Summary of Clerical Sex Abuse Scandals in Ireland

Is the Catholic Church worth saving?

Press Association

Pope Francis has confronted the issue of abuse which has rocked the Catholic Church in Ireland over the last two decades.

During the first papal visit to Ireland in almost 40 years, the pontiff prayed for victims of clerical abuse.

In a meeting with eight people representing those who were abused in a variety of institutions and by members of the clergy, the Pope expressed his disgust at those who covered it up. But some of the victims and survivors want him to go further and make a public apology to victims.

Allegations of physical and sexual abuse as well as mistreatment by members of the Catholic institutions and clerics began to emerge from the late 1980s.

However, it was not until the 1990s that revelations of paedophile priests and sex abuse in children’s homes was publicly exposed following pressure from victims and survivors as well as public opinion and media reports.

Even in 2018 more are continuing to emerge with the latest adoption records scandal.

A number of criminal cases and Irish government inquiries exposed the extent of horrific crimes and uncovered details of how hundreds of priests abused thousands of children over decades.

– Paedophile priest Brendan Smyth

One of the most infamous cases was Belfast-born paedophile Brendan Smyth, who abused over 140 children over four decades.

Smyth was arrested in 1994 in Belfast but went on the run to the Republic of Ireland where he spent three years.

The mishandling of his extradition led to the collapse of the Irish government.

The revelations led to a number of inquiries set up in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.

– The Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse

Commonly known as the Ryan Report, the inquiry looked into child abuse in institutions run by religious orders.

It was established in May 2000 and went on to detail horrific neglect by religious congregations who were left to look after children.

It documented the rape and sexual assault of children, who were kicked, physically assaulted, and forced to carry out labour.

More than 90% of witnesses reportedly being physically abused.

The report, published in 2009 made a number of recommendations including those to help protect children.

The redress scheme cost more than 1.25 billion euro.

– The Ferns Report

The report, published in October 2005, documented more than 100 allegations of child sexual abuse made between 1962 and 2002 against 21 priests in the Diocese of Ferns.

The report, which addressed how allegations were handled, and stated that between 1960 and 1980 it appeared that Bishop Donal Herlihy treated child sexual abuse by priests of his diocese exclusively as a moral problem.

– The Murphy report

The 2009 Murphy report investigated allegations of child sexual abuse by priests in the Archdiocese of Dublin over the period 1975 to 2004.

Released by Judge Yvonne Murphy, the report examined complaints about the alleged sexual abuse of over 320 children.

The report consisted of three volumes and cost a total of 3.6 million euro.

It stated the four archbishops who were serving during that period – John Charles McQuaid, Dermot Ryan, Kevin McNamara, and Desmond Connell – handled complaints badly.

One of the priests who admitted abuse stated he did so more than 100 times.

Another did so fortnightly for 25 years.

Along with clergy, the Gardai were accused in the report of covering up the scandal.

– The Historical Institutional Abuse inquiry

The HIA looked into historical allegations of abuse in Northern Ireland between 1922 and 1995.

The largest number of complaints stemmed from four different Catholic-run institutions.

Chaired by Sir Anthony Hart, it found that priests and lay people sexually abused children.

Last year, Sir Anthony recommended compensation, a memorial and a public apology to abuse survivors. However, the collapse of the Northern Ireland government has led to a delay in implementing his findings.

– Commission of Investigation into Mother and Baby Homes

The Commission of Investigation into Mother and Baby Homes was set up following claims of mass burials of hundreds of children at the Bon Secours Mother and Baby Home in Tuam, Co Galway.

There has also been evidence of illegal adoptions in Church-run institutions.

It is ongoing. - Presumably the Commission is ongoing, not the illegal adoptions.

– Magdalene Laundries

Tens of thousands of women were effectively incarcerated in laundries run by Catholic orders of nuns.

They operated across Ireland from the 18th century until the final institution on Sean McDermott Street in Dublin closed in 1996.

The laundries were opened for “fallen women”, but many survivors have since revealed that many of those who worked in the laundries had committed no sin.

A number of former inmates have given accounts of suffering sexual, psychological and physical abuse in the laundries where they provided free labour.

In 2001, the Irish Government acknowledged the women in the laundries were victims of abuse.

In 2013 a report following an 18 month inquiry found there had been “significant” state collusion in the admission of thousands of women into the institutions.

Then Taoiseach Enda Kenny made a formal state apology to the women who had been in the laundries, describing the institutions as “the nation’s shame”.

Compensation has been paid out to around 680 Magdalene laundry survivors.

– Illegal Adoptions

In June it emerged that between 1946 and 1969 some placed by the former adoption society, St Patrick’s Guild, had incorrect information registered on their birth certificates.

The names of the people they were placed with were incorrectly recorded as their birth parents.

Children’s charity Barnardos say an investigation is needed into at least 150,000 adoptions, and it believes 10% of cases will be found to be illegal.

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar described the revelations as another dark chapter in the country’s history.

An audit is underway.

– Pope apology

In March 2010, Pope Benedict XVI wrote a pastoral letter of apology for all of the abuse that had been carried out by Catholic clergy in Ireland.

In May 2010, Pope Benedict established a formal panel to investigate the sex abuse scandal, saying it could serve as a healing mechanism for the country and its Catholics.

And did it? Has anyone heard of this again?

In August 2018, Pope Francis apologised in an open letter to victims of clerical abuse saying “no effort will be spared to prevent abuse and its cover up” in the future.

During his visit to Ireland Pope Francis met with eight abuse survivors at the Papal Nuncio’s residence in Dublin.

He reportedly referred to those who covered up abuse as “caca”, the Spanish word for excrement.

And yesterday it emerged that the Pope himself was aware of the predatory actions of Cardinal McCarrick in Washington and New York as early as 2013 and possibly earlier, and did nothing about it until the issue was publicized earlier this year. 

There are calls for him to set a good example and resign. 

There are also accusations of a homosexual subculture in the hierarchy (read, Curia) of the church. Does Francis have the nerve to take on the Curia? John Paul was about to take them on and look what happened to him. (Read: In God's Name - David Yallop).

One wonders if there is anything worth saving in Catholicism. It's hard to imagine the good they have done outweighs the horrors committed on so many women and children for decades and possibly for centuries.

US Bishop Claims 'Homosexual Subculture' Within Catholic Hierarchy Behind 'Sickening' Child Sex Abuse

by Stoyan Zaimov 

Bishops wait under umbrellas before Pope Francis opens a Catholic Holy Year, or Jubilee,

in St. Peter's Square, at the Vatican, December 8, 2015.

A U.S. bishop has claimed that a "homosexual subculture" exists within the "hierarchy of the Catholic Church," which is leading to the mass child sex abuse scandals.

U.S. Bishop Robert Morlino of Madison, Wisconsin, wrote in a pastoral letter on Saturday that there is "justified anger" being directed at Catholic leadership over the Pennsylvania grand jury report, released last week, which revealed how 301 priests who abused over 1,000 children over decades were protected by the institution.

Morlino said that the abuse detailed in the 1,300-page report is "sickening," but insisted that it is not just pedophilia that is the problem. "[W]e are talking about deviant sexual — almost exclusively homosexual — acts by clerics."

"It is time to admit that there is a homosexual subculture within the hierarchy of the Catholic Church that is wreaking great devastation in the vineyard of the Lord. The Church's teaching is clear that the homosexual inclination is not in itself sinful, but it is intrinsically disordered in a way that renders any man stably afflicted by it unfit to be a priest," he wrote.

Morlino continued in his strong-worded letter by stating that "the decision to act upon this disordered inclination is a sin so grave that it cries out to heaven for vengeance, especially when it involves preying upon the young or the vulnerable. Such wickedness should be hated with a perfect hatred. Christian charity itself demands that we should hate wickedness just as we love goodness."

While many of the young victims in the report were boys, some were also girls, including a 7-year-old girl. She was raped by a priest who visited her in the hospital after she had undergone surgery to remove her tonsils.

Moral theologian Janet E. Smith, a professor at Sacred Heart Major Seminary, has also commented on the so-called "lavender mafia" of homosexual networks within the church hierarchy.

"Certainly in the Curia"

"The deeper problem is the presence of homosexual networks in the Church — likely in dioceses all over the world and certainly in the Curia. Yes, there are lots of other immoral behaviors — adultery, greed, luxuriousness, clericalism and substance abuse, for instance, that need to be addressed but first things first," Smith claimed earlier this month.

"Eradicating the homosexual networks from the Church would do a lot to purging the Church of immoral priests — and doing so should help us get at the other problems."

Blame over the latest revelations of mass sex abuse in the Catholic Church has been pointed at different directions.

The U S. Conference of Catholic Bishops said through its president, Cardinal Daniel DiNardo of Galveston-Houston, that the abuse and the cover-ups have produced "sadness, anger, and shame."

In his official letter last week, Galveston-Houston admitted that he and his fellow U.S. bishops have failed in certain aspects.

"Whatever the details may turn out to be regarding Archbishop McCarrick or the many abuses in Pennsylvania (or anywhere else), we already know that one root cause is the failure of episcopal leadership," he said, in reference to former Washington, D.C., Archbishop Theodore Edgar McCarrick, who has also been accused of serious sexual misconduct allegations.

When the episcopal leadership is made up of a certain number of homosexual predators, how can leadership do anything but fail. These are not godly men! These are sheep in wolves clothing who are all about satisfying their own perverted urges rather than serving the Lord. Indeed, they cannot possibly know the Lord and continue in their perversion.

"The result was that scores of beloved children of God were abandoned to face an abuse of power alone. This is a moral catastrophe. It is also part of this catastrophe that so many faithful priests who are pursuing holiness and serving with integrity are tainted by this failure."

Scores of children??? How about tens of thousands and possibly hundreds of thousands! Scores? Are you serious?

Some prominent Catholics are also calling on current D.C. Archbishop Cardinal Donald Wuerl to resign for not doing enough to tackle the sex abuse, though the latter has defended himself.

"While I understand this report may be critical of some of my actions, I believe the report confirms that I acted with diligence, with concern for the victims and to prevent future acts of abuse. I sincerely hope that a just assessment of my actions, past and present, and my continuing commitment to the protection of children will dispel any notions otherwise made by this report," Wuerl wrote in a statement last week.

Reuters found that Catholic churchgoers in Pennsylvania have also been left "sickened" by all that is being revealed, but are not losing faith.

Faith in what? Faith in Jesus Christ or faith in the church? Because they should lose faith in the church, it is so far off-track. John, in the Revelation of Jesus Christ calls the Catholic Church - The Whore of Babylon, and prophecies it horrific destruction.

Rev 17:1b Come here; I will show you the judgment of the great whore that sits upon many waters:

Rev 17:15b The waters which you saw, where the whore sits, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues.

Rev 17:16 And the ten horns which you saw upon the beast, these shall hate the whore, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire.

Rev 19:2 For true and righteous are his judgments: for he has judged the great whore, which corrupted the earth with her fornication, and hath avenged the blood of his servants at her hand.

Pope Francis: Vatican had 2,000 Child Sex Abuse Cases Backlogged

Pope Francis, Portugal May 13, 2017. © Pedro Nunes / Reuters

The Vatican had a backlog of 2,000 cases while processing allegations of sex abuse by priests, Francis has said, adding that complaints over the slow pace of the Catholic Church’s inquiries are justified.

The Pope addressed the issue for the first time since March, when abuse survivor, Marie Collins, announced her resignation from the Pope’s abuse advisory commission.

Collins criticized the way abuse cases were handled by the Vatican, saying that she decided to quit because the commission’s work was “hindered and blocked by members of the Curia [the Catholic Church’s governing body].”

Pope Francis talked to reporters on the papal plane on Saturday while returning from Portugal where he canonized siblings, validating the Catholic Church's youngest saints. The brother and sister are believed to have seen the Madonna a hundred years ago and died at the age of 9 and 10 years respectively.

Pope Francis described Collins as “a great woman,” saying that the Irish abuse survivor was “a bit right” in complaining about the sluggishness of the proceedings.

"Marie Collins was right on that point. But we are on the right path, as there were 2,000 cases backlogged," Francis said as cited by AP.

The pope said that he ordered more staff to be added to the congregation to speed up the review process.

There's also ongoing talks to provide more regional assistance to bishops to make sure that cases are properly documented before being submitted to the Vatican, he added.

In April, Cardinal Sean O'Malley, who heads the abuse advisory commission, said the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith needed more resources to deal with the heavy caseload. 

Clemency for pedophile priests?

Pope Francis also dismissed media reports claiming that he gave clemency to pedophile priests as part of his vision of a merciful church. Once a sex abuser among the clergy has had their sentence confirmed by the congregation, “it’s finished,” he clarified. 

AP reported in February, that the head of the Catholic Church had reduced sanctions against a number of pedophile priests without the Vatican making any public pronouncements on the matter.

AP, citing sources, reported that in one instance, an Italian priest, who had received clemency from the Pope, was later convicted for sex crimes against children by the Italian criminal court and faced another church trial.

The Pope, who initially promised a "zero tolerance" for sex abuse, has over the years been criticized for the lack of progress in dealing with the issue by some survivors, their advocates and human right groups.

Pope's Commission's Only Survivor of CSA Quits in Futility

Catholic church sex abuse victim quits Pope’s commission over ‘shameful resistance’ from officials

Catholic church sex abuse victim quits Pope’s commission over ‘shameful resistance’ from officials

Marie Collins has resigned from the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors. 

© Alessandro Bianchi / Reuters

Irish sexual abuse victim Marie Collins has quit the commission which advises Pope Francis on how to tackle the clerical sexual abuse of children, over a “shameful” lack of cooperation from Vatican administrators.

The Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors was set up by Pope Francis in March 2014. Since its inception it has been repeatedly dogged by internal disputes and resignations.

Collins, who was the only remaining Commission member to have suffered sexual abuse by a priest, said Vatican officials were hampering the work of the panel resulting in “constant setbacks.”

She rose to prominence in Ireland as a campaigner against clerical abuse almost 20 years ago when she challenged the late Cardinal Desmond Connell's failure to report her abuse at the hands of priest to police.

Although Collins’ resignation statement praised the pontiff for his "genuine wish” to address clerical sex abuse and his "sincere move” in setting up the commission, the move is a blow to Francis' efforts to demonstrate that the Catholic Church is serious about combating child sexual abuse

Collins’ resignation comes about after a year after the resignation of British man Peter Saunders, who was the only other member of the commission who was a victim of clerical sexual abuse. Saunders was also very critical of the commission's work.


Bishops not accountable for enabling pedophile priests

Saunders and Collins both threatened to resign in February 2015 as they were unhappy that bishops weren’t being held accountable for failing to prevent, and even covering up, sexual abuse.

Collins said her decision to resign followed an accumulation of frustrations at the hands of officials, known as Curia. “Despite the Holy Father approving all the recommendations made to him by the Commission, there have been constant setbacks. This has been directly due to the resistance by some members of the Vatican Curia to the work of the Commission.  The lack of cooperation, particularly by the dicastery most closely involved in dealing with cases of abuse, has been shameful,” her statement read.

The Roman Curia is the administrative apparatus of the Holy See and the central body through which the Roman Pontiff conducts the affairs of the universal Catholic Church.

The Dicasteries
Two departments of the Roman Curia established by Pope Francis in 2016 have been identified as "dicasteries" rather than as one of the traditional department types.

Dicastery for the Laity, Family and Life

Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development


Cardinal Sean O'Malley of Boston, who heads the commission, thanked Collins for her work, saying: “We will certainly listen carefully to all that Marie wishes to share with us about her concerns and we will greatly miss her important contributions as a member of the Commission.”

The Vatican said the Pope had accepted her resignation "with deep appreciation for her work on behalf of the victims/survivors of clergy abuse."

So now, they proceed without anyone representing the victims of pedophile priests and the Bishops who enabled them. Are the Cardinals and Archbishops protecting themselves or the church from 'unnecessary' prosecution? They are certainly not 'coming clean' before God or man.