Report criticises bishop’s role in handling abuse

A woman who was abused for 10 years in the diocese of Clogher said he latest report from the Church’s child protection watchdog illustrates “how unsupportive” Bishop Joseph Duffy was to clerical abuse victims.

A report published yesterday by the National Board for Safeguarding Children in the Catholic Church highlighted how, under Bishop Duffy, “opportunities for preventive interventions were consistently missed when concerns of abuse by clergy were highlighted in the past”.

Bishop Duffy led the diocese, which takes in most of Fermanagh and Monaghan and parts of Cavan, Leitrim, and Donegal, for about 30 years until he retired in 2010.