Call for Church to keep records of abuse claims

The Catholic Church in Ireland should give a clear statement that all records of clerical sex abuse claims will not be destroyed…

The Catholic Church in Ireland should give a clear statement that all records of clerical sex abuse claims will not be destroyed, a spokesman for alleged victims today said.

Mr Colm O'Gorman, director of the group One in Four, was speaking in response to a documentary which raised questions over the handling of allegations of child sex abuse in the diocese of Raphoe, Co Donegal.

The BBC's Spotlight programme reported the case of Father Eugene Greene, who was jailed in 1998 for the abuse of children.

It said that despite complaints about Father Greene dating as far back as the 1970s, nothing was recorded on any Church files that could be passed on to police.

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The claims come in the wake of a recent programme broadcast on RTE, detailing claims of abuse within the Dublin archdiocese and its handling by the Church.

Mr O'Gorman this morning said it was hard not to feel a sense of "here we are again".

He said his biggest concern was the lack of Church files on allegations the programme said were made in the Raphoe diocese.

"For us this would make rubbish of the suggestion that the Church or indeed the bishops are co-operating actively with Garda inquiries," he said.

"The absence of files is damning I think, it's very very worrying.

"I think what we need now is a clear statement from the Church and from the bishops that all files that exist will remain in existence and that nothing has been destroyed or will be destroyed."There is a real danger now that when we do actually get to the point of an inquiry that files simply won't exist anymore."

Yesterday Bishop Philip Boyce, bishop of Raphoe, denied any prior knowledge of abuse by Father Greene.

He said in a statement: "I wish to categorically state that I was not made aware of child sexual allegations against Father Greene in 1995.

"I was ordained Bishop in October 1995. Some time later I was made aware of rumours about Father Greene. Despite my personal inquiries, which included a number of meetings, I was unable to identify any complaint of child sexual abuse against him.

PA