Collections not paid to abuse victims

THE Diocese of Killaloe has not used money from Sunday collections to pay in the region of €1.3 million to victims of clerical sexual abuse, Bishop Willie Walsh has confirmed.

Bishop Walsh stated the payments made to 14 victims of sexual abuse in the diocese were funded through the sale of land at Westbourne to Ennis Town Council.
He made his comments after Bishop of Ferns Denis Brennan asked parishioners to help pay compensation and legal bills emanating from clerical child sex abuse claims in the diocese.
Asked about whether he would consider this measure in his own diocese, Bishop Walsh said, if necessary, he would consider this initiative in consultation with people in the diocese, pastoral and finance councils. He confirmed this course of action has not happened in the past and no decision had been taken to do this for any future claims.
Meanwhile, commenting on the bishops’ recent meeting with Pope Benedict XVI in Rome, Bishop Walsh revealed he and his colleagues were apprehensive before the trip, believing their visit would cause unrealistic expectations, which was subsequently realised.
“There is no way that you can suddenly heal the hurt and the pain, which has been in people for 20, 40 and 50 years. I have some idea of the enormous pain and suffering that this has caused to victims and their families. Anything I would say in this area I am deeply conscious of great suffering of victims and survivors of abuse.
“I would regard it as my first responsibility to do all I could possibly do to try and bring some healing to those survivors. I feel that anyone I met I have treated them with respect and dignity and I have always reported and cooperated fully from the very beginning with civil authorities, gardaí and the health board.”
Before the visit, the bishops drew up a list of topics they felt were relevant to the situation and each one was given the opportunity to speak.
While the details of Bishop Walsh’s presentation are confidential, he confirmed that he spoke about the role of women and general theology of sexuality and how these were linked to the area of child sexual abuse.
Bishop Walsh said a variety of issues were covered to try and establish what were the causes of abuse and what should be focused on to prevent a reoccurrence.
He said a lot of people don’t realise that abuse is not ongoing.
“I only have one clear allegation that happened after 1990 and I have none of any that happened in last 15 or 16 years.
“When I came in 1994, child protection was already on the agenda. We had draft guidelines put in place a year later. I had an advantage knowing what to do when an allegation came in,” he said.
Asked if the Pope could have given an apology and outlined a plan of action, he confirmed that a letter is being drafted, which should be sent to parishioners in the diocese before the end of Lent.
“There is no question in my mind of the Pope’s expression of horror and scandal and he made it very clear he saw child sexual abuse as a heinous crime and a grave sin. The fact that he spent so much time with us was unprecedented. Some survivors say we have apologised enough, while others say we haven’t done it enough.
“The more concrete thing we can do is to be available to survivors and they are always welcome to talk to me. It is very difficult to know what to do,” he added.