IRELAND
Religion News Service
By Rosie Scammell
(RNS) A religious order covered up the sexual crimes of an Irish priest who abused more than 100 children, some as young as 6, according to a new report.
The failures of the Salvatorian order to act on the crimes of a priest named “Father A” were outlined in a report released Wednesday (May 4) by Ireland’s National Board for Safeguarding Children in the Catholic Church.
During a career spanning more than 50 years, the priest sought out girls between the ages of 6 and 9 and abused them while visiting their family homes.
“Fr. A would stop visiting families when their daughters turned 10 years of age, as they were then outside his preferred target age group,” the report said.
The priest has been named in Irish media as the Rev. Patrick McDonagh, who was convicted in 2007 of sexually abusing several girls and died two years later.
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