BishopAccountability.org
	Bishop Hegarty in "Secret Deal" Controversey The Donegal News March 19, 2010 http://www.nwipp-newspapers.com/dn/free/313712309890177.php FORMER Bishop of Raphoe and now Bishop of Derry, Dr Seamus Hegarty is at the centre of fresh controversy surrounding a secret deal with an abuse victim agreed in 2000. The latest case involves a woman who said that a decade of abuse by a priest who had befriended her family began in 1979. She told her parents only on the day of her 18th birthday after becoming overwhelmed by events. The victim went public with her claims that she was abused over a 10-year period by an unnamed priest, but said she was bound to secrecy in a legal deal which involved the Bishop Hegarty. The fresh controversy comes after revelations that the head of the Catholic Church in Ireland Cardinal Sean Brady remained silent for 35 years over two abuse cases involving a notorious paedophile priest. A spokesman for Bishop Hegarty said he was aware of the case, but would not be commenting until a detailed review of the file had been carried out. He confirmed the bishop's office was alerted to the woman's claims on Wednesday afternoon by the Belfast Telegraph newspaper, but had not immediately reviewed the case because of the St Patrick's Day holiday. Commenting on the claim by the abuse victim an official responsible for overseeing the Church's handling of abuse claims said out-of-court settlements were not acceptable. Ian Elliott, CEO of the National Board for Safeguarding Children in the Catholic Church in Ireland, said: "If any situation comes to light involving a child, then the policy of the church and the absolute commitment that is given, is that that information will be conveyed to the appropriate state authorities, the PSNI (Police Service of Northern Ireland) and the social services." The settlement of the Derry case was said to have involved a payment of ?12,000 to the woman and her parents. The family had not contacted police in the belief that the Church would deal with the issue, but they later became dissatisfied with how the clergy handled the matter. The settlement is said to have included a confidentiality clause, plus a hand-written letter by the abusive priest. In the letter, reproduced in the Belfast Telegraph yesterday, the priest wrote: "Now as I grow into pension years and feel the insecurity of uncertain health, I am anxious to offer you and your extended family my deepest apology for any pain I caused you through inappropriate gesture or mistaken signs of affection." The young woman at the centre of the case said she was subjected to a sustained campaign of abuse which began when she was eight and lasted into her late teens. Investigate all diocese - call Commenting on the continuing revelations into the handling of clerical sex abuse by church authorities, Irish Times religious correspondent Patsy McGarry named the Raphoe Diocese in particular as one which should be investigated. Earlier this year Bishop Philip Boyce said he would have no difficulty with an investigation into issues surrounding clerical sex abuse in the diocese. In January Bishop Hegarty was challenged to account for his handling of clerical child abuse allegations when he was Bishop of Raphoe from 1982-1994 by the Voice of the Faithful Ireland (Votfi). "On December 9, 2009, in response to the publication of the Murphy report on clerical child sex abuse in Dublin archdiocese, the Irish Catholic Bishops' Conference announced: 'We are shamed by the extent to which child sexual abuse was covered up in the Archdiocese of Dublin and recognise that this indicates a culture that was widespread in the church'." Votfi acting co-ordinator Sean O Conaill noted that the period referred to in the bishops' statement covered the years 1975-2004, which was investigated by the Murphy commission. "During the period 1982-1994 Bishop Seamus Hegarty was Bishop of Raphoe. The prolific child rapist Eugene Greene served as a priest in Raphoe in that period. Gardai did not become aware of his crimes against 26 young men until 1997. "However, there is compelling evidence, revealed in 2008 in the book Breaking the Silence (by Martin Ridge and Gerard Cunningham; Gill and Macmillan) that his criminal activities were known to Raphoe clergy at least as early as 1976." "When Bishop Hegarty approved the Irish bishops' statement of December 9th, was he admitting that the 'widespread' cover-up of clerical child sex abuse extended to the diocese of Raphoe during his term of office there? Or does he deny having had any knowledge during that period of Greene's abusive proclivities and activities?" In 2002, Bishop Hegarty told Raidio na Gaeltachta news that he never knew of Fr Greene's crimes during his term.
Any original material on these pages is copyright © BishopAccountability.org 2004. Reproduce freely with attribution.