Mother horrified at Church abuse stance

THE mother of two sisters allegedly abused as children by a Catholic priest spoke yesterday of her horror at the refusal of the Archdiocese of Dublin to take any responsibility for the man’s actions.

The Archdiocese has claimed that as it is not a legal entity, no claims can be made against it arising from the alleged abuse by Father Noel Reynolds, a self- confessed child molester who has since died.

“I am totally confused by it,” the mother, known as Maria (not her real name) said. “Fr Reynolds admitted the abuse in person to me and now the archdiocese won’t accept responsibility. It’s appalling.”

The archdiocese has said Fr Reynold’s alleged conduct involved criminal acts and as such was not a part of his duties. The sisters were entitled to no compensation from it, it said.

Maria, speaking on RTÉ radio, said her whole family were still suffering from the aftermath of the abuse and were deeply hurt by the position being adopted by the Archdiocese and Cardinal Desmond Connell in the case being taken by the two sisters.

“This horrific abuse is still continuing by the way the diocese is treating my daughters. I just want closure for them. When Fr Reynolds died it was horrific for them as well. They wanted to face their abuser but that never happened.”

The archdiocese has denied it was the employer of Fr Reynolds or had any supervisory authority over him. It has also claimed Cardinal Connell is not legally responsible for any alleged wrongful conduct by the priest.

This is despite public statements by the Catholic Church that it would deal sympathetically and quickly with abuse cases where there was clear evidence. The case was undertaken two years ago and has been subject to various delays since then.

“He confessed to me what he had done and there was another priest there when he admitted it,” Maria said.

On January 28 last, Cardinal Connell apologised in the High Court to a man who was sexually abused by a priest when he was an altar boy in the mid-1980s.

Mervyn Rundle, from Donnycarney, Dublin received more than 300,000 in compensation when he settled his case against the Archdiocese.

Asked about the case involving the two sisters, a spokesman for the Archdiocese said: “It would not be appropriate for the Diocese to comment upon the legal issues involved in any particular case.”

The sisters say the alleged abuse took place in their home, involved physical violence, and continued for six years.

In 1999, Fr Reynolds admitted abusing more than 100 children in eight parishes of the archdiocese.

After a series of complaints against him he was moved to serve as chaplain at the National Rehabilitation Institute in Dún Laoghaire.

His service there ended 11 months later, in May 1998. He died in April 2002.