Sexual abuse scandal in Cloyne diocese
Encyclopedia
The sexual abuse scandal in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Cloyne
is officially elaborated as the "Commission of Investigation, Dublin Archdiocese, Catholic Diocese of Cloyne". It has examined how allegations of sexual abuse of children in the diocese were dealt with by the church and state. The investigation was led by Judge Yvonne Murphy, The Cloyne Report, and published in July 2011. The inquiry was ordered to look at child protection practices in the diocese and how it dealt with complaints against 19 priests made from 1996.
, an independent supervisory body established by the Irish bishops, led by Mr Ian Elliot. When the chief executive of that body made contact with the diocese on the matter, he was met with lack of cooperation. Meetings held with Bishop John Magee
and representatives of the diocese in March failed to elicit his full cooperation with the National Board for Child Protection's investigation. As per BBC News, "The report found that Bishop John Magee falsely told the government and the health service that his diocese was reporting all abuse allegations to authorities. It also found that the bishop deliberately misled another inquiry and his own advisors by creating two different accounts of a meeting with a priest suspecting of abusing a child, one for the Vatican and the other for diocesan files".
, broke the story of the impending scandal in the diocese of Cloyne
. There followed a number of hastily arranged meetings between Magee, Monsignor Denis O'Callaghan, (the Vicar General of Cloyne), and Dean Eamon Gould with representatives of the National Board for Safeguarding Children in the Catholic Church (or Safeguarding for short). These resulted in O'Callaghan handing over documentation concerning the two cases referred by the Irish Government to Safeguarding. On 28 June 2008, Ian Elliot, the chief executive officer of Safeguarding, completed a damning report on the handling of both cases by Magee, by his delegate for Child Protection, O'Callaghan, and by his inter-diocesan case management committee. The Elliot Report was examined by that case management committee on 9 July 2008, and it adopted a position threatening Elliot and Safeguarding with legal action were they to publish the Report. In the meantime, Elliot passed the report to the Irish Government and to the minister for Children, Barry Andrews who did not read the report but passed it to the Health Service Executive
to compile another report on it.
of the Labour Party raised the matter in the press and demanded a Dáil discussion of the handling of Child Sex Abuse in Cloyne. Further press coverage led to the publication of the Elliott Report by Bishop Magee on 19 December 2008. The contents of the Report were shocking and concluded that Bishop Magee's actions, and those of his agent's in this area, were inadequate and in some respects were dangerous. There followed a chorus of demands for Bishop Magee's resignation. The demands were renewed in January 2009 with the publication of the HSE Report commissioned by the Minister for Children which uncovered a number of other cases which had not been reported to the authorities or dealt with according to self-regulatory procedures. The Minister rejected a recommendation of the Health Executive Service report that the Cloyne case not be referred to the Dublin Tribunal of Investigation into Child Abuse and, following a Cabinet meeting held on 7 January, he referred Cloyne to the Dublin Tribunal which published a report in November 2009.
This offence may be committed by a person who has authority or control over a child or an abuser and who intentionally or recklessly endangers a child by:
Causing or permitting any child to be placed or left in a situation which creates a substantial risk to the child of being a victim of serious harm or sexual abuse or failing to take reasonable steps to protect a child from such a risk while knowing that the child is in such a situation. This offence may be prosecuted only by the Director of Public Prosecutions
. The penalty is a fine (no upper limit) and/or a maximum of 10 years imprisonment.
(HSE) found his diocese had put children at risk of harm through an "inability" to respond appropriately to abuse allegations. In spite of “a large number of calls for his resignation” the Bishop signalled his intention to remain.
Further analysis in January 2009 suggested that the bishop and diocese staff were sparing with details of allegations, and that Bishop Magee might have to resign, but also that the Irish government has not yet legislated for all the improvements in the law of evidence that were called for in the Ferns Report of 2005.
as apostolic administrator
of the Cloyne diocese, though Bishop Magee remained Bishop in title. Bishop Magee requested that the Pope take this action on 4 February. Bishop Magee said that he would use the time to "devote the necessary time and energy to cooperating fully with the government Commission of Inquiry into child protection practices and procedures in the diocese of Cloyne". In accordance with canon law
, an apostolic administrator is named for an open-ended interim period. Bishop Magee's resignation was formally accepted by the Vatican
on 24 March 2010.
, a judicial inquiry into the sexual abuse scandal in the Catholic archdiocese of Dublin
, the same team was reappointed to investigate allegations surrounding the diocese of Cloyne. Its remit included investigating the state's health and policing practices as well as the Church itself. Judge Murphy's Inquiry issued its report on 13 July 2011. The findings of fact included that:
Roman Catholic Diocese of Cloyne
The Diocese of Cloyne is a Roman Catholic diocese in southern Ireland. It is one of six suffragan dioceses in the ecclesiastical province of Cashel and is subject to the Archdiocese of Cashel and Emly. The diocese is in the secular province of the same name - Munster...
is officially elaborated as the "Commission of Investigation, Dublin Archdiocese, Catholic Diocese of Cloyne". It has examined how allegations of sexual abuse of children in the diocese were dealt with by the church and state. The investigation was led by Judge Yvonne Murphy, The Cloyne Report, and published in July 2011. The inquiry was ordered to look at child protection practices in the diocese and how it dealt with complaints against 19 priests made from 1996.
Misrepresentation by Bishop Magee
In February 2008, the Irish Government referred two allegations of Child Sex Abuse to the National Board for Safeguarding ChildrenNational Board for Safeguarding Children
The National Board for Safeguarding Children was established in 2006 in order to develop policies that would foster the prevention of child abuse in the Catholic Church in Ireland. Its main goals are to offer advice on best practice, to assist in the development of procedures and to monitor...
, an independent supervisory body established by the Irish bishops, led by Mr Ian Elliot. When the chief executive of that body made contact with the diocese on the matter, he was met with lack of cooperation. Meetings held with Bishop John Magee
John Magee (bishop)
John Magee, SPS was a Roman Catholic bishop in Ireland. He resigned his episcopal seat on 24 March 2010.-Early life:...
and representatives of the diocese in March failed to elicit his full cooperation with the National Board for Child Protection's investigation. As per BBC News, "The report found that Bishop John Magee falsely told the government and the health service that his diocese was reporting all abuse allegations to authorities. It also found that the bishop deliberately misled another inquiry and his own advisors by creating two different accounts of a meeting with a priest suspecting of abusing a child, one for the Vatican and the other for diocesan files".
Media disclosures
In April 2008, Justine McCarthy, a journalist with the Sunday TribuneSunday Tribune
The Sunday Tribune was an Irish Sunday broadsheet newspaper published by Tribune Newspapers plc. It was edited in its final years by Nóirín Hegarty, who changed both the tone and the physical format of the newspaper from broadsheet to tabloid. Former editors include Conor Brady, Vincent Browne,...
, broke the story of the impending scandal in the diocese of Cloyne
Roman Catholic Diocese of Cloyne
The Diocese of Cloyne is a Roman Catholic diocese in southern Ireland. It is one of six suffragan dioceses in the ecclesiastical province of Cashel and is subject to the Archdiocese of Cashel and Emly. The diocese is in the secular province of the same name - Munster...
. There followed a number of hastily arranged meetings between Magee, Monsignor Denis O'Callaghan, (the Vicar General of Cloyne), and Dean Eamon Gould with representatives of the National Board for Safeguarding Children in the Catholic Church (or Safeguarding for short). These resulted in O'Callaghan handing over documentation concerning the two cases referred by the Irish Government to Safeguarding. On 28 June 2008, Ian Elliot, the chief executive officer of Safeguarding, completed a damning report on the handling of both cases by Magee, by his delegate for Child Protection, O'Callaghan, and by his inter-diocesan case management committee. The Elliot Report was examined by that case management committee on 9 July 2008, and it adopted a position threatening Elliot and Safeguarding with legal action were they to publish the Report. In the meantime, Elliot passed the report to the Irish Government and to the minister for Children, Barry Andrews who did not read the report but passed it to the Health Service Executive
Health Service Executive
The Health Service Executive is responsible for the provision of healthcare providing health and personal social services for everyone living in Ireland, with public funds. The Executive was established by the Health Act, 2004 and came into official operation on January 1, 2005...
to compile another report on it.
Political recommendations
In December 2008, Deputy Sean SherlockSeán Sherlock
Seán Sherlock is an Irish Labour Party politician. He has been a Teachta Dála for Cork East since May 2007, and is the Minister of State for Research and Innovation.-Early life:...
of the Labour Party raised the matter in the press and demanded a Dáil discussion of the handling of Child Sex Abuse in Cloyne. Further press coverage led to the publication of the Elliott Report by Bishop Magee on 19 December 2008. The contents of the Report were shocking and concluded that Bishop Magee's actions, and those of his agent's in this area, were inadequate and in some respects were dangerous. There followed a chorus of demands for Bishop Magee's resignation. The demands were renewed in January 2009 with the publication of the HSE Report commissioned by the Minister for Children which uncovered a number of other cases which had not been reported to the authorities or dealt with according to self-regulatory procedures. The Minister rejected a recommendation of the Health Executive Service report that the Cloyne case not be referred to the Dublin Tribunal of Investigation into Child Abuse and, following a Cabinet meeting held on 7 January, he referred Cloyne to the Dublin Tribunal which published a report in November 2009.
Public consequences
It now remains to be seen whether a member of the public will make complaint to An Garda Síochána (Gaelic: Guard of the Peace) against Bishop Magee and/or Monsignor Denis O'Callaghan under the terms of The Criminal Justice Act 2006 which provides for a new offence of reckless endangerment of children. This came into effect on 1 August 2006.This offence may be committed by a person who has authority or control over a child or an abuser and who intentionally or recklessly endangers a child by:
Causing or permitting any child to be placed or left in a situation which creates a substantial risk to the child of being a victim of serious harm or sexual abuse or failing to take reasonable steps to protect a child from such a risk while knowing that the child is in such a situation. This offence may be prosecuted only by the Director of Public Prosecutions
Director of Public Prosecutions
The Director of Public Prosecutions is the officer charged with the prosecution of criminal offences in several criminal jurisdictions around the world...
. The penalty is a fine (no upper limit) and/or a maximum of 10 years imprisonment.
Apologies
In January 2009, Magee apologised to victims of clerical sex abuse after a report compiled by the Health Service ExecutiveHealth Service Executive
The Health Service Executive is responsible for the provision of healthcare providing health and personal social services for everyone living in Ireland, with public funds. The Executive was established by the Health Act, 2004 and came into official operation on January 1, 2005...
(HSE) found his diocese had put children at risk of harm through an "inability" to respond appropriately to abuse allegations. In spite of “a large number of calls for his resignation” the Bishop signalled his intention to remain.
Further analysis in January 2009 suggested that the bishop and diocese staff were sparing with details of allegations, and that Bishop Magee might have to resign, but also that the Irish government has not yet legislated for all the improvements in the law of evidence that were called for in the Ferns Report of 2005.
Intervention by Rome
On 7 March 2009 Pope Benedict appointed Archbishop Dermot Clifford of Cashel and EmlyRoman Catholic Archdiocese of Cashel and Emly
The Metropolitan Archdiocese of Cashel and Emly is a Roman Catholic archdiocese in mid-western Ireland. The diocese is in the secular province of Munster. The Diocese of Cashel was established in 1111 by the Synod of Rathbreasail and promoted to the status of a Metropolitan Province in 1152 by the...
as apostolic administrator
Apostolic Administrator
An apostolic administrator in the Roman Catholic Church is a prelate appointed by the Pope to serve as the ordinary for an apostolic administration...
of the Cloyne diocese, though Bishop Magee remained Bishop in title. Bishop Magee requested that the Pope take this action on 4 February. Bishop Magee said that he would use the time to "devote the necessary time and energy to cooperating fully with the government Commission of Inquiry into child protection practices and procedures in the diocese of Cloyne". In accordance with canon law
Canon law
Canon law is the body of laws & regulations made or adopted by ecclesiastical authority, for the government of the Christian organization and its members. It is the internal ecclesiastical law governing the Catholic Church , the Eastern and Oriental Orthodox churches, and the Anglican Communion of...
, an apostolic administrator is named for an open-ended interim period. Bishop Magee's resignation was formally accepted by the Vatican
Holy See
The Holy See is the episcopal jurisdiction of the Catholic Church in Rome, in which its Bishop is commonly known as the Pope. It is the preeminent episcopal see of the Catholic Church, forming the central government of the Church. As such, diplomatically, and in other spheres the Holy See acts and...
on 24 March 2010.
Judicial Inquiry report, July 2011
Due to the success of the 2009 Murphy ReportMurphy Report
The Murphy Report is the brief name of the report of an investigation conducted by government of Ireland into the Sexual abuse scandal in the Catholic archdiocese of Dublin...
, a judicial inquiry into the sexual abuse scandal in the Catholic archdiocese of Dublin
Sexual abuse scandal in the Catholic archdiocese of Dublin
The sexual abuse scandal in Dublin archdiocese is a major chapter in the series of sexual abuse cases in Ireland. The Irish government commissioned a statutory enquiry in 2006 that published the Murphy Report in November 2009....
, the same team was reappointed to investigate allegations surrounding the diocese of Cloyne. Its remit included investigating the state's health and policing practices as well as the Church itself. Judge Murphy's Inquiry issued its report on 13 July 2011. The findings of fact included that:
- Two-thirds of abuse allegations made in 1996-2009 were not passed on to the Garda, as required by the Church's 1996 guidelines
- In a secret letter the VaticanHoly SeeThe Holy See is the episcopal jurisdiction of the Catholic Church in Rome, in which its Bishop is commonly known as the Pope. It is the preeminent episcopal see of the Catholic Church, forming the central government of the Church. As such, diplomatically, and in other spheres the Holy See acts and...
described the Irish bishops' 1996 guidelines to be a "study document", and not a binding set of rules - Bishop Magee had misled the former inquiries by the Health Service ExecutiveHealth Service ExecutiveThe Health Service Executive is responsible for the provision of healthcare providing health and personal social services for everyone living in Ireland, with public funds. The Executive was established by the Health Act, 2004 and came into official operation on January 1, 2005...
(HSE) in 2009 - An accusation against Bishop Magee himself was dismissed; another 18 priests were named using pseudonymPseudonymA pseudonym is a name that a person assumes for a particular purpose and that differs from his or her original orthonym...
s
Taoiseach and other reaction
- On 20 July 2011 TaoiseachTaoiseachThe Taoiseach is the head of government or prime minister of Ireland. The Taoiseach is appointed by the President upon the nomination of Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Oireachtas , and must, in order to remain in office, retain the support of a majority in the Dáil.The current Taoiseach is...
Enda KennyEnda KennyEnda Kenny is an Irish Fine Gael politician, and has been the Taoiseach since 2011. He has led Fine Gael since 2002. He served as Minister for Tourism and Trade from 1994 to 1997. He is also a two-term Vice President of the European People's Party.Kenny has been a Teachta Dála for Mayo since...
criticised the Vatican, deploring "the dysfunction, disconnection and elitism that dominates the culture of the Vatican to this day" The Vatican reacted "to evidence of humiliation and betrayal ... with the gimlet eye of a Canon lawyer[, a] calculated, withering position." He also told the Dáil that "the historic relationship between church and state in Ireland could not be the same again. The rape and torture of children were downplayed or 'managed' to uphold instead the primacy of the institution, its power, standing and reputation." - In a televised interview, Archbishop Diarmuid MartinDiarmuid MartinDiarmuid Martin is the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Dublin and Primate of Ireland. He was born in Dublin.-Early life and education:...
deplored a "cabalCabalA cabal is a group of people united in some close design together, usually to promote their private views and/or interests in a church, state, or other community, often by intrigue...
" in the Church that still refused to recognise Vatican rules on child protection. - Alan ShatterAlan ShatterAlan Joseph Shatter is an Irish Fine Gael politician. He is a Teachta Dála for the Dublin South constituency and has been the Minister for Justice and Equality and Minister for Defence since March 2011.-Background and early life:...
, the Minister for Justice and Equality, said that ".. it is difficult to read the Cloyne Report and avoid despair. ..The report's findings are unambiguous. It is severely critical of the Diocese of Cloyne. The diocese's response to complaints and allegations of child sexual abuse in the period from 1996 up to 2008 was totally inadequate and inappropriate." - Head of the Holy See Press OfficeHoly See Press OfficeThe Holy See Press Office publishes the official news of the activities of the Pope and of the various departments of the Roman Curia. All speeches, messages, documents, as well as the statements issued by the Director, are published in their entirety....
Federico LombardiFederico LombardiFederico Lombardi, SJ is an Italian Roman Catholic priest and the current director of the Holy See Press Office.-Early life and ordination:...
, speaking on a personal basis, said it was ".. somewhat strange to see the Vatican criticised so heavily". Regarding the 1997 letter that suggested that the 1996 bishops' child protection guidelines amounted only to a "study document", he added that "There is no motive to interpret the letter in the way it has been, as an attempt to cover up cases of abuse. There is nothing in the letter which suggests not respecting the laws of the land." - The Cloyne diocese commented that the 11 priests considered abusive in recent decades worked among 415 priests about whom no complaints were made.
- http://www.taoiseach.gov.ie/eng/Government_Press_Office/Government_Press_Releases_20111/Statement_by_the_Government_of_Ireland_on_the_response_of_the_Holy_See_regarding_the_report_of_the_Commission_of_Investigation_into_the_Catholic_Diocese_of_Cloyne_.htmlStatement by the Government of Ireland on the response of the Holy See regarding the report of the Commission of Investigation into the Catholic Diocese of Cloyne] 8 September 2011
- Statement by the Taoiseach on the Dáil Motion on the report of the Commission of Investigation into the Catholic Diocese of Cloyne, 20 July 2011
See also
- Catholic sexual abuse scandal in IrelandCatholic sexual abuse scandal in IrelandThe Catholic sexual abuse scandal in Ireland is a major chapter in the worldwide Catholic sexual abuse scandal. Unlike the Catholic sexual abuse scandal in the United States, the scandal in Ireland included cases of high-profile Catholic clerics involved in illicit heterosexual relations as well as...
- AbuseAbuseAbuse is the improper usage or treatment for a bad purpose, often to unfairly or improperly gain benefit. Abuse can come in many forms, such as: physical or verbal maltreatment, injury, sexual assault, violation, rape, unjust practices; wrongful practice or custom; offense; crime, or otherwise...
- Child abuseChild abuseChild abuse is the physical, sexual, emotional mistreatment, or neglect of a child. In the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Department of Children And Families define child maltreatment as any act or series of acts of commission or omission by a parent or...
- Child sexual abuseChild sexual abuseChild sexual abuse is a form of child abuse in which an adult or older adolescent uses a child for sexual stimulation. Forms of child sexual abuse include asking or pressuring a child to engage in sexual activities , indecent exposure with intent to gratify their own sexual desires or to...
- Religious abuse
- Sexual abuseSexual abuseSexual abuse, also referred to as molestation, is the forcing of undesired sexual behavior by one person upon another. When that force is immediate, of short duration, or infrequent, it is called sexual assault. The offender is referred to as a sexual abuser or molester...
- Sexual misconductSexual misconductSexual misconduct is misconduct of a sexual nature. The term may be used to condemn an act, but in some jurisdictions it has also a legal meaning....
- Spiritual abuseSpiritual abuseSpiritual abuse is a serious form of abuse which occurs when a person in a cult-religious authority or a person with a unique spiritual practice misleads and maltreats another person in the name of a deityor church or in the mystery of any spiritual concept...