Gardai question Ferns priest over alleged abuse

A priest from the diocese of Ferns in Co Wexford has been questioned in relation to allegations of child sexual abuse.

A priest from the diocese of Ferns in Co Wexford has been questioned in relation to allegations of child sexual abuse.

Gardaí said they arrested the priest - who is in his fifties - at his parochial home last Tuesday morning under Section Four of the Criminal Justice Act.

He was questioned at Enniscorthy Garda Station in relation to allegations of the sexual abuse of two teenage boys in the 1980s. He was released later that day without charge.

A file on the case has been sent to the Director of Public Prosecutions.

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Bishop Brendan Comiskey resigned from Ferns in April after complaints that the late Father Sean Fortune had continued to abuse boys in the diocese during the 1980s and 1990s despite repeated complaints.

Senior Counsel Mr George Birmingham recently completed a preliminary report in relation to the handling of sex abuse scandals by the Catholic Church.

The lawyer was appointed by the Minister for Health, Mr Martin, to examine the best way to investigate scores of complaints.

Meanwhile, the Church has promised an internal audit to investigate how it dealt with complaints of child sex abuse by priests, which it recently said had damaged the “faith of the people and the morale of clergy”.