Connell under fire again over abuse claims

CARDINAL DESMOND CONNELL was under fire once more last night following fresh allegations that the Dublin archdiocese repeatedly failed to respond to complaints of clerical child sex abuse.

Among the revelations are accusations that a paedophile ring existed among a number of priests from the archdiocese and that Cardinal Connell ignored an internal Church tribunal’s recommendation that a chronic sex offender be defrocked.

The archdiocese, the biggest in Ireland with 200 parishes across Leinster, is facing 450 separate legal actions by victims of paedophile priests and is paying out undisclosed millions in legal fees, settlements and treatments for offenders.