By Claire O’Sullivan

Saturday, November 27, 2010

A SUPPORT group for victims of clerical abuse have received a letter from the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) warning them to halt their campaign seeking a prosecution of the notorious Father B in the Cloyne report.
The group, called the Religious Abuse Truth and headed by Kevin Flanagan, whose brother Mickey suffered horrific abuse in Artane Industrial School, sent up to 10 letters to the DPP criticising his failure to prosecute Bishop Magee for reckless endangerment and for failing to seek a prosecution in any of the eight abuse cases against Father B.

Just yesterday, a ninth victim of Father B was informed by the DPP’s office that he would not be seeking a prosecution in her case.

Earlier this week, the Rape Crisis Centre urged the DPP to meet with the Cloyne victims to explain the lack of prosecutions against Father B.

On their Facebook page, Religious Abuse Truth had urged people to write to the DPP about the lack of prosecutions around clerical abuse in Cloyne — despite the damning National Board for Safeguarding Children (NBSC) report.

Since the report was published in 2008, one priest, Fr Brendan Wrixon, was given an 18-month suspended sentence in recent weeks for sexually abusing a teenage boy during confession in North Cork.

However, the DPP did not react well to this recent campaign informing the group that he must be “impartial and independent” when making a decision and how he “cannot therefore consider representations made by members of the public with the purpose of influencing prosecutions of criminal cases”.

He pointed them towards Section 6 of the Prosecution of Offences Act 1974 which makes it illegal to write to the DPP to ask him to prosecute or not prosecute unless one is a victim of the crime, a lawyer, a doctor or a social worker.

Last night, Mr Flanagan said he was disgusted the DPP could suggest prosecuting the support group for trying to stand up for abuse victims when he “has totally failed the victims”.

“He told us we had broken the law. But look at what Fr B did and what Bishop Magee did in protecting him and other paedophile priests. The victims of these abuses have had little or no justice — it’s a total disgrace that case after case isn’t being prosecuted.”

One of the Cloyne abuse victims last night said that “it was beyond crazy” that “nine cases which have huge similarities have been thrown out again and again”.

This story appeared in the printed version of the Irish Examiner Saturday, November 27, 2010

 

8 Responses to “DPP warns clerical abuse support group to halt calls for prosecution”

  1. Mossie says:

    No point in asking The DPP to prosecute, as he cannot be Influenced by outside opinion, which he is correct in stating. Bring it to a Court outside of our own jurisdiction, ie Court of ~ Human Rights, etc.

  2. Rob Northall says:

    Prosecution of Offences Act, 1974

    6 1974 22
    Prohibition of certain communications in relation to criminal proceedings.

    6.—(1) ( a ) Subject to the provisions of this section it shall not be lawful to communicate with the Attorney General or an officer of the Attorney General, the Director or an officer of the Director the Acting Director, a member of the Garda Síochána or a solicitor who acts on behalf of the Attorney General in his official capacity for the Director in his official capacity, for the purpose of influencing making of a decision to withdraw or not to initiate criminal proceedings or any particular charge in criminal proceedings.

    ( b ) If a person referred to in paragraph (a) of this subsection becomes of opinion that a communication is in breach of that paragraph, it shall be the duty of the person not to entertain the communication further.

    (2) ( a ) This section does not apply to—

    (i) communications made by a person who is a defendant or a complainant in criminal proceedings or believes that he is likely to be a defendant in criminal proceedings, or

    (ii) communications made by a person involved in the matter either personally or as legal or medical adviser to a person involved in the matter or as a social worker or a member of the family of a person involved in the matter.

    ( b ) In this subsection “member of the family” means wife, husband, father, mother, grandfather, grandmother, stepfather, stepmother, son, daughter, grandson, granddaughter, stepson, stepdaughter, brother, sister, half-brother, half-sister, a person who is the subject of, or in whose favour there is made, an adoption order under the Adoption, Act 1952 and 1964.

    Source – http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/1974/en/act/pub/0022/sec0006.html

  3. Rob Northall says:

    The reply from the DPP is posted at

    http://shameofireland.co.uk/profiles/blogs/the-director-of-public?id=5172640%3ABlogPost%3A25892&page=-1#last_comment

    The Jist of it is
    “Under section 6 of the Prosecution of Offences Act 1974 it is against the law to write to the Directorto ask him to either stop or not to prosecute a case, In addition writing to the Director to persuade him to bring a prosecution was considered by the High Court in the case of Eviston -v- Director of Public Prosecution (26/1/2001) to be improper.”

    I cannot infer that from this report of the case?

    http://www.independent.ie/national-news/woman-wins-fight-to-avoid-road-death-prosecution-294683.html

  4. Rob Northall says:

    I wrote! I have my reply!

  5. sally mulready says:

    can we start describing the Ryan report by its full title the Commission to Inquire Into Child Abuse that way everyone wil remember exactly what it is the Ryan Report is about. Wherein is contained the truth of rape sodomy and gross violations of childrens rights and those of women and girls. Then to quote Mannix Flynn -we can understand why he describes Ireland as a major crime scene. If you heard Paddy ‘s interview on Canada and later in Spain Radio you will again hear in his words the stark reality in the language of child abuse -not some clinical descriptions politicians hide behind.
    Language often covers up the true reality.

    Sally Mulready

  6. Angry says:

    It was “refreshing” to read Diarmuid Martins comments in recent days of how the “catholic” church in his estimation, placed itself above the law, notwithstanding the fact that the State employs a DPP to ENSURE such grave anamolies do NOT occur, contrary to Constitutional laws being breached in order that a “religious” organisation can usurp the laws of the land.

    MENTAL RESERVATION as claimed by the previous cardinal Desmond Connell cannot have been far from Diarmuids mind as he recently gave vent to his angst in relation to his beloved church finding itself on the altar of contrition. Let me assure Diarmuid that his church on the altar of contrition has a LONG way to go before it can REALISTICALLY come to terms with CHILDREN BEING PLACED ON THE ALTAR OF SACRIFICE. Less concern for your church Diarmuid, and MORE concern for the BRUTALLY ABUSED CHILDREN would be more in keeping.

    Despite the revealations of recent years responsibility for the RAPING and SODOMISING of so MANY children in the religious institutions of Ireland still appears to be beyond the grasp of the DPP to apply CRIMINAL law in these grave matters, they CONTINUE to be above the law of the land. I see as yet no “bishop” being hauled in for questioning in relation to their publicly admitted COLLECTIVE guilt, while they intoned that protecting the churchs “good name” , not forgetting its ASSETS was more their concern, than for children who had been RAPED, BUGGERED, SODOMIZED, AND BRUTALLY ABUSED, not forgetting of course that the hierarchy continued to indulge the whims of their perverts to continue “feasting” on the pre pubescent flesh of innocent children to satiate their abnormal craving for such perversity, provided of course the “good name” of the church was not called into question, double speak of course for “DON`T GET CAUGHT”. The then “cardinal” Connell when confronted by irrefutable evidence concerning these matters, relies not on “evidence” when bluntly engaged in relation to these CRIMES, but see`s fit to DO ONE by reasoning BACKWARDS from philisophical and moral predilections in order to arrive at an “explanation” for his perverted clerics actions as “”we did`nt know the damage it would do, I should have done more, but I had so MANY other things to do””. Essentially he repeatedely asserts as a fact, what is NOT a fact, while skillfully directing deflection from himself by the infantile reasoning of stating that what these perverts were doing should have been considered by THEMSELVES as wrong.???. Such a showing of “responsibility” by a “cardinal” to the grave and disgusting abuse of children by HIS clerics must show this catholic church in its principal aspects to its lack of values, christian or otherwise where the protection of children is paramount. This shows the SUBSTANTIAL ugliness of this catholic church, it continues in an unresolved obscene situation which sustains the “powerful”, and presents a continuing platform to further injure a people whom it has so injured in the past, and still subject to a continuing spiralling ascendency of un parallelled corruption which has introduced its own corrosion of “values” and “leadership” to maintain an image of unity which has never existed. Diarmuid Martin surely has a HEAVY cross to bear when measured against the “actions” of this cardinal Connell. It has taken some years for Diarmuid to realize that the cardinal Connell actually trapped himself, he could not move forward as he lacked courage and integrity to go back, to confront the crimes of the past, the crimes of sexual predation by his clerics on innocent children. This Connell was further trapped by an inherent weakness in failing to confront his perverted clerics, many of whom he knew intimately, including bishops, who like himself relocated these perverts to new parishes fully and consciously aware that such moves could only place further innocent children at risk.

    The above can only be viewed as the “”CONFUSION FACTOR””, ie, so many in power NOT knowing what to do. This soon to be introduced “”STATUTORY TRUST FUND”” can only be likened to the above, a TOTAL DESTRUCTION of the LAWS purporting to represent, protect and to give PROTECTION to the abused under the UMBRELLA OF THE DPP. We are STILL saddled with the same USELESS POLITICANS who are responsible for the Ryan Commission, the Redress Board, and now this FINAL INSULT to thousands of abused children who are being DENIED once again a say in the affairs of their JUSTFUL ENTITLEMENTS. If there IS to be a “”trust fund” , then the mechanics of that “trust fund” have to be explored, discussed, riven apart, legally disseminated, open to debate, and NOT left to somebody WHO HAS PLUNGED THE COUNTRY INTO FINANCIAL CHAOS AS THE FINAL ARBITRATOR, WHO, COMING FROM OFFALY ONLY REMINDS ME OF DAINGEAN. I STAND FULLY SQUARE BEHIND SALLY MULREADY AS ONE OF THE FEW PEOPLE CURRENTLY MAKING SENSE ON THIS ISSUE. DIARMUID MARTIN AS A “”MORAL”” VOICE OF THE ABUSED SHOULD TAKE STEPS TO INFORM THE CONTRIBUTING RELIGIOUS ORDERS THAT IT IS US THEY SHOULD NEGOTIATE WITH, AND NOT THE STATE.

    This “”trust fund””, if it ever emerges, can NOT be allowed to be an expedient factor whereby the State HAS THE ONLY SAY, thereby once more giving itself an EASY WAY OUT. PAY, PRAY AND OBEY, no longer applies.

  7. Its supposed to be about justice for all. AFTER YEARS OF STUDY THAY STILL CANT ADMIT THAT MEN AND WOMEN IN BLACK CLOTHING ARE JUST THE SAME AS OTHERS. thay are not unaccusable.

  8. nom de guerre says:

    Only in Ireland, only in Ireland.