The recent unexpected death of a 37-year-old Limerick man who alleged clerical child sex abuse has provoked criticism of diocesan representatives there.
Peter McCloskey, a separated father of three and mature student at Mary Immaculate College, Limerick, was found dead on April 1st, two days after mediation talks with diocesan representatives. He was described by Deirdre Fitzpatrick, of the One in Four group, as "very distressed and disappointed" after the meeting which she also attended.
Mr McCloskey alleged he had been abused in 1980/81 by Fr Denis Daly, an Irish priest ordained for the Archdiocese of Sydney, who served as a supply priest in Limerick from 1978 until his death aged 61 in 1987.
Ms Fitzpatrick felt constrained from discussing the March 30th meeting, involving a legal representative of the diocese and two priests, by a confidentiality agreement she was asked to sign. Generally though she was critical of diocesan legal representatives for adopting an adversarial approach in dealings with Mr McCloskey and for threatening to sue him for costs should he proceed with a High Court action.
She alleged Mr McCloskey was misled by the Child Protection Office at Maynooth. In January 2004 he was told it had no information on file about Fr Daly. In February 2004 he discovered detailed information was available at that office over the previous six months. It caused him "unbelievable distress", she said.
Bishop Donal Murray of Limerick, who was not at the March 30th meeting, said last night that Mr McCloskey's solicitor had been contacted by fax the day afterwards to assure him all outstanding issues were solvable.
Dr Murray became bishop of Limerick in 1996, nine years after Fr Daly's death; and, on investigation, found no child abuse allegations against the priest in diocesan archives. Following later inquiries with Sydney he found that documents there recorded "a moral lapse" in 1963 and alcoholism. Another spoke of "a grave incident".
Ms Fitzpatrick said the Sydney documents indicated Fr Daly left Australia "under a cloud". He failed to get work in Down and Connor or Dublin dioceses, but succeeded in Limerick under the late bishop Jeremiah Newman.
Bishop Murray funded counselling for Mr McCloskey and advised he see a solicitor.