An Irish priest living in the west of Ireland has brought High Court proceedings challenging warrants for his extradition to the US where he is wanted on child abuse charges.
Mr Justice Philip O'Sullivan reserved judgment on the challenge to July 27th.
Fr Patrick Colleary, a native of Co Sligo who was ordained in 1975, served in the diocese of Phoenix, Arizona, until March 2002.
He is wanted by the authorities there to address two counts of sexual conduct with a minor and one count of attempted sexual conduct with a minor.
In May 2002, he was placed on administrative leave in the diocese. In December 2002 he was charged with sexual abuse of a then 10-year-old altar boy at the Holy Spirit parish in Tempe, Arizona, in 1979.
He had been placed on administrative leave after admitting in 2002 that he fathered a child in 1978, and was accused of fondling a schoolgirl who later allegedly became his lover and twice attempted suicide. Fr Colleary denies the charges.
He was held in prison until January 8th, 2003, when the charge fell because of statute of limitations provisions. He was released from prison and returned to Ireland.
In June 2003, a warrant was issued for his arrest by Arizona's Maricopa County attorney general's office, and extradition proceedings were initiated.
The authorities in Arizona had written to the Vatican asking that it instruct Fr Colleary and another priest to "voluntarily come back to America". The letter was returned unopened.
In 2003 a request from the apostolic administrator of Phoenix diocese, Archbishop Michael Sheehan, that Fr Colleary return and face sex abuse changes was refused.
Yesterday, John Paul McDermott, for Fr Colleary, opposed the application for extradition on a number of grounds.
During the course of the hearing, it was alleged that, should the priest be returned to Arizona, it would be to a prison where prisoners were compelled to wear pink underwear to humiliate them.
Mr McDermott said the US authorities had submitted an affidavit stating that the wearing of a pink uniform was not done to humiliate prisoners but rather as a security measure.