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The Ferns Report (2005) was an official Irish government inquiry into the allegations of clerical sexual abuse in the
Roman Catholic Diocese of Ferns
The Diocese of Ferns ( ga, Deoise Fhearna) is a Roman Catholic diocese in south-eastern Ireland. It is one of three suffragan dioceses in the ecclesiastical province of Dublin and is subject to the Archdiocese of Dublin.[ ...]
in
County Wexford
County Wexford ( ga, Contae Loch Garman) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Leinster and is part of the Southern Region. Named after the town of Wexford, it was based on the historic Gaelic territory of Hy Kinsella (''Uí Ceinns ...
, Ireland.
Scope
The Inquiry was set up by the Government of Ireland to identify complaints and allegations made against clergy of the Diocese of Ferns prior to April 2002, and to report upon the response of Church and Civil Authorities. The Inquiry did not concern itself with the truth or otherwise of the complaints and allegations made, but entirely with the response to those allegations.
[Ferns Report p. 247] The Inquiry recorded its revulsion at the extent, severity and duration of the child sexual abuse allegedly perpetrated on children by priests acting under the aegis of the Diocese of Ferns. The investigation was established in the wake of the broadcast of a
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Television documentary ''
Suing the Pope'', which highlighted the case of Fr Seán Fortune, one of the most notorious clerical sexual offenders. The film followed
Colm O'Gorman
Colm O'Gorman (born 15 July 1966) is the executive director of Amnesty International Ireland. He is founder and former director of One in Four.
He is a survivor of clerical sexual abuse, and first came to public attention by speaking out agai ...
as he investigated the story of how Fortune was allowed to abuse him and countless other teenage boys. O'Gorman, through One in Four, the organisation he founded to support women and men who have experienced sexual violence, successfully campaigned for the Ferns Inquiry.
The Ferns Report was presented to the Irish government on 25 October 2005 and released the following day. It identified more than 100 allegations of child sexual abuse made between 1962 and 2002 against twenty-one priests operating under the aegis of the
Diocese
In Ecclesiastical polity, church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop.
History
In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided Roman province, pro ...
of Ferns. Eleven of these individuals were alive in 2002. The nature of the response by the Church authorities in the Diocese of Ferns to allegations of child sexual abuse by priests operating under the aegis of the diocese had varied over the forty years to 2002.
Findings
Among the facts revealed were:
*The failure of Bishop
Donal Herlihy
Donal Herlihy (1908–1983) was an Irish Roman Catholic clergyman who served as the bishop of Roman Catholic Diocese of Ferns from 1964 to 1983.
He was born in Knocknagree, Co. Cork (within the jurisdiction of Kerry diocese) in 1908 and studied a ...
to exclude clearly unsuitable candidates from the priesthood and his failure to ensure that alleged abusers were kept away from children;
*His failure to report incidents of alleged sexual abuse to the legal authorities
*The failure of his successor,
Brendan Comiskey
Brendan Comiskey (born August 13, 1935), is the Roman Catholic Bishop Emeritus of the Diocese of Ferns. He was born in Clontibret, County Monaghan, Ireland.
He was ordained a priest of the little known Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus ...
, to report incidents of abuse and his failure to establish sound child protection measures;
[Ferns Report p. 248] From 1990 onward he reported all allegations made by children to the authorities.
*The adoption of strict policies of immediate removal of any clergy subject to allegations by his successor, Bishop Eamon Walsh.
*Police failure to properly investigate sexual abuse complaints prior to 1990.
Among the allegations made were:
*The sexual touching of teenage girls near the altar of a church by one priest;
*The use of
blackmail
Blackmail is an act of coercion using the threat of revealing or publicizing either substantially true or false information about a person or people unless certain demands are met. It is often damaging information, and it may be revealed to fa ...
by another priest to force children to perform sex acts on him;
*Most allegations did not involve rape, but a range of sexual assaults from inappropriate touching to masturbation.
Multiple allegations of abuse were made against the following priests (those still alive have not been identified in the Ferns Report):
*Fr
Donal Collins, transferred from
St Peter's College in
Wexford
Wexford () is the county town of County Wexford, Ireland. Wexford lies on the south side of Wexford Harbour, the estuary of the River Slaney near the southeastern corner of the island of Ireland. The town is linked to Dublin by the M11/N11 N ...
to London in 1966 but returned to the College in 1968
*Fr James Doyle, ordination postponed in 1973, after the first allegation of drunken assault, but Doyle was ordained one year later.
These three are deceased:
*Fr James Grennan, sexually molested girls in Monageer church,
County Wexford
County Wexford ( ga, Contae Loch Garman) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Leinster and is part of the Southern Region. Named after the town of Wexford, it was based on the historic Gaelic territory of Hy Kinsella (''Uí Ceinns ...
while he heard
confession
A confession is a statement – made by a person or by a group of persons – acknowledging some personal fact that the person (or the group) would ostensibly prefer to keep hidden. The term presumes that the speaker is providing information th ...
*Canon Martin Clancy, molested his female victim in her own home
*Fr
Seán Fortune ministered in the village of Poulfour in Co.
Wexford
Wexford () is the county town of County Wexford, Ireland. Wexford lies on the south side of Wexford Harbour, the estuary of the River Slaney near the southeastern corner of the island of Ireland. The town is linked to Dublin by the M11/N11 N ...
, in
Belfast
Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdo ...
and in
Dundalk
Dundalk ( ; ga, Dún Dealgan ), meaning "the fort of Dealgan", is the county town (the administrative centre) of County Louth, Ireland. The town is on the Castletown River, which flows into Dundalk Bay on the east coast of Ireland. It is h ...
. Allegations of abuse were made against him in all three places.
Bishop Comiskey
The Inquiry contacted the mother of a young woman who said that Bishop
Éamonn Walsh who, as
Apostolic Administrator
An Apostolic administration in the Catholic Church is administrated by a prelate appointed by the pope to serve as the ordinary for a specific area. Either the area is not yet a diocese (a stable 'pre-diocesan', usually missionary apostolic admi ...
, assumed control of the Ferns Diocese (following Comiskey's resignation) became aware of an allegation early in 2004. He called to see her daughter and urged her to make a formal statement, which she did. Walsh reported the matter to the Metropolitan for the
Diocese of Ferns,
Desmond Connell
Desmond Connell (24 March 1926 – 21 February 2017) was an Irish cardinal in the Roman Catholic Church. He was an Archbishop of Dublin and Primate of Ireland. Cardinal Connell was one of a number of senior clergy to have been heavily criticised ...
,
Cardinal
Cardinal or The Cardinal may refer to:
Animals
* Cardinal (bird) or Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds
**''Cardinalis'', genus of cardinal in the family Cardinalidae
**''Cardinalis cardinalis'', or northern cardinal, the ...
Archbishop of Dublin
The Archbishop of Dublin is an archepiscopal title which takes its name after Dublin, Ireland. Since the Reformation, there have been parallel apostolic successions to the title: one in the Catholic Church and the other in the Church of Irelan ...
. A report on the matter was prepared for the
Vatican
Vatican may refer to:
Vatican City, the city-state ruled by the pope in Rome, including St. Peter's Basilica, Sistine Chapel, Vatican Museum
The Holy See
* The Holy See, the governing body of the Catholic Church and sovereign entity recognized ...
. Comiskey was not interviewed during the preparation of this report. The report concluded that a delict had not been committed as regards the behaviour alleged but the fact that, under the influence of alcohol, Comiskey was alleged to have acted in such a manner was something that needed to be addressed to ensure that no repetition of such behaviour could take place.
The Inquiry was informed by Comiskey that, although he agreed to step aside from active ministry when this allegation was first made known to church authorities, he had returned to ministry but agreed to refrain from high-profile acts of ministry. , he is residing in
Inniskeen
Inniskeen, officially Inishkeen (), is a small village, townland and parish in County Monaghan, Ireland, close to the County Louth and County Armagh borders. The village is located about from Dundalk, from Carrickmacross, and from Crossmaglen ...
,
County Monaghan
County Monaghan ( ; ga, Contae Mhuineacháin) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Ulster and is part of Border strategic planning area of the Northern and Western Region. It is named after the town of Monaghan. Monaghan County Cou ...
.
Micheál Ledwith
Comiskey nominated his diocesan colleague, Monsignor
Micheál Ledwith to be president of
St. Patrick's College, Maynooth in 1984 despite the prior concerns of six seminarians about Ledwith's alleged homosexual orientation. Later allegations of sexual abuse of a minor became known after Ledwith resigned as president in 1994; he was
defrocked
Defrocking, unfrocking, degradation, or laicization of clergy is the removal of their rights to exercise the functions of the ordained ministry. It may be grounded on criminal convictions, disciplinary problems, or disagreements over doctrine or d ...
by the Church 11 years afterwards.
Jim Grennan
This was also seen in other cases, such as that of Jim Grennan, a
parish priest
A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or m ...
, who abused children as they prepared for
First Communion
First Communion is a ceremony in some Christian traditions during which a person of the church first receives the Eucharist. It is most common in many parts of the Latin Church tradition of the Catholic Church, Lutheran Church and Anglican Communi ...
, and
Sean Fortune, who committed suicide before his trial for the rape of children.
Judgement and recommendation
Between 1960 and 1980, the Report found that Bishop Herlihy treated child sexual abuse by priests of his diocese exclusively as a moral problem. He transferred priests against whom allegations had been made, to a different post or a different diocese for a period of time but then returned them to their former position.
By 1980, Bishop Herlihy recognised that there was a psychological or medical dimension to the issue of child sexual abuse. Some priests in respect of whom allegations had been made were sent to a psychologist.
However, decisions were made by Bishop Herlihy to appoint to curacies priests against whom allegations had been made, in respect of whom a respected clerical psychologist had expressed his concerns in unambiguous terms as to their suitability to interact with young people.
The report was also highly critical of the failure of the
Garda Síochána
(; meaning "the Guardian(s) of the Peace"), more commonly referred to as the Gardaí (; "Guardians") or "the Guards", is the national police service of Ireland. The service is headed by the Garda Commissioner who is appointed by the Irish Gover ...
(police) to properly investigate reported incidents. It noted with concern the disappearance of one police file detailing serious incidents of clerical sex abuse. It stated that the local health authorities failed to protect children even when aware of allegations.
As a result of a late application, a further inspection of files from July 2005 revealed a further five cases of concern, which were mentioned in the report's appendix. This raised concern about the diocese's willingness to disclose relevant files.
Process and publication of the Report
An initial report was made to the government in 2002 by George Bermingham
SC. A non-statutory private inquiry was then established in March 2003 by
Micheál Martin
Micheál Martin (; born 1 August 1960) is an Irish Fianna Fáil politician who is serving as Tánaiste, Minister for Foreign Affairs (Ireland), Minister for Foreign Affairs and Minister for Defence (Ireland), Minister for Defence since Decembe ...
as
Minister for Health and Children, comprising three persons:
Francis Murphy, a retired
Supreme Court
A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...
Judge; Dr Helen Buckley, a sociology lecturer at
Trinity College Dublin
, name_Latin = Collegium Sanctae et Individuae Trinitatis Reginae Elizabethae juxta Dublin
, motto = ''Perpetuis futuris temporibus duraturam'' (Latin)
, motto_lang = la
, motto_English = It will last i ...
; and Dr Laraine Joyce of the office of health management, a part of the Ministry for Health and Children.
The report was published in October 2005, noting the anonymity of victims and alleged abusers, and highlighting that in the Ministry's opinion: "no evidence was placed before the Inquiry suggesting the operation or the organisation of a paedophile ring in the Diocese of Ferns or any clerical institution within that Diocese." The report cost just under €1.9 million.
The Report was considered to be more robust that the Church's own
McCullough Report, released earlier in 2005, which covered one aspect concerning allegations about Michael Ledwith. The main
Dáil debate on the Ferns Report was in two parts on 9 November 2005. The
Irish Senate
Irish may refer to:
Common meanings
* Someone or something of, from, or related to:
** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe
***Éire, Irish language name for the isle
** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...
debate started on 10 November.
Press comment
According to reports in the Irish press, the report itself was not to be published on the Internet for legal reasons. A document claimed to be the text of the Report is, however, online, on the website of an organisation called BishopAccountability.org., and also on the website of an organisation called oneinfour.org.
See also
*
Child sexual abuse
Child sexual abuse (CSA), also called child molestation, is a form of child abuse in which an adult or older adolescent uses a child for sexual stimulation. Forms of child sexual abuse include engaging in sexual activities with a child (whet ...
*
Religious abuse
Religious abuse is abuse administered under the guise of religion, including harassment or humiliation, which may result in psychological trauma. Religious abuse may also include misuse of religion for selfish, secular, or ideological ends such as ...
*
Catholic sexual abuse scandal in Ireland
From the late 1980s, allegations of sexual abuse of children associated with Catholic institutions and clerics in several countries started to be the subject of sporadic, isolated reports. In Ireland, beginning in the 1990s, a series of criminal ...
*
Brendan Comiskey
Brendan Comiskey (born August 13, 1935), is the Roman Catholic Bishop Emeritus of the Diocese of Ferns. He was born in Clontibret, County Monaghan, Ireland.
He was ordained a priest of the little known Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus ...
ss cc, former
Bishop of Ferns
The Bishop of Ferns () is an episcopal title which takes its name after the village of Ferns in County Wexford, Ireland. In the Roman Catholic Church it remains a separate title, but in the Church of Ireland it has been united with other bishopr ...
*
Roman Catholic sex abuse cases
There have been many cases of sexual abuse of children by Catholic priests, nuns, Popes and other members of religious life. In the 20th and 21st centuries, the cases have involved many allegations, investigations, trials, convictions, ac ...
*
Crimen sollicitationis
(Latin for ''On the Manner of Proceeding in Cases of the Crime of Solicitation'') is the title of a 1962 document ("instruction") of the Holy Office codifying procedures to be followed in cases of priests or bishops of the Catholic Church ac ...
*''
Deliver Us from Evil''
*
Sex Crimes and the Vatican
''Sex Crimes and the Vatican'' (2006) is a documentary film (39 min) presented by the BBC program ''Panorama''. It aired on 1 October 2006.
Allegations
''Sex Crimes and the Vatican'' was filmed for the BBC's '' Panorama'' documentary series. It ...
(Panorama Documentary Episode)
References
Further reading
*Crow, Catrina (2008): "The Ferns Report: Vindicating the Abused Child" in: ''Éire-Ireland'' 43: 1 & 2 Spring/Summer 2008: pp. 50–73
External links
Department of Health and Children, IrelandAlleged text of The Ferns Report at bishop-accountability.orgAlleged text of The Ferns Report at oneinfour.orgIrish Bishops Communications OfficeDiocese of Ferns, County Wexford, IrelandOne in FourColm O'Gorman
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Public inquiries in Ireland
Catholic Church sexual abuse scandals in Ireland
History of County Wexford
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