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You are > Home > West stunned as 27 Tuam priests in abuse scandal
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Wednesday, November 02, 2005
West stunned as 27 Tuam priests in abuse scandal
A total of 27 priests from the Archdiocese of Tuam have been linked to allegations of child sexual abuse, the Western People can reveal. The figure is one of the highest in the country and will come as a major shock to parishioners in counties Mayo and Galway where the alleged paedophiles were based.
In a statement released at the weekend, the Archbishop of Tuam, Dr Michael Neary, revealed that seven of the 27 priests are now deceased. The earliest date of the alleged abuse was 1940 and eight priests who had been identified as probable child sexual abusers have since left the priesthood.
Archbishop Neary said 19 priests had been based solely in the Archdiocese of Tuam while a further seven had held temporary positions or had occasionally administered in the Archdiocese. The Tuam diocese covers a vast area of South and West Mayo, including Claremorris, Ballinrobe, Westport, Castlebar, Achill Island, as well as parts of North Galway.
Of the 27 priests involved, three have been convicted of charges of child sexual abuse while the Director of Public Prosecutions has decided not to prosecute another two. A further eight priests - living at the time the complaint was received – have left the priesthood following a reasonable suspicion that child sexual abuse may have occurred.
Mr Colm O‘Gorman, Director of One in Four group, which offers support to victims of clerical sex abuse, said the claims in Tuam were “on a par” with the scandal-riven Diocese of Ferns, given the similarity of the population of each diocese.
Mr O’Gorman said he found it remarkable that bishops were only now making these figures available, even though in some cases they were available for the last 50 years.
Dr Neary revealed that eight civil actions involving child sexual abuse have been brought, of which seven have been settled. Compensation of €327,000 has been paid to the victims with an additional €170,000 being expended on legal fees. The Archbishop did not reveal if further settlements were pending.
Dr Neary assured Catholics throughout the Archdiocese that the alleged perpetrators of child sexual abuse had been removed from office and he said that the Gardaí had been contacted in all cases involving living priests.
“No priest is currently in ministry who is the subject of an investigation involving child sexual abuse or about whom there has been reasonable suspicion that child sexual abuse may have occurred.”
On Sunday, Dr Neary attempted to explain to the people of the Tuam diocese why he had initially declined to ask a priest in an alleged rape case to stand down. The priest, who is accused or raping a pregnant woman some years ago, only stood down after the case was highlighted in the national media.
Delivering a homily in Tuam Cathedral, Dr Neary insisted that he had consulted with various sources, including the gardai, before being satisfied that no public safety issue existed.
But, the “balancing exercise” that had led to this decision was altered on Thursday of last week when, he claimed, the “confidentiality of the Garda investigation was breached” by an Irish Independent front page story.
He assured the people of the diocese that the procedures in place to protect children were of “a very high standard”.
The Western People understands that the alleged incident involving the pregnant woman occurred in County Mayo and that a Garda file on the matter is due to be sent to the Director of Public Prosecutions within a matter of weeks. A second priest from the Archdiocese of Tuam is also under investigation for the alleged assault of a 17-year-old girl in the 1970s. The priest is believed to have been living in the south of the country for some time.
The child sex abuse statistics from Tuam are among the worst in the country and dwarf those of neighbouring dioceses. The Bishop of Killala, Dr John Fleming, has revealed that he received one anonymous allegation concerning a priest who had died. No other complaints had been made.
Meanwhile, the Diocese of Achonry stated that three priests had allegations of child sexual abuse made against them. One of the priests is dead while the other two are retired and are not involved in ministry in the diocese. Neither man has been convicted of offences relating to the allegations.
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