The Irish Times – Thursday, July 14, 2011
BARRY ROCHE, Southern Correspondent
VICTIMS’ REACTION: THE PUBLICATION of the Commission of Investigation Report into the Catholic Diocese of Cloyne received a mixed response from a number of complainants who testified before the commission.
Some of those who had testified about how they were abused by priests of the diocese were satisfied with it, while others expressed reservations and questioned whether it would provide any “sense of ease” to people without criminal charges being brought.
One woman who gave evidence on how she was sexually assaulted by a priest while a teenager said the report was welcome in that it highlighted the concealment perpetrated by senior figures in the diocese, but she questioned whether anyone would be prosecuted for the abuse.
“I think the report has caused great unease and unrest in the church and that’s a good thing to my mind – they know that they are not going to get away with what they’ve done.
“But I wonder if any report will ever get to the root of the filth and evil in the bowels of the church.”
Another witness said she was not surprised by the level of cover-up evident in the handling of cases, and she questioned why there was such an unwillingness within the church to pursue abusers rigorously and properly.
“I started reading through it today and I’ve got no sense of ease or relief from it – it seemed they were all working for each other – ‘if you drag me down, then I’ll drag you down too’.
“What was done to me and others was horrible, and what went on to cover it up was horrible.”
Another witness welcomed the report’s publication but questioned its benefit unless criminal charges and prosecutions followed.
“Where are the criminal charges and what is the State doing about that? Where is the accountability from the DPP and the Minister for Justice to ensure perpetrators are being brought to justice?”
A man who testified to the commission about how his daughter was abused welcomed the report and said it went much further than he had expected, given the draft version that he had been given to read regarding his own testimony.
“I had been fearful it was going to be bland but there’s more to it than I expected – it’s very strong on Msgr O’Callaghan and how he failed to follow the guidelines.
“I thought it caught him well with all his plamas and guff and doing nothing at the end of it all.”
Another woman, who told the commission how she had been raped by a priest when she was 13, was also impressed with the report, saying it had not shied away from laying responsibility on both Bishop Magee and Msgr O’Callaghan.
“I think it’s brilliant and Judge [Yvonne] Murphy has done a fantastic job, but I would have liked to see Magee and O’Callaghan at the press conference today.
“It shows what cowards they are – if they thought they had done nothing wrong, they would have been the first people to be there.”
