Former Archbishop admits having string of affairs while he was a priest including with mum-of-eight

IRELAND
Irish Mirror

BY AODHAN O’FAOLAIN

Richard Burke, 66, also had a relationship with a 20-year-old woman but denies having sex with her when she was 14, as she claims.

A former Catholic Archbishop has admitted a string of affairs while he was a priest, including one with a married mother of eight.

Richard Burke, 66, also had a relationship with a 20-year-old woman – but denies having sex with her when she was 14, as she claims.

His sexual history is coming under scrutiny in the High Court, where he is suing RTE for a programme he says depicted him as a paedophile.

Mr Burke, who has since left the priesthood, also denied a suggestion that the reason Dolores Atwood was “deeply troubled” and “skewed” in her relationships was because he had sexually exploited her as a vulnerable child.

The Tipperary-born former cleric said he had not had any sexual encounter with her until 1989 when she was aged 20 and he 40.

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