There has been a mixed response to the publication today of the Review of Safeguarding Practice in the Diocese of Raphoe.

The review was conducted by the National Board for Safeguarding Children in the Catholic Church.

We have ongoing reaction to it – you can view the report HERE

The Bishop of Raphoe, Dr Philip Boyce, gave this exclusive statement reacting to the report on the Shaun Doherty Show

 
For those who cannot listen back to the audio, the text of the statement in full is reproduced below:

I am happy to be able to publish and present the Review of the Diocese of Raphoe on the subject of child sexual abuse by members of the clergy of the Diocese. The Review of our Diocese was undertaken in August 2010. It was carried out by the independent National Board for Safeguarding Children in the Catholic Church.

The purpose of the Review was to examine all case files from 1975 to 2010, determine how allegations and concerns were dealt with, interview key persons involved in child safeguarding, judge how cases are currently assessed, how the statutory authorities are notified and thus determine if there are any current risks to children. I fully accept the recommendations contained in the Review and I am committed to implementing them. Indeed many have already been acted upon.

During the past decades there have been very poor judgments and mistakes made. There were horrific acts of abuse of children by individual priests, that should never have happened, and if suspected should have been dealt with immediately in the appropriate manner.

Insufficient emphasis was placed on the needs of victims, often in the misguided attempt to protect the reputation of the Church. There were frequent cases of delays or non-reporting of allegations and complaints about child sexual abuse. We are truly sorry for the terrible deeds that have been inflicted on so many by a small minority of priests. We offer our humble apologies once more and seek their forgiveness for the dreadful harm that has been done to them, their families and friends.

Hopefully those grave errors will never be repeated.  I am glad to say that this Review has concluded that the Diocese now has a robust safeguarding policy and procedure in place for safeguarding children, that files are kept in a satisfactory and orderly fashion, that there is a prompt referral system to the state authorities and good co-operation with the Garda Síochána and the Health Service Executive (HSE).

The sexual abuse of a young person by a member of the clergy in whom that child placed unhesitating trust inflicts a terrible wound in the lives of victims, families, communities and in the Church. It is repugnant and constitutes a stumbling-block to a life of faith in those who suffer. It gives scandal to the whole of society and is rightly regarded as repulsive. I have spent endless hours and given much time and energy to eradicating this evil, repairing what was damaged as best I could, restoring justice and putting structures in place to prevent, as far as possible, this criminal sin from happening again.

The people of the Diocese of Raphoe have suffered much over the last twenty years with a proportionately high number of priests with complaints of child sexual abuse made against them. The number of allegations was also high. It is to our shame that we admit this. But this fact makes us all the more determined to create a safe environment for children in our parishes; to assist survivors in their pain and loss, and to have an up-to-date policy and procedures with best practice in place.

The Diocese intends to make renewed contact with survivors of child sexual abuse by members of the clergy through its support persons and through notices in local newspapers so as to make sure that their needs for appropriate counselling, spiritual support or words of apology are adequately met. In doing so, it is not our intention to intrude in any way in the life of these people who have suffered abuse, and we fully respect their individual desires and preferences.

Our Child Safeguarding Committee has recently published another Policy Document: Safeguarding Children. Policy and Procedures. 2011. It is the fruit of much expert advice and hard work. It is also the outcome of much training in parishes over the last number of years, and the establishment of best practice in the Diocese.

“Towards Healing”, is a new, independent and confidential Counselling and Support Service for Survivors of Clerical, Religious & Institutional abuse.

The service today announced the provision of extended opening hours following the publication of reports on the Diocese of Raphoe, Derry, Kilmore, Dromore, Ardagh and Clonmacnoise and Tuam.

From today the “Towards Healing” service will open on an extended hours  basis, as follows:

-  From 11am-11pm today, tomorrow and Friday and from 11am-8pm on  Saturday and Sunday. 3rdth & 4th December.

The helpline can be contacted by calling:
-      Freephone 1800-303416 from anywhere in Ireland
And on 0800-0963315 from Northern Ireland and the UK.
or by email at info@towardshealing.ie

Those affected by these terrible crimes can also make contact with the Counselling Services of the HSE who have a helpdesk in Letterkenny which is serviced from 8am to 12 midnight on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. Thereafter as needs be. Their free phone is 1800 303529.

While it was painful to be in the glare of public opinion, we must also be grateful to the media who were instrumental in bringing to light a lot of child sexual abuse and raising awareness of the awful crime it is. It all spurns us to do our utmost to protect children, to provide them with a safe and happy environment in their young days and to give their welfare paramount importance.

Finally I would like to take this opportunity to say that the task of ensuring the safeguarding of young people in the Diocese of Raphoe is an ongoing one. We are determined to ensure that the structures we have put in place are effective and people will have access to the appropriate courses of action should they have any concerns or suspicions of child sexual abuse. We can assure you that our efforts in this regard will be unrelenting,

ENDS

Donegal County Council has passed a motion calling on the Minister for Justice to keep all Garda barracks in the county open.

Moving the motion, Councillor David Alcorn stated that the stations are a valued asset to each town and village they are located.

It is understood that 12 stations in the county are likely to close with question marks over a further two.

While its unlikely to have any affect on the Minister’s decision making, Councillor Alcorn says it’s important the council voices its opposition to the move:

An inquest opens today into the death of a teenage student who fell 40 feet to his death in Bundoran on August 25th last.

17-year-old Joseph Olwill  from Shanliss Way, Santry, Dublin, was on the final day of a week-long holiday with a group of friends in two flats at Tyrconnell Apartments when he fell from the roof.

His inquest before coroner Dr Diarmuid Hegarty opens in Donegal town this morning.

Many schools, colleges and public services across Northern Ireland will be closed or severely curtailed as a result of a one day strike across the UK today.

The action by public sector workers is expected to become the second biggest strike in British history in terms of numbers taking part.

The action is to protest at the threat of further cuts and austerity measures.

A number of events are taking place to coincide with the strike, including a rally outside the courthouse in Omagh at 1pm this afternoon.

The Bishop of Raphoe Philip Boyce has defended his decision to promote a priest convicted of voyeurism.

Fr Patrick McGarvey was appointed parish priest of Fanad, last month.

Six years ago he was banned from the Foyleside shopping centre in Derry after pleading guilty to spying in men’s toilets.

Bishop Boyce said: “He has apologised for his actions in the past, which did not constitute child sexual abuse, and he has paid a high price for it. Not to appoint him parish priest now could be construed as further punishment which would be unwarranted,” he said.

A long awaited report into how abuse allegations were handled in the Diocese of Raphoe will be published tomorrow morning (Wednesday).

The National Board for the Safeguarding of Children in the Catholic Church review of the Diocese of Raphoe will be posted at 10am,  on the website www.raphoediocese.ie.

There will be a press conference later in the morning, but before that, Bishop Philip Boyce will discuss the report on Highland Radio’s Shaun Doherty Show between 10 and 11 o’clock.

The report details the number of abuse allegations received by the diocese and assesses how they were handled and dealt with.  It will not comment on the substance of the allegations themselves.

Meanwhile, a similar report covering the Diocese of Derry will also be published tomorrow.  It will be posted on the www.derrydiocese.org website at 11 o’clock, this morning, and a public statement will be made tomorrow afternoon by Diocesan Administrator Mgr. Eamon Martin.

A 28 year old man has appeared in court in Derry charged in connection with a stabbing incident in the city at the weekend.

Kevin Ward of Sheriff’s Glen, was charged with the aggravated burglary of a house at Laburnum Terrace, with intent to cause GBH on a man. Ward was also accused of assaulting the same man, and threatening to kill his wife on the same night.

There was no application for bail,

He was remanded in custody for a video link hearing on 8 December.

Five more people have been arrested as part of the investigation into the attempted murder of Paul McCauley in Derry five years ago.

Three houses were also searched in the city.

Three men and a woman were arrested in Derry this morning, and a fourth man was arrested in England.

The three men arrested in Derry are 22, 42 and 49, the woman is 40. They were detained in at houses in the Fountain Estate and Kilfennan. The man arrested in the Midlands area of England is 24. Three houses were also searched in Derry as part of an ongoing operation.

Paul Mc Cauley was attacked after a barbecue on Chapel Road on the Waterside on July 16th, 2006 in a sectarian attack which the Independent Monitoring Commission later said the attack was perpetrated by UDA elements. Mr Mc Cauley, who was 29 at the time of the attack, has never regained consciousness, and remains in a coma.

One man, Daryl Proctor, is serving a 12-year term for grievous bodily harm over the attack.

Police say the investigation remains “active and ongoing”.

The Coast Gaurd Helicopter from Sligo is been tasked to airlift vital supplies to Tory Island which has been cut off by the recent poor weather.

The Malin Head Coast Guard Marine Rescue Coordination Centre says that the helicopter is expected to be used to carry food and other essential for the next couple of days.

The news comes as Met Éireann issues a weather warning for parts of Ireland advising of further heavy rainfalls and gale force winds.

Heavy rain and high winds battered Donegal last night and spot flooding was reported around the County.

Meteorologist with Met Eireann, Jim O Brien, says we can expect more of the same here in Donegal over the next couple of days, with winds up as high as 110km per hour:

The public is divided on the County Council’s decision to grant Finn Harps FC 20,000 euro towards its debt.

The clubs chairman has said that without the council’s help the club would have been unlikely to raise the 48K required to secure a license to play in the league next year.

It is understood the club has more than half  of the remaining 28K raised and are optimistic of raising the balance before the December 21st deadline.

Many people who contacted the ‘Shaun Doherty Show’ oppose the council’s move.

Other listeners have been commenting on the Highland Radio News Facebook page.

Emma says ‘ Its a joke they have no money 2 rent out houses r fix pot holes but they have 20k 2 give away’

Daithi chipped in ‘given that Harps have paid around a million in wages over the past five years, mainly to Donegal people, and that this secures the multi million euro stadium investment, being built by a Donegal firm, it’s a no brainer. Then again there are a lot of people down on Finn Harps and they will use this as another stick to beat them ‘

While Mary opined ‘what about the money collected in the 70s for the swimming pool in the TWIN TOWNS could it not be used for Harps as a family member who gave to the pool fund i would like to know why not. Harps should have the 20k yes.’

Daire added ‘ if it doesnt work then why put more money into it…same as the banks’

While Gordan says: I’m curious as to exactly how many businesses benefit from a crowd of around 150 to 200 people showing up in Ballybofey on a friday or a sturday evening at 7pm every two weeks. Nobody wants to see the demise of Finn Harps FC, but lets face it, they have been loosing money for years and any other business would be forced to close… They have VERY little or no support at local or county level(weekly attendance levels prove this)

Jim adds: ‘be an awful shame if the Harps wound up…M’on da Harps!…if half of the people who moaned and bitched about the League of Ireland and quality there of…bothered their lazy holes and went to an odd match maybe, just maybe small clubs like the Harps would have a better chance in these testing times’

While Liam says: ‘ am slightly surprised but delighted that the councillors backed this motion and I am sure they must have known the kind of reaction they would get. The remit of the council is wider than just potholes and stuff. From the arguments I’ve heard those opposing this would no doubt also oppose money going from council to the arts for instance – but there is a bigger picture and Finn Harps are established as an integral part of that for years now. Fair play to the councillors I say.’

Have your say HERE