The Bishop of Killaloe has described Catholic parishes in Clare as the safest they can be for children, as he pledged to ensure there'll be no repeat of past clerical abuse cases.
The Church's Child Protection Watchdog has found current policies in the diocese comply with national standards, but critcised bad advice given in the past regarding some offenders, including one priest who's believed to have abused 26 victims from the 1960's.
Know as Fr. A – the priest died in 1997 but was only given therapy when allegations of abuse were made, rather than being removed from ministry.
Today's report compliments former Bishop Willie Walsh for his caring approach to victims after his appointment in 1994 and current bishop for meeting 44 our of 48 criteria for dealing with abuse allegations.
Bishop Kieran O'Reilly says the church has learned from past mistakes but he acknowledged that further cases from the past may yet surface and aplogised to all vicitims
He encouraged any victims of clerical child abuse in Clare parishes to come forward if they have cases to report from the past and pledged the support of the diocese and other agencies.
Today's report from the National Board for Safeguarding Children followed a review carried out in the Diocese of Killaloe in November last.
The audit, launched this afternoon at the Inn at Dromoland, detailed 64 allegations mades against 19 local priests between 1975 and 1990 and one made more recently relating to 1993, but found that current policies here are in line with national standards.
Six of these priests are still alive, and are members of the diocese. One is retired, 3 are out of Ministry while two are still in ministry. In the case of these two priests the Director of Public Prosecutions chose not to prosecute as "neither reached the threshold of a credible allegation".
Speaking to Clare FM in Dromoland, Bishop Kieran O'Reilly said The diocese of Killaloe extended "heartfelt apologies to all those who suffered abuse at the hands of a small number of priests of Killaloe. I would like to assure parents and children that the diocese is committed to ensuring that best practices are in place and operational at all times to safeguard children and to listen to their voices"
The Bishop added "The report is complementary yet it still is a work in progress. Care, vigilance and monitoring are our approach to all aspects of child safeguarding – involving continual monitoring of all protocols and procedures ensuring that best practice is followed at all times."
