Gardaí and archbishops criticised in latest Murphy Report chapter

Gardaí and successive archbishops and bishops in Dublin have been harshly criticised in a just-released chapter of the Murphy Report for conniving to stop a serial paedophile from being brought to justice.

The Commission of Investigation said “connivance in stifling a complaint and failing to investigate another” by gardaí was shocking and described an “inappropriate relationship” between gardaí and the Catholic Church.

At least 21 complaints were made against Fr Patrick McCabe up to 1995. He was repeatedly sent to treatment centres in England and Mexico. In the second he was diagnosed as a paedophile. However, he was repeatedly released back into parishes without any monitoring.