By Claire O’Sullivan

Friday, January 29, 2010

VICTIMS support groups and clerical sex abuse victims have accused former Auxiliary Bishop of Dublin Dermot O’Mahony of questioning the validity of the Murphy report and said that if this attitude is widespread within the Church, it will never be a safe place for children.

One in Four chief executive Maeve Lewis said she found it “unthinkable” that a senior member of the clergy in the Dublin archdiocese could adopt such a stance.

Correspondence between Bishop O’Mahony and the Archbishop Diarmuid Martin was published in the Irish Catholic yesterday. The letters reveal strong anger on the behalf of retired auxiliary bishop, Dermot O’Mahony, over Archbishop Martin’s ready acceptance of the Murphy Commission’s conclusion that a culture of cover-up dogged the archdiocese’s handling of abuse complaints.

“It is incontrovertible from evidence given to the Murphy Commission and from the histories of clients attending One in Four that the archdiocese was guilty of the reckless endangerment of children, many of whose lives have been racked with pain and suffering as a result,” she said.

“It may be that Bishop O’Mahony is articulating the views held privately by other priests, bishops and members of the laity. It is this culture of denial which facilitated the sexual abuse of children in the first place. If this response to the Murphy report is widespread, then the Catholic Church will never be a safe place for children.”

Former abuse victim, Andrew Madden said he was greatly disappointed at Bishop O’Mahony’s denial of events: “Bishop O’Mahony would do well to spend some time reflecting on the damage done to so many children by what he did, and what he failed to do, instead of criticising Archbishop Diarmuid Martin for correctly accepting the findings of the Murphy Report in full.”

Mr Madden described the commission of investigation’s findings in relation to Bishop O’Mahony as “shocking”.

The commission of investigation found that the former auxiliary bishop failed to tell Archbishop Ryan about complaints and that he gave a character reference to Fr Vidal when he moved to the US, even though he had been the subject of several complaints.

He also failed to tell the National Rehabilitation Hospital, archdiocesan authorities or the Gardaí that Fr Reynolds, who was chaplain to the hospital at the time, “might have a problem with child sexual abuse”.

The commission also said Bishop O’Mahony gave a character reference on behalf of Fr Tyrus despite being aware that he had had a relationship with a 17-year-old girl when he was a teacher. The character reference was for a job where he would work with children.