BishopAccountability.org
	Sports Psychologist to Aid Ferns Priests By Dearbhail McDonald The Times [Ireland] July 17, 2005 A CLINICAL psychologist who helped the Dublin football team to All-Ireland victory in 1995 has been approached by the Catholic church to help "steel" parish priests in advance of a damning report into clerical sex abuse. Tom Moriarty, a clinical and sports psychologist who has also provided motivational counselling for the Tyrone and Wexford teams, has been asked by Eamon Walsh, the bishop of Ferns, to support priests in advance of publication of the report. Led by Frank Murphy, a retired Supreme Court judge, the Ferns inquiry is the first state investigation into the Catholic church's handling of clerical sex abuse allegations. Due to be published later this year, it is expected to reignite widespread public anger at the church's handling of clerical sex abuse scandals. Moriarty's services, outlining his availability to counsel stressed priests, were advertised recently in an internal church newsletter. Yesterday Moriarty said it would be "inappropriate" to discuss his client base. The psychiatrist also works with companies who want to improve productivity, or to reduce stress-related absenteeism. Moriarty's appointment has been welcomed by priests, some of whom have already been told by church leaders in the archdioceses of Armagh and Tuam to "steel yourselves" in advance of the report. "Of course priests need help," said John Littleton, president of the National Council of Priests in Ireland. "They are no different than anyone else. They, too, are appalled by the ghastly scandals and it affects our morale. We feel angry and ashamed. The abuse issue is not for the bishops alone to deal with. We need help, especially as we are dealing directly with our parishoners. Sometimes people assume that priests are in a different league, but we are human too." It is not the first time that the church has recruited psychologists to help priests cope with the stress caused by clerical scandals. Psychiatrists, therapists, stress management consultants and health professionals have been drafted in by the hierarchy for several years, but church leaders have redoubled their efforts in recent months. Earlier this month it emerged that Walsh had written to the leaders of Ireland's religious congregations asking them to pray for a "positive outcome" ahead of the publication of the report. The missive was interpreted by some religious sources as a pre-emptive strike ahead of publication. Brendan Comiskey, the former bishop of Ferns, was forced to step down from his position in April 2002 following a BBC television documentary. After the programme, private security guards were hired by the church to police the grounds of the bishop's palace. Cardinal Desmond Connell, the former Archbishop of Dublin, was heckled in the Pro-Cathedral following an RTE programme that raised questions about how the Church authorities handled clerical abuse in Ireland. The Ferns report is expected to be critical of Comiskey's handling of known and suspected paedophile priests in the diocese, including Sean Fortune. One of the church's most prolific child sex abusers, Fortune died of a drink and drugs overdose at his home in Wexford in 1999. He faced 66 charges of sexually abusing eight young men. Two years ago, the Ferns diocese agreed to pay ˆ300,000 — one of the highest payouts by the Catholic church — and legal costs to Colm O'Gorman, one of Fortune's victims and the founder of One in Four, an abuse support group. The Ferns report is also expected to castigate senior church figures, some deceased, gardai and health officials. Individual clergy and gardai could even face prosecution for covering up abuse. The church faces a second state investigation later this year, into child sexual abuse by priests in the archdiocese of Dublin. Senior clerics, including Connell, could be questioned in public about their responses to complaints against priests in their charge.