Catholic Church begins recovery phase

THE CHURCH’S National Board for Safeguarding Children in the Catholic Church (NBSCCC) has begun two investigations into the handling of child protection complaints by the Sacred Heart Missionaries.

The order is examining allegations made by Senator Mark Daly in relation to its failure to properly supervise Fr Donnacha Mac Carthaigh, who was put on restricted ministry in 1996 but continued to travel freely outside the country without the order’s knowledge.

Seven complaints of sexual abuse were levelled against the former Cork GAA selector and Carrignavar principal between 1986 and 2008 but the Director of Public Prosecution failed to prosecute. During the 1990s, Fr Mac Carthaigh also worked as a counsellor and trained a number of underage teams.