Fr. Seán Fortune was an Irish

Irish people

The Irish people are an ethnic group who originate in Ireland, an island in northwestern Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years , with the Irish people's earliest ancestors recorded having legends of being descended from groups such as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolg, Tuatha...

 priest

Priest

A priest is a person authorized to perform the sacred rites of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particular, rites of sacrifice to, and propitiation of, a deity or deities...

 accused of child molestation, who allegedly used his position to gain access to his victims. He was never tried, but committed suicide before any charges were proved against him,

Born in Gorey

Gorey

Gorey , is a market town in north County Wexford, Ireland, situated beside the main M11 Dublin to Wexford road. The town is also connected to the railway network along the same route. Local newspapers include the Gorey Guardian and Gorey Echo....

, County Wexford

County Wexford

County Wexford is a county in Ireland. It is part of the South-East Region and is also located in the province of Leinster. It is named after the town of Wexford. In pre-Norman times it was part of the Kingdom of Uí Cheinnselaig, whose capital was at Ferns. Wexford County Council is the local...

, Fortune was educated at St Peter's College, Wexford

St Peter's College, Wexford

St Peter's College, Wexford is an Irish secondary school and former seminary located in Summerhill, overlooking Wexford town. It is a single sex school for male pupils. Currently its school population is approximately 700. The current principal is Mr. Patrick Quigley and the current vice-principal...

, which was the diocesan seminary of the diocese of Ferns

Diocese of Ferns

Diocese of Ferns can refer to:*The Roman Catholic Diocese of Ferns*The Church of Ireland diocese of Ferns within the united Diocese of Cashel, Waterford, Lismore, Ossory, Ferns & Leighlin...

. It was during his training that the first reports of his abuse were made, although it is not clear whether the Diocesan authorities had knowledge of these complaints before his ordination.
Fortune ministered in the village of Fethard on Sea in Co. Wexford

Wexford

Wexford is the county town of County Wexford, Ireland. It is situated near the southeastern corner of Ireland, close to Rosslare Europort. The town is connected to Dublin via the M11/N11 National Primary Route, and the national rail network...

, in Belfast

Belfast

Belfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly...

 and in Dundalk

Dundalk

Dundalk is the county town of County Louth in Ireland. It is situated where the Castletown River flows into Dundalk Bay. The town is close to the border with Northern Ireland and equi-distant from Dublin and Belfast. The town's name, which was historically written as Dundalgan, has associations...

. Allegations of abuse were made against him in all three places. Sean Cloney compiled a dossier of complaints against him. Fr. Fortune also set up a business in Dublin which offered media and journalism training to the public.

In March 1999, he committed suicide

Suicide

Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...

 in New Ross while awaiting trial for 66 charges of sexual abuse against 29 boys. He had taken a lethal cocktail of drugs and alcohol and was found dead in bed by his housekeeper. He was 45. He had been remanded in custody pending trial but had been released days earlier.

In March 2002, the BBC

BBC

The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...

 broadcast Suing the Pope

Suing the Pope

Suing the Pope is a March 2002 documentary by Colm O'Gorman and the BBC which details the abusive activities of priest Sean Fortune and the response of the diocese of Ferns to his activities over the years....

, a documentary detailing the activities of Fortune and the response of the Diocese of Ferns

Diocese of Ferns

Diocese of Ferns can refer to:*The Roman Catholic Diocese of Ferns*The Church of Ireland diocese of Ferns within the united Diocese of Cashel, Waterford, Lismore, Ossory, Ferns & Leighlin...

 to his activities over the years. The Report of the Ferns Inquiry claims that two of Fortune's alleged victims have since committed suicide.

See also

• Colm O'Gorman
  Colm O'Gorman
  Colm O'Gorman is an Irishman from County Wexford, founder of One in Four, former senator, and current executive director of Amnesty International in Ireland...
  
  
• Roman Catholic Church sex abuse scandal
• Roman Catholic priests accused of sex offenses
• Ferns Report, on sexual abuse in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Ferns, Ireland
• Crimen sollicitationis
  Crimen sollicitationis
  Crimen sollicitationis is the title of a 1962 document of the Holy Office codifying procedures to be followed in cases of priests or bishops of the Catholic Church accused of having used the sacrament of Penance to make sexual advances to penitents.It repeated, with additions, the contents of an...
  
  
• Pontifical Secret
  Pontifical secret
  The pontifical secret or pontifical secrecy or papal secrecy is the code of confidentiality that, in accordance with the canon law of the Roman Catholic Church, applies in matters that require greater than ordinary confidentiality:...
  
  
• Deliver Us from Evil (2006 film)
  Deliver Us from Evil (2006 film)
  Deliver Us from Evil is a documentary film directed by Amy J. Berg which tells the true story of Catholic priest Oliver O'Grady, who admitted to having molested and raped approximately 25 children in Northern California between the late 1970s and early 1990s...
  
  
• Sex Crimes and the Vatican (Panorama Documentary Episode)
• Barbara Blaine
  Barbara Blaine
  Barbara Blaine is the founder and president of Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests , a national advocacy group for survivors of clerical sexual abuse. She alleges that she was sexually abused during her teenage years from junior high school until graduation by a priest. She revealed this...
  
   founder of SNAP (Survivors Network for those Abused by Priests)
• Donal Collins
  Donal Collins
  Donal Collins was a priest of the Diocese of Ferns. He was appointed principal of St Peter's College, Wexford by Bishop Brendan Comiskey in 1988 despite his removal by Comiskey's predecessor, Bishop Donal J. Herlihy, following allegations of Collins sexually abusing pupils in his charge...
  
  

Further Reading

• Tom Mooney, All the Bishops' Men - Clerical Abuse in an Irish Diocese, Collins Press

Sources

• A Message from Heaven:The Life and Crimes of Father Sean Fortune - Alison O'Connor, 2000 - ISBN 0863222706

External links

• Bleeding the Church