Age of priests is no excuse

I was sickened to read of the meeting between the Association of Catholic Priests (ACP) and the National Board for Safeguarding Children in the Catholic Church in Ireland (Irish Examiner, March 8). Abusive priests have been shown too much compassion by their victims and the Irish public.

Fr Tony Flannery, the ACP’s spokesman, is quoted as having said: it was “inevitable” for people entering the seminary to “be attracted to teenagers”, due to their age.

Even in situations where there is no abuse of power (which there was in the case of priests), it is still rightly illegal for an adult to be sexually involved with a minor. When I was in my late teens I was not attracted to young teenagers, as I viewed them as the children that they were.

This is a case of paedophilia being treated by the Church as if it was a mild error of judgement, rather than a serious sex crime.

To bring abusers back into contact with potential victims is a danger to our children and a slap in the face of victims who have bravely spoken up.

Maeve O’Rourke

High Street

Cork