LONDON (ENGLAND)
BBC
March 1, 2018
There have been calls for the Bishop of Dromore to resign amid claims he celebrated Mass alongside a priest he knew was a paedophile.
Malachy Finnegan, who died in 2002, has been accused of sex abuse by 12 people.
Fr Finnegan, a teacher at St Colman’s College in Newry from 1967 to 1976, is also accused of a catalogue of physical and emotional abuse against pupils.
Bishop of Dromore, Dr John McAreavey, has previously apologised for conducting Fr Finnegan’s funeral Mass.
Last month, Bishop McAreavey, who was chair of the board of governors at the school, told parishioners in the Dromore diocese that he first became aware of allegations against Fr Finnegan in 1994.
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On Wednesday, Spotlight NI reporter Mandy McAuley told the BBC’s Nolan Live programme that six years later, Fr Finnegan was allowed to help Bishop McAreavey celebrate a Mass to mark the 150th anniversary of the Clonduff parish.
She said the paedophile priest was vested – robed in garments – at the Mass in 2000, although he was not the main celebrant.
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