BishopAccountability.org
	Exonerated Clergy 'Should Think of Suing Their Bishops' By David Quinn Irish Independent September 13, 2005 PRIESTS cleared of child sex abuse allegations but who nevertheless have not been returned to ministry should consider suing their bishop in order to restore their good name, the head of the National Conference of Priests of Ireland has said. Speaking at the annual general meeting of the NCPI yesterday, Fr John Littleton claimed that in some cases bishops were "over-reacting" to child abuse allegations in order to compensate for the fact that they had "under-reacted" in the past. He said he was aware of cases where a priest had been cleared by both civil and religious authorities following receipt of a child abuse allegation against him, but the bishop had decided not to restore him to his ministry. He said he did not want to provide details of any cases for fear of "giving away the identity of the priest". Fr Littleton told the Irish Independent: "If a priest knows he is innocent of allegations of child sex abuse, and the various investigations, both Church and State, prove that; and if his bishop is still unwilling to allow him to re-enter ministry, then in justice the priest would have every right to take an action against his bishop and sue him." He continued: "The basis for this is that every citizen has a right to his good name and to have that vindicated in a court of law." He said that the civil authorities should introduce "heavy penalties against people who make maliciously false allegations" in order to discourage others from doing so. He said he hoped that when the recommendations of the bishops' working group on child protection, headed by Maureen Lynott, are fully implemented, "the pendulum would swing back towards the middle" in terms of how child abuse allegations are dealt with. In recent years, a number of priests from around the country have been asked to step aside from their ministry pending investigation of an allegation of child abuse. Where the priest has been cleared, he is usually restored to his ministry; but there are concerns among clerics that the good name of the priest in this situation is forever tarnished. In a minority of cases, the bishop might not restore the cleric to his ministry at all out of fear that the priest might, after all, be guilty. Fr Littleton also called for "total openness and transparency" from the bishops with regard to the issue of clerical sex abuse. He was critical of the fact that not all dioceses had as yet divulged exactly how they intended meeting their financial commitments to the Stewardship Fund which has been established to deal with child abuse settlements and finance the child protection office. Commenting on the upcoming report on clerical sex abuse in the diocese of Ferns, Fr Littleton said he was aware some bishops were asking their priests to prepare themselves for it, but that he believed "most of us cannot be shocked any further". "The allegations to date have already shaken us to our core. Could we be shaken anymore?" He commented that morale among priests was generally low at present and that they needed to rediscover their "prophetic voice" and have "a clear conviction in the message of Jesus as Lord and Saviour and life after death". The AGM continues today.