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  Church in Limerick out of Step

One in Four [Ireland]
April 18, 2006

http://www.oneinfour.org/news/news2006/chinlim/

Today questions must be asked about Limerick Diocese's handling of the Peter McCloskey case.

No one can deny that Peter was a troubled, even a tortured soul. But that is not surprising considering he was sexually abused by a priest at the age of 10.

But to add insult to injury, when Peter tried to lay the ghosts of his past to rest by embarking on a quest for truth, Limerick Diocese offered little or no help.

In fact he had to travel at his own expense to Australia to unearth the murky past of his serial abuser.

It is a tragedy that having endured so much suffering at the hands of the Church, the institution continued to fail Peter in his hour of need.

Limerick Diocese's handling of the case is in stark contrast to the open approach adopted by the Church in the wake of the Ferns scandal.

The Church has proved that it is beginning to embrace accountability, openness and compassion.

Sadly those qualities have been rather lacking in Limerick Diocese.

And unless the situation is swiftly rectified it will cause untold damage to the Church's good work so far.

Limerick Diocese needs to move out of the dark ages and into the modern era. It should not be a case of two steps forward, three steps back.

 
 

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