THE FINDINGS OF a review into the child protection practices at the Diocese of Limerick has been published this morning, as part of a wider review into practices at a number of Ireland’s Catholic dioceses and religious orders.

The review broadly found that there had been a prompt referral of allegations following the instatement of Bishop Donal Murray at the Limerick Diocese – but until that time standards had been very poor.

Concerns were raised about the instatement of one particular priest who, despite having been believed to have abused in England, had been allowed to practice – and may have gone on to abuse in Limerick.

An assessment of the current management of allegations at the diocese, as well as response to and treatment of complaints, was positive overall – although concerns were raised about record-keeping and heavy workloads .

To date, there have been no convictions of Limerick diocesan priests against whom allegations have been made. Although there was one case where a prosecution was recommended, this did not proceed.

Management of allegations

The Limerick review noted that, prior to the initiation of Bishop Murray, the management of allegations at the diocese was “very poor and in our view, in one case potentially dangerous”.

The NBSCCCI review pointed to documentary evidence relating to a former bishop who was permitted to minister in Limerick despite there being an awareness of his abusive past behaviour in England. It is believed he may have gone on to abuse again.

Following the instatement of Bishop Murray, there were meetings with An Garda Síochána and the HSE (formerly Health Boards) to share allegations of abuse received by the diocese – a move that was commended by the NBSCCCI.

Murray ‘should have been more forceful’

The review praised the introduction of meetings between the diocese and the state authorities, and noted that they believed Bishop Murray understood his obligations to safeguard children.

However,  the also  noted times when priests who were subject of complaints had been “very demanding and  sought to thwart the restrictions of the bishop.” In these cases, they said, Murray should have been more forceful in challenging them and should have imposed restrictions in writing.

Murray resigned under pressure following the publication of the Murphy Report two years ago.

Prompt referral to the statutory authorities

The review found that in almost all cases there was “prompt referral to the statutory authorities” but noted exceptions in cases which involved allegations against deceased priests, where the complainants did not wish An Garda Síochána to be notified. In such cases, delays of “some months” followed.

According to the report, current standards dictate that even where there is reluctance on the part of the complainant for the state authorities to be informed, the Church must report the allegation promptly in the interests of safeguarding children.

Figures show that 45 allegations were received by the Limerick Diocese against a total of 26 priests – eight of whom either retired to the diocese or were there temporarily.

Most of the allegations of abuse relate to cases from the 1960s, 70s and 80s – but the most recent allegation was made in January 2012.

Allegations were made against 18 priests in the Limerick diocese since 1975; the civil authorities dealt with between 34 and 41 allegations after diocese passed them on.

Twelve of the priests against whom allegations were made are still alive. Despite criminal investigations never leading to any prosecutions, five priests were put out of ministry by diocesan authorities. Of the remainder, four are retired and three remain in ministry.

All of the 26 allegations were passed to the gardaí and health authorities and were given to the board for the March review.

National criteria

The review found that the diocese has fulfilled 44 of the 48 national criteria for safeguarding children, and the other four have been partially met.