Barriers to Truth Recovery in the Aftermath of Institutional Child Abuse in Ireland
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Introduction
INTRODUCTION In August 2002 Mr George Birmingham SC presented a preliminary report on child sexual abuse involving Roman Catholic priests in the Diocese of Ferns to the Minister for Health and Children. Mr Birmingham had been asked by the Minister to investigate the background to allegations of child sexual abuse in the Diocese with a view to recommending an appropriate form and Terms of Reference for an Inquiry to inquire into the issue. As recommended by Mr Birmingham, the Minister for Health and Children established a non-statutory private inquiry to investigate allegations or complaints of child sexual abuse which were made against clergy operating under the aegis of the Diocese of Ferns. The Ferns Inquiry was established as a three-person team under the chairmanship of Mr Justice Francis D Murphy, formerly of the Supreme Court. The two other members of the Inquiry are: Dr Helen Buckley, senior lecturer in the Department of Social Studies, Trinity College, Dublin; and Dr Laraine Joyce, deputy director of the Office for Health Management. The Inquiry was formally established by the Minister for Health and Children on 28 March 2003. Counsel to the Inquiry was Mr Sean Ryan SC and Mr Declan Doyle SC. Mr Ryan was nominated as a Judge of the High Court in September 2003 and was succeeded by Mr Finbarr Fox SC. The Secretrary to the Inquiry was Mrs Marian Shanley BCL Solicitor. Solicitor to the Inquiry was Mr Joseph O’Malley BCL LLM Solicitor, of Hayes Solicitors, Lavery House, Earlsfort Terrace, Dublin 2. The Inquiry was assisted in its work by the following people: Stephen O’Brien BA, Administrative Officer of the Department of Health and Children; David Begley, Clerical Officer of the Department of Health and Children. -
Proposed Inquiry Into the Handling of Allegations of Child Sex Abuse Relating to the Diocese of Ferns
Proposed inquiry into the handling of allegations into child sex abuse relating to the Diocese of Ferns Item Type Report Authors Department of Health and Children;Birmingham, George Citation Department of Health and Children, Birmingham, George. 2002. Proposed inquiry into the handling of allegations into child sex abuse relating to the Diocese of Ferns. Dublin: Department of Health and Children. Publisher Department of Health and Children Download date 01/10/2021 10:16:39 Link to Item http://hdl.handle.net/10147/575375 Find this and similar works at - http://www.lenus.ie/hse Proposed Inquiry into the Handling of Allegations of Child Sex Abuse Relating to the Diocese of Ferns A Report to Mr MicheaI Martin TD Minister for Health & Children by Mr George Birmingham SC 1 August 2002 CONTENTS Part I Introduction Background 1 Terms of reference Staffing 2 Disclosures 2 Options 3 Part II Methodology Introduction 4 Current and past inquiries 4 interviews with victims 5 Church co-operation 6 Garda and health board co-operation 8 Interviews with cross-section of interested parties 8 Part III An overview of the factual backdrop Introduction 10 The term 'child sex abuse' 11 Forms of reference to parties 11 Priest' A' 12 Priest' B' 12 Priest 'C' 13 Priest '0': Fr James Grennan 16 Priest' E' 22 Priest 'F': Monsignor Miceal Ledwith 28 Priest 'G' 43 Priest' H' 44 Priest'j': Fr Sean Fortune 49 Priest 'K': Fr Donal Collins 63 Priest'L' 66 Part IV Bishop Brendan Comiskey's response and related issues Introduction 67 Bishop Comiskey's approach to complaints -
Murphy Report
Chapter 28 Fr William Carney Introduction 28.1 William (Bill) Carney was born in 1950 and was ordained for the Archdiocese of Dublin in 1974. He served in the Archdiocese from ordination until 1989. He was suspended from or had restricted ministry during some of this time. He was dismissed from the clerical state in 1992. 28.2 Bill Carney is a serial sexual abuser of children, male and female. The Commission is aware of complaints or suspicions of child sexual abuse against him in respect of 32 named individuals. There is evidence that he abused many more children. He had access to numerous children in residential care; he took groups of children on holiday; he went swimming with groups of children. He pleaded guilty to two counts of indecent assault in 1983. The Archdiocese paid compensation to six of his victims. He was one of the most serious serial abusers investigated by the Commission. There is some evidence suggesting that, on separate occasions, he may have acted in concert with other convicted clerical child sexual abusers - Fr Francis McCarthy (see Chapter 41) and Fr Patrick Maguire (see Chapter 16). 28.3 A number of witnesses who gave evidence to the Commission, including priests of the diocese, described Bill Carney as crude and loutish. Virtually all referred to his crude language and unsavoury personal habits. One parent told the Commission that the family had complained to the parish priest about his behaviour but the parish priest said there was nothing he could do. 28.4 In 1974, the year Fr Carney was ordained, the President of Clonliffe College, when assessing him for teaching, reported to Archbishop Dermot Ryan that Fr Carney was “very interested in child care” and was “best with the less intelligent”. -
How the Catholic Church Sexual Abuse Crisis Changed Private Law
CARDINAL SINS: HOW THE CATHOLIC CHURCH SEXUAL ABUSE CRISIS CHANGED PRIVATE LAW MAYO MORAN* ABSTRACT For several decades now, the unfolding of the Catholic Church sexual abuse crisis has been front-page news. It has wreaked havoc on hundreds of thousands of lives, cost the Church billions of dollars, and done irreparable harm to a once-revered institution. Along the way, it has also helped to transform the all- important private law of responsibility. When the crisis began to break in the early 1980s, the few survivors who sought legal redress faced a daunting array of obstacles. Limitations periods alone had the effect of barring almost all child sexual abuse claims. Immunities also helped to shield the Church. Private law itself was generally hostile to institutional liability, particularly where the harm resulted from the criminal act of an individual. All of that has changed. Among the catalysts for change within private law, the Catholic Church sex abuse crisis looms large. The scale of the crisis and the universal nature of the Church were certainly both important factors, but so too was the Church's response. From the initial impulse to cover up instances of abuse to choices made in the legal and political arenas, it appeared willing to do almost anything to protect itself. Yet the Church had traditionally bene®ted from special treatment precisely on the ground that it was not an ordinary, self-interested legal actor. The tension between the Church's mission and its approach to covering up abuse began to attract notice. Courts and legislators were prompted to act. -
Roman Catholic Church in Ireland 1990-2010
The Paschal Dimension of the 40 Days as an interpretive key to a reading of the new and serious challenges to faith in the Roman Catholic Church in Ireland 1990-2010 Kevin Doherty Doctor of Philosophy 2011 MATER DEI INSTITUTE OF EDUCATION A College of Dublin City University The Paschal Dimension of the 40 Days as an interpretive key to a reading of the new and serious challenges to faith in the Roman Catholic Church in Ireland 1990-2010 Kevin Doherty M.A. (Spirituality) Moderator: Dr Brendan Leahy, DD Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy August 2011 DECLARATION I hereby certify that this material, which I now submit for assessment on the programme of study leading to the award of Ph.D. is entirely my own work and has not been taken from the work of others save and to the extent that such work has been cited and acknowledged within the text of my work. ID No: 53155831 Date: ' M l 2 - 0 1 DEDICATION To my parents Betty and Donal Doherty. The very first tellers of the Easter Story to me, and always the most faithful tellers of that Story. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS A special thanks to all in the Diocese of Rockville Centre in New York who gave generously of their time and experience to facilitate this research: to Msgr Bob Brennan (Vicar General), Sr Mary Alice Piil (Director of Faith Formation), Marguerite Goglia (Associate Director, Children and Youth Formation), Lee Hlavecek, Carol Tannehill, Fr Jim Mannion, Msgr Bill Hanson. Also, to Fr Neil Carlin of the Columba Community in Donegal and Derry, a prophet of the contemporary Irish Church. -
'Time to Hear'
‘Time to Hear’ Submission to Cumberlege Commission October 2006 From MACSAS ‘Minister & Clergy Sexual Abuse Survivors’ If this is not a place where tears are understood Where can I go? If this is not a place where my spirit can take wing Where do I go to fly? If this is not a place where my questions can be asked Where do I go to seek? If this is not a place where my feelings can be heard Where do I go to speak? If this is not a place where you will accept me as I am Where can I go to be? If this is not a place where I can try to learn and grow Where do I just be me? Attributed to William J Crockett 1 Introduction MACSAS is a National and Interdenominational support group run by Clergy Abuse Survivors for Clergy Abuse Survivors, whether sexually abused as children or as adults. It has been in operation for eight years and was formally constituted last year. We are working towards charitable status. We are entirely funded by donations. We have a newsletter which is published three times a year. Survivors write to us for help as there is as yet no help line or website. We have recently applied for lottery funding for this. We are not funded by any Church, indeed receive no donations from Church leadership. The MACSAS committee comprises, (we are all sexual abuse survivors): Margaret Kennedy – Chair/Founder. A Specialist trainer and consultant on disability and abuse. Helen Charlton – Treasurer, and fundraiser who is a Complimentary therapist. -
Theorising Gender Justice in the Context of Catholic Clerical Child Sexual Abuse in Ireland and Australia
2016 Thematic: Responsibility and Redress 779 14 RESPONSIBILITY AND REDRESS: THEORISING GENDER JUSTICE IN THE CONTEXT OF CATHOLIC CLERICAL CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE IN IRELAND AND AUSTRALIA KATE GLEESON* I INTRODUCTION Justice for survivors of institutional child sexual abuse is a defining theme of this age. Inspired by remedies associated with transitional justice and human rights abuses, various governments have sought to investigate and make amends for institutional child abuse perpetrated in the context of welfare and services provided on behalf of states, often by autonomous organisations such as Christian churches. The investigatory-commission model of justice predicated on individual ‘truth recovery’ and restorative outcomes for survivors has predominated since the Republic of Ireland’s Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse (‘Ryan Commission’) commenced in 1999.1 Internationally, outcomes for complainants have varied, with all investigatory bodies and redress schemes facing limitations regarding the forms and functions of justice that may be delivered at the meta level of state apparatus.2 In some countries, much more than others, civil justice has been delivered as the outcome of mass and individual lawsuits brought against religious organisations and individuals with a duty of care to protect children.3 In general, the international institutional child abuse scandal of the past 30 years presents a conundrum concerning the ways in which sexual harms are understood. Institutional child abuse has been a feature perhaps * [email protected]. Senior Lecturer, Macquarie Law School. Earlier versions of this article were presented to the International Conference on Public Policy, Milan; the University of Technology Sydney, Feminist Legal Research Group; and the Macquarie Law School Staff Seminar Series. -
Copyright by Colleen Anne Hynes 2007
Copyright by Colleen Anne Hynes 2007 The Dissertation Committee for Colleen Anne Hynes certifies that this is the approved version of the following dissertation: “Strangers in the House”: Twentieth Century Revisions of Irish Literary and Cultural Identity Committee: Elizabeth Butler Cullingford, Supervisor Barbara Harlow, Co-Supervisor Kamran Ali Ann Cvetkovich Ian Hancock “Strangers in the House”: Twentieth Century Revisions of Irish Literary and Cultural Identity by Colleen Anne Hynes, B.S.; M.A. Dissertation Presented to the Faculty of the Graduate School of The University of Texas at Austin in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy The University of Texas at Austin August 2007 Acknowledgements This dissertation project would not have been possible with the support, wisdom and intellectual generosity of my dissertation committee. My two supervisors, Elizabeth Butler Cullingford and Barbara Harlow, introduced me to much of the literature and many of the ideas that make up this project. Their direction throughout the process was invaluable: they have been, and continue to be, inspirational teachers, scholars and individuals. Kamran Ali brought both academic rigor and a sense of humor to the defense as he pushed the manuscript beyond its boundaries. Ann Cvetkovich translated her fresh perspective into comments on new directions for the project and Ian Hancock was constantly generous with his resources and unique knowledge of the Irish Traveller community. Thanks too to my graduate school colleagues, who provided constructive feedback and moral support at every step, and who introduced me to academic areas outside of my own, especially Miriam Murtuza, Miriam Schacht, Veronica House, George Waddington, Neelum Wadhwani, Lynn Makau, Jeanette Herman, Ellen Crowell and Lee Rumbarger. -
Code Words to Hide Sex Abuse
CODE WORDS TO HIDE SEX ABUSE A.W. Richard Sipe Revised May 1, 2015 The sexual abuse scandal in the Catholic Church has gone on for so long that a community of researchers, academics, and writers has arisen to study the crisis. Among us are historians, legal scholars, sociologists, psychotherapists and more. But no matter our main discipline, we all have had to struggle with many of the same challenges. The first is coming to terms with the fact that while the Church is famously careful about its records and documents, when it comes to sex and the clergy these documents are obscure to the point of deception. The people who keep the records for the Church are driven to deceive by the clerical culture of celibacy, which forbids all sexual activity by ordained men. Because it is forbidden, clerical sexual activity is always guarded in secrecy, and individuals expend enormous effort to keep it that way. Whenever the secrets are identified within the Church, officials use code words to keep others in the dark while they establish a record that will be useful to them, but not to an outsider. This is why a search of Church documents for evidence of prior knowledge of sexually abusing priests will rarely turn-up the words pedophile, abuser, sex, or any other direct reference to actual sexual or abusive behavior. However, those of us who have worked on this issue both from within and outside the Church have noted similar coded terms and euphemisms being used in documents written around the world and at every level of the ecclesiastical bureaucracy. -
Clerical Child Sexual Abuse in the Catholic Church of England and Wales: a Commentary of Child Safeguarding (Cumberlege Commission, 2007)
University of Massachusetts Amherst ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst CIE Materials and Commentaries Center for International Education 2020 Clerical Child Sexual Abuse in the Catholic Church of England and Wales: A Commentary of child safeguarding (Cumberlege Commission, 2007) Faisal Rashid Ian Barron Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.umass.edu/cie_materials cCSA CATHOLIC CHURCH E&W 1 Clerical Child Sexual Abuse in the Catholic Church of England and Wales: A Commentary of child safeguarding (Cumberlege Commission, 2007) Faisal Rashid Federal Government, Karachi, Pakistan Ian Barron University of Massachusetts Faisal Rashid is an academic researcher on clerical child sexual abuse and historical origins of Christianity and Islam; who has focused on the protection of children, families and communities. He currently works as a management/investigative professional with the Federal Government and is based in Karachi, Pakistan. Dr. Ian Barron is a professor in the College of Education and the Director of the Center for International Education, University of Massachusetts, USA and the International Center for Child Trauma Prevention and Recovery, Ramallah, Occupied Palestine. Acknowledgements Liat Shapiro, University of Massachusetts for proof reading and review of the reference list Contact details Professor Ian Barron University of Massachusetts Montague House, Center for International Education, College of Education Email: [email protected] Phone : +1-413-545-0465 cCSA CATHOLIC CHURCH E&W 2 Abstract This commentary conducts a review of the child protection management mechanisms developed within the Catholic Church of England and Wales in light of the recommendations made by the Cumberlege Commission (2007). The commentary examines the performance of these mechanisms in order to identify shortcomings and suggest improvements and specifically analyses the response of ecclesiastical administrative authorities to the principle of ‘paramountcy of child safety’ as guaranteed in the Children Act 1989/2004 and Human Rights Act 1998. -
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Provided by the author(s) and University College Dublin Library in accordance with publisher policies. Please cite the published version when available. Title Welcoming the Stranger, Irish Emigrant Welfare in Britain since 1957 Authors(s) Kennedy, Patricia Publication date 2015-03-30 Publisher Irish Academic Press Link to online version http://irishacademicpress.ie/product/welcoming-the-stranger-irish-migrant-welfare-in-britain-since-1957/ Item record/more information http://hdl.handle.net/10197/8744 Downloaded 2021-09-30T10:29:33Z The UCD community has made this article openly available. Please share how this access benefits you. Your story matters! (@ucd_oa) © Some rights reserved. For more information, please see the item record link above. WELCOMING THE STRANGER WELCOMING THE STRANGER IRISH MIGRANT WELFARE IN BRITAIN SINCE 1957 Patricia Kennedy Irish Academic Press First published in 2015 by Irish Academic Press 8 Chapel Lane Sallins Co. Kildare Ireland www.iap.ie © 2015 Patricia Kennedy British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data An entry can be found on request ISBN: 978 0 7165 3293 4 (Paper) ISBN: 978 0 7165 3294 1 (Cloth) ISBN: 978 0 7165 3295 8 (PDF) Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data An entry can be found on request All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved alone, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise) without the -
Courts Service Annual Report 2015
Tuarascáil Bhliantúil Annual Report 2015 OUR VISION: o To develop a world-class organisation that has as its primary objective, meeting the needs of court users. OUR MISSION: o To manage the courts, support the judiciary and provide a high quality and professional service to all users of the courts. OUR VALUES: o Service: customer focus, timely, friendly, competent o Integrity: honest, objective, fair, ethical, accountable o Respect: courteous, impartial, considerate Courts Service Annual Report 2015 CONTENTS GLOSSARY 3 FOREWORD FROM THE CHIEF JUSTICE AND CHAIRPERSON OF THE BOARD 5 CHAPTER 1 – ABOUT THE COURTS SERVICE 7 CHAPTER 2 – THE YEAR IN REVIEW 13 CHAPTER 3 – STATISTICS 35 CHAPTER 4 – CORPORATE GOVERNANCE 73 CHAPTER 5 – ANNUAL FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 79 CHAPTER 6 – REPORTS OF THE COURTS RULES COMMITTEES 87 CHAPTER 7 – LEGISLATIVE PROVISIONS 91 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION 93 1 Courts Service Annual Report 2015 2 Courts Service Annual Report 2015 GLOSSARY Affidavit – a written statement made on oath. Appeal – a proceeding, taken by a party to a case who is dissatisfied with a decision made, to a court having authority to review or set aside that decision. Appearance – a document which indicates that a defendant, having been served with a summons to a Circuit Court or High Court civil action, intends to defend the action. Appearance and defence – a document which indicates that a defendant, having been served with a claim notice to a District Court civil action, intends to defend the action. Barring order – an order preventing the person against whom the order is made (the respondent) from entering the family home or using or threatening violence against the person who applied for the order (the applicant) or other family members.