DUBLIN (IRELAND)
Irish Independent
February 27 2019
By Sarah Mac Donald
An Irish priest is trying to sue a diocese in the US claiming he was slandered because he refused to cover up for another priest’s sexually inappropriate behaviour with a young boy.
Fr John Gallagher from Co Tyrone alleges that Bishop Gerald Barbarito and the Diocese of Palm Beach ruined his reputation and career as a priest because he reported the sexual misconduct of Indian priest, Joseph Palimattom, who had come to serve in his parish, the Holy Name of Jesus, in December 2014.
The Indian cleric showed child abuse images to a 14-year-old parishioner, who complained about the cleric’s actions in January 2015. Police believe Palimattom was grooming the teenager.
The priest was later convicted of showing obscene material to a minor and served a six-month sentence. He was then deported from the USA back to India.
Church officials in India did not tell Fr Gallagher that Palimattom had been previously accused of sexually abusing children in his home country.
Fr Gallagher (51) claims he was “frozen out” and punished for being a whistle-blower by the diocese and for passing information on the paedophile priest to the police in Florida.
He alleges he was placed on medical leave by the diocese and that the locks on his parochial home were changed and his belongings moved while he was in the hospital.
He also claims that when he contacted the diocese to report the abuse incident the morning after it had been reported to him, the diocesan official told him, “We’ve dealt with this before, we normally put them on a plane and send them back.”
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