PEOPLE WHO were sexually abused as children by clergy in the diocese of Cloyne have been urged to get in contact with the commission of investigation into the diocese. Headed by Justice Yvonne Murphy, the Commission of Investigation into Cloyne Diocese has begun its inquiry and will select a sample of complaints made to Catholic Church authorities in Cloyne between 1996 and 2009 for detailed examination.
In 1996, the Catholic Church in Ireland published its first set of guidelines on how allegations of clerical child sex abuse should be handled by church authorities. This investigation was announced last January in response to a report by the church’s own monitoring body, the National Board for Safeguarding Children (NBSC). It found child protection practices in Cloyne were “inadequate, even dangerous”.
Yesterday, the One in Four agency, which assists people who suffered abuse as children, urged victims of clerical child sex abuse in Cloyne diocese to get in contact with the commission at 01-619 0000 or One in Four at 01-662 4070. The NBSC report last December was triggered by a complaint One in Four made in 2007 to Minister of State for Children Barry Andrews about the handling of an abuse allegation by Bishop of Cloyne John Magee.
The bishop has since stepped aside from governance in Cloyne to allow him to co-operate fully with the investigation. The same commission has just completed its inquiry into how complaints of child sexual abuse were handled in Dublin’s archdiocese between January 1st, 1975, and April 30th, 2004. That report is due to be presented to Minister for Justice Dermot Ahern at the end of this month.
Meanwhile, there has been a call for the former Bethany Home in Rathgar, Dublin, to be included among institutions covered by the redress board. It was a privately-run Church of Ireland residential institution for children. Derek Leinster, now living in Britain, was born there and believes it should be included on the redress board list as are five other Church of Ireland-run residential institutions for children. He has written a book, Hannah’s Shame, which is described as “the story of one boy’s Irish childhood spent in poverty because of the neglect of the Church of Ireland, of his lifelong search for who he is and of his fight for justice”. His website is www.derekleinster.com
