regulation at issue, this regulation fails for being completely beyond any conceivable rational basis. 

And indeed, like so many regulations, this one was nothing more nor less than a barrier to entry for small businesses. Established funeral directors had used the power of the government to illegally control the market, eliminating competition and artificially driving up the prices of caskets. 

Not only was the funeral-director cartel denying the monks their right to earn an honest living, but they were taking advantage of the people they serve (ultimately, everyone in Louisiana) by extracting ill-gotten profit — often at the time of their customers’ greatest sorrow.

You can read the full opinion here and watch a video that tells the monastery’s story below. Congratulations to the monks of St. Joseph Abbey and the great attorneys at IJ!

            
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Delaware Catholic Diocese Wins Leave to Pay Abuse Victims, End Bankruptcy

The Catholic Diocese of Wilmington,Delaware, won court permission to pay people who were sexuallyabused by priests $77.4 million to win protection from futurelawsuits and end its bankruptcy case. 

U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Christopher Sontchi in Wilmingtonsaid today that he would approve the diocese’s reorganizationplan after lawyers for the church and the victims work out thefinal wording of a court order he can sign.

The plan was designed to compensate about 150 abuse victimswhose molestation claims stretch back to the 1960s and to imposean outside review of all church policies, from the education ofits priests to how it runs its schools. 

Sontchi will hold ahearing later this afternoon where he said he will sign an orderapproving the reorganization plan, assuming the final changesdon’t contradict any of the rulings he has made in the case.

Some victims may never fully regain confidence in thechurch, attorney James Stang, who represented a committee ofabuse victims, said in court.

“Anyone who thinks this case provides some kind ofreconciliation does not understand the nature of the abuse theywent through,” Stang said.

In 2009, the Delaware diocese became one of at least sevenRoman Catholic entities in the U.S. to file for bankruptcy tosettle lawsuits from current and former parishioners.

The bankruptcy case is In re Catholic Diocese of WilmingtonInc., 09-13560, U.S. Bankruptcy Court, District of Delaware(Wilmington).

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Report proves little was learned from mistakes

BERNARD from Swords was just six years old when he began to suffer appalling abuse at the hands of paedophile priest, Fr James McNamee.

The abuse was to continue for a horrifying four years and would leave emotional scars that lay just beneath the surface to this day, more than 30 years later. 

The Cloyne Report has been depressing for Bernard and for other victims of abuse as it details just how little the Church has learned from its past mistakes. 

When the Murphy Report, which detailed the offences of Fr McNamee, was published in late 2009, Bernard hoped for some sense of closure but it is clear from Cloyne that there are more victims out there and Bernard fears the kind of abuses that he endured could just as easily befall another child today. 

When the Swords man recalled the dark days he experienced at the hands of Fr McNamee, he told the Fingal Independent: ' I remember swimming around in the nude and being touched by him, washed by him and dried by him. He was very physical with us. ' He would make sure he would dry us off and the drying wasn't normal – it was more intense.' Of the bishops and archbishops who failed to address McNamee's and other's abuses, he said: ' Any bishop or archbishop who knew about priests who were abusing and just moved them onto serial abuse somewhere else, should resign.

' I know people have asked them to look into their own conscience, but do they have a conscience?'

He said that the deference to the Church and its authorities must be at an end now and warned: ' Going forward, all institutions dealing with children have to know that if they are aware of a scandal they cannot do nothing about it.'

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