THE COUNCIL of Priests of Dublin’s Catholic archdiocese will meet tomorrow for the first time since publication of the Murphy report on November 26th.
In attendance will be Archbishop Diarmuid Martin, auxiliary bishops Éamonn Walsh and Ray Field, former chancellor of the archdiocese Msgr Alex Stenson and its current chancellor Msgr John Dolan. Bishops Walsh and Field, as well as chancellors Stenson and Dolan, are all mentioned in the report. Where knowledge of clerical child sex abuse by priests in the archdiocese was concerned, the report found “some priests were aware that particular instances of abuse had occurred. A few were courageous and brought complaints to the attention of their superiors. The vast majority simply chose to turn a blind eye.”
It continued: “the cases show that several instances of suspicion were never acted upon until inquiries were made.”
Last night Dublin Diocesan Council of Priests chairman Fr Joe Mullan said of that finding, “I have no idea personally what information Judge Murphy had in forming that opinion. We [priests], clearly, are sensitive about it. It flies in the face of personal experience of 30 years. I’m still waiting to meet a priest who didn’t share it [information about allegations of abuse].”
He said “nothing could prepare you for the emotional reaction to the sheer volume of abuse in the diocese over the period investigated”, he said.
While there had been support from some of the laity, one older man had said to him: “Ye’ve already lost our children. Ye’ll never get our grandchildren. I cannot believe ye’re losing our generation.” Such people, Fr Mullan felt, “are not disassociating themselves from us, but from the leadership”. Older people “are so wounded, it is extraordinary.”
Priests too had been hurt by “the system of power and the secrecy” in the archdiocese, he said.
“Though not comparable to the hurt suffered by survivors of abuse, this has contributed to a sense of loss of identity with the institution,” he said.