HANDLING OF CASES:COMPLAINTS OF child sexual abuse against 10 priests out of a total of 46 in Dublin were found to have been handled correctly by the archdiocese.
The commission looked in depth at a sample of 46 priests against whom allegations of child sexual abuse had been made.
The complaints handled correctly included those against laicised priest Frank McCarthy who pleaded guilty to assaulting two boys, as well as complaints against nine priests given pseudonyms in the report.
McCarthy was ordained in 1974 and worked in Dunlavin and Enniskerry in Co Wicklow, and Ballyfermot and Howth in Dublin. He was also a chaplain to a school when the complaints were made against him.
The investigation was initiated in 1995 when a man told gardaí he had been abused by McCarthy as a child in Dunlavin. Gardaí contacted McCarthy who then told the archdiocese. In an interview with the archdiocese he admitted abusing other children. It notified gardaí and the health board of this, the report says.
A meeting of interested parties, including the archdiocese, gardaí and the health board, was arranged and a plan was drawn up to support any suspected victims and arrange for counselling.
In November 1995, priests in the parishes were McCarthy had worked read a statement from the altars explaining to parishioners about the allegations made against him.
The report criticises former chancellor and then judicial vicar Msgr Gerard Sheehy. He wrote to Archbishop Desmond Connell after the statements were made. He expressed outrage and claimed McCarthy’s good name had been damaged.
“Msgr Sheehy displayed little or no empathy or concern for the victims,” the report finds.
McCarthy was convicted in 1997 of sexually assaulting two boys. He received a suspended sentence.
In a case involving a younger priest, the report says the archdiocese had immediately addressed concerns and suspicions raised, though there were no allegations of sexual abuse.
Fr Guido, a pseudonym, was ordained in the 1990s. Concerns were expressed to Bishop Martin Drennan about him in 2002 and 2003 when he was seen taking photos of young rugby players. He took part in drinking parties on a pilgrimage to Lourdes and exchanged contact details with young men. He was referred for assessment and it was found he had “a homosexual orientation which manifested in an attraction to fit young men”.
The archdiocese was told no professional could guarantee he would not behave inappropriately to young men. He was laicised and the diocese spent a lot of money on treatment and on helping him establish a new career.
