IRELAND
Irish Central
By
CATHY HAYES,
IrishCentral Staff Writer
Published Thursday, September 6, 2012, 7:18 AM
Galway bishop Dr John Kirby has apologized for his part in the movement of two priests who abused children in the Clonfert dioceses.
Speaking to the Irish Independent, Kirby said there were no guidelines in place when he moved the two priests in the 1990s. The bishop said at the time he believed that separating the priests from the victims was the solution. He said he understood that the sexual abuse being reported was simply “that it was a friendship that crossed boundary line.”
On Newstalk’s “Lunchtime” show the chief executive of Barnardos, a charity for vulnerable children, described Kirby’s excuse as “Childish, puerile, infantile.”
Reacting to Kirby’s comments, Ian Elliot the chief executive of the National Board for Safeguarding Children in the Catholic Church, said, “Care needs to be taken when appointing a bishop that you do not appoint a bishop with these attitudes.
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