Parishioners stand by accused priest

PARISHIONERS in a rural community are standing by their parish priest after he was suspended from duty following a sex abuse allegation.

Bishop of Killaloe, Dr Willie Walsh, was told of the complaint by Waterford gardaí last Friday.

He travelled to the remote County Clare parish where the priest is now based to personally inform parishioners the man was being removed from ministry.

A spokesman for the Bishop said yesterday the allegation dated back to the 1980s before the man became a practising priest.

It is understood he was a member of a religious order in Co Waterford at the time.

The spokesman said the priest had served in the diocese of Killaloe for the past 12 years.

He had served in two parishes where he was closely involved in all aspects of community life, including the local schools.

According to the chairman of the Parish Council concerned, Bishop Walsh was "very upset" when delivering the news which he said had shocked the parish.

"The priest has been here for one and a half years and has been an excellent priest and got on extremely well with the people here.

“We have the utmost respect for him,” said the chairman.

"The man is innocent until proven otherwise.

“It is an allegation from one individual, so we would hope the investigation is concluded quickly.”

He went on to say the priest had “the full support of the parish”.

Confirmation of the move came as another senior cleric, Bishop of Raphoe Dr Philip Boyce, issued a statement defending his handling of paedophile priest Fr Eugene Greene.

Greene’s reign of terror in a number of parishes in the Raphoe diocese was revealed in a BBC Spotlight documentary last night.

Despite repeated offences by the priest dating back to 1965, Bishop Boyce said when he was ordained bishop in October 1995 he was not aware of any child sex abuse allegations against Fr Greene.

"Some time later I was made aware of rumours about Fr. Greene. Despite my personal inquiries, which included a number of meetings, I was unable to identify any complaint of child sexual abuse against him. I was first made aware of a child sexual abuse allegation against Fr. Greene in 1998,” he said.

Greene, 73, was jailed for 12 years in 2000 after pleading guilty to 41 sample charges of sexual assault against children in various locations throughout Donegal between 1965 and 1982. He tried to get the sentence reduced on appeal last year but his case was dismissed.

The Spotlight programme revealed complaints were made about Greene to the diocese but no records of the allegations were kept. Bishop Boyce said his predecessor, Bishop Seamus Hegarty, assured him Greene's alcoholism was the reason for his removal as parish priest in late 1994.

Earlier this year Bishop Boyce confirmed three of Greene's victims received out-of-court settlements from the diocese.

The court that convicted Greene heard there were at least 26 victims.

But a diocesan spokesman could not say whether the diocese was in settlement negotiations with any other victims.