IRELAND
Galway Advertiser
By Martina Nee
The Bishop of Clonfert this week apologised for the mistakes make at a time when allegations and complaints of child sexual abuse were made against priests in the diocese adding that guidelines and policies have now been put in place to ensure that these mistakes are not repeated.
Speaking yesterday following the publication of a report by The National Board for Safeguarding Children in the Catholic Church (NBSCCCI) Bishop John Kirby referred to his dealings of allegations made against two priests and admitted that at the time he had been “unaware of the recidivous nature, of the compulsive nature, of sexual abuse”.
“I felt it was a friendship that had gone astray and that was wrong. I now know how bad that was, it was a grave mistake. It was not acceptable. Now my understanding is much greater and much deeper that it was at that time and I apologise profusely for the mistakes that I made at the time”.
The audits were in relation to four dioceses and, for the first time, three religious congregations looking at child protection practices and involved the examination of a total of 330 allegations of abuse against 146 priests and members of those congregations around the country. Clonfert Diocese is one of the smallest of 26 Catholic dioceses in the country with 24 parishes across east Galway, and parts of counties Roscommon and Offaly.
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