WHETHER the four senior Catholic churchmen who yesterday publicly supported the embattled Bishop of Cloyne would have done so if they had been aware of allegations made public just last evening is questionable.

“There is evidence that points to the fact that Bishop Magee, as the responsible person, did not faithfully report actual compliance with child protection procedures, and the manner in which clerical sexual abuse allegations have been dealt with,” Minister of State for Children and Youth Affairs Barry Andrews declared.

YESTERDAY, as Fr Michael Mernagh ended his “pilgrimage of atonement” at Dublin’s Pro-Cathedral, where he was embraced by the Archbishop of Dublin, Dr Diarmuid Martin, we got an indication of the great pressure put on the National Board for Safeguarding Children (NBSC) chief executive Ian Elliott.

The One in Four support group for victims of sexual abuse has condemned an apology by the Catholic Church over the Cloyne abuse scandal as 'too little, too late".

JOHN MAGEE has been bishop of the Diocese of Cloyne since 1987 and in those 21 years he has seen his, and our, world change utterly.