A Catholic bishop has appealed to authorities in the North and South to help with difficulties faced by the church in cross-Border dioceses over co-operation with the Government's audit of child protection measures.
Bishop of Derry Dr Séamus Hegarty said yesterday that bishops such as himself "had a real difficulty" when it came to the current audit, as part of his diocese was in Donegal while most of it was in the North.
Meanwhile, it has emerged that a priest in the cross-Border Clogher diocese has stepped down pending the outcome of an investigation by the PSNI in a Northern parish of the diocese.
Bishop Hegarty said that cross-Border dioceses such as Clogher, Armagh, and Kilmore were facing similar difficulties with the audit.
There was also the problem that such an audit would exclude two Catholic dioceses of the 26 on the island. Those were the dioceses of Down and Connor and Dromore, the only Catholic dioceses wholly in Northern Ireland.
He was very much "open to audit" but felt that the respective social services and police forces in both jurisdictions on the island should come together where the audit of child protection measures affected the four cross-Border dioceses and the two dioceses wholly in Northern Ireland.
Meanwhile, Bishop of Clogher Dr Joseph Duffy announced through a statement read at weekend Masses in a Co Monaghan parish that a priest there had stepped down. Massgoers were told the priest had "been asked to step down from his duties and has done so" while the PSNI investigated allegations of child abuse made against him in a parish in Northern Ireland where he had served 20 years ago.
Bishop Duffy stressed that the priest was on administrative leave until the police investigation was concluded and had the right to the presumption of innocence and to privacy.
Last month, following publication of the Ferns report, it was announced by the diocese that five priests there had allegations of child sex abuse made against them. The figure did not include the priest whose standing aside from ministry was announced at the weekend.
A total of 45 priests in the four cross-Border dioceses have been accused of child sex abuse.
