United States: The president of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops, Dr William Skylstad (72), has denied allegations that he sexually abused a child in the early 1960s.
Bishop Skylstad's equivalent in Ireland would be Archbishop Seán Brady, president of the Irish Bishops' Conference.
The allegations were made in a claim against the Catholic diocese of Spokane, Washington state, by a woman who said she was under the age of 18 when Bishop Skylstad sexually abused her at St Patrick's parish and at Gonzaga University from December 1961 to December 1964.
Bishop Skylstad, who is also bishop in Spokane, was a student at Gonzaga University from 1962 to 1966. In a statement, he said: "I have kept the promise of celibacy that I made when I was ordained a deacon 47 years ago."
Spokane diocese, one of three in the US to file for bankruptcy due to sex abuse claims, last month offered 75 victims a $45.75 million (€38.38 million) joint settlement.
It was unclear yesterday whether Bishop Skylstad would stand aside while the allegations are investigated. Church policy in the US, as in Ireland, requires that "sufficient evidence" supporting such allegations against a cleric exists before he is taken out of public ministry, while a full inquiry is conducted.
The diocese said protocols for dealing with sex abuse allegations were being followed and that Archbishop Pietro Sambi, the Papal Nuncio to the US had been notified of the allegation.
Anxiety by priests at how colleagues are being dealt with by bishops when accused of child sex abuse, came to the surface in Ireland this week. Fr John Littleton, president of the National Conference of Priests of Ireland, said bishops were adopting an "over strict" approach to priests facing allegation of child sex abuse. - (additional reporting from AP and Reuters)
