THE CATHOLIC PRIEST who showed indecent images to a group of parents during a meeting last month has asked his parishioners to accept his innocence in the matter.
Fr Martin McVeigh, a parish priest in Pomeroy in Co. Tyrone, was preparing a PowerPoint presentation for parents of a First Communion class on 26 March when pictures depicting gay pornography were displayed.
In a statement today, delivered via the weekend church bulletin, Fr McVeigh said that he had no knowledge that the offending imagery was present in his presentation, and that he regretted his failure to check in advance. He also said that he destroyed the memory stick on which the images were stored.
Fr McVeigh said he wasn’t responsible for the presence of the images, and said he wanted to apologise for any hurt caused.
The bulletin also contained a statement from Cardinal Seán Brady, who said the incident during which the images were “inadvertently shown” caused understandable concern and offence.
Cardinal Brady said he has accepted Fr McVeigh’s request to take a leave of absence, on the understanding that he will later return to the diocese.
It was also confirmed that two computers used by Fr McVeigh have been examined by an independent technical expert, but that an additional laptop which was stolen after the meeting has not been located or examined. Its theft has been reported to the PSNI.
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