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The Sun
29-05-2025
- The Sun
Italy's bishops cite more abuse victims in past two years
ROME: Italian Catholic Church dioceses documented 69 cases of alleged abuse of minors or vulnerable adults in the past two years, most within the parish setting, the Bishops Conference said Wednesday. In a 98-page report -- designed to track progress in tackling clerical sex abuse within dioceses -- it said the 69 cases over 2023 and 2024 involved 118 alleged victims, nearly a third of whom were between 10 to 14 years old. In 2022, the survey documented 54 potential victims in 32 cases of abuse. Eleven of the cases identified in Wednesday's report involved sexual relations, with 19 involving sexual molestation and 25 cases of touching. Out of 67 alleged perpetrators, 44 were clerics, 15 were defined as other religious people and the rest were lay people working in the parish. They had an average age of 50 and all bar two were men. Confronting a tide of revelations around the world about paedophile priests and cover-ups by senior clergy, the late Pope Francis vowed an 'all-out battle' against paedophilia within the Church in 2019. But critics say not enough is being done, and in Italy, lament the absence of a national inquiry. The Italian Bishops Conference said the rise in potential victims and perpetrators 'can be interpreted as the emergence of facts and situations that were hidden in the past'. 'But it must still be noted as a wound that is still present in the ecclesial and social life of the Christian community,' it said. Last year, only 373 people sought information, counsel or other services at one of the Italian dioceses' 103 'listening centres' to support victims. Those centres are mainly run by lay women, many of whom are psychologists or educators. The centres reported only 14 cases in which they were aware of an abuse case being reported to secular judicial authorities. The Vatican does not require bishops to automatically refer abuse cases to police. For internal Church investigations, respondents said 16 cases were subject to a preliminary investigation and 11 cases resulted in penalties or other restrictions. Six cases were forwarded to the Vatican's powerful Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, whose duties include disciplinary matters involving sexual abuse cases. One case resulted in a conviction and in five others the process was pending, the report found. The conference cited progress over the last two years in training priests, religious and other pastoral workers in how to identify and combat abuse and support victims. But it noted a lack of collaboration with local entities -- which could potentially include police, health authorities or non-parochial schools. Nearly 82 percent of Italy's dioceses said they had no initiatives or collaboration with non-Church entities. One quoted survey respondent noted the need for 'a more transparent and courageous attitude of the Church in recognising cases of abuse that have happened in its own sphere -- even when it comes to bishops accused of abuse and those who have covered up abuse'.
The Sun
29-05-2025
- The Sun
Italy's Catholic Church Reports 69 Abuse Cases in 2 Years
ROME: Italian Catholic Church dioceses documented 69 cases of alleged abuse of minors or vulnerable adults in the past two years, most within the parish setting, the Bishops Conference said Wednesday. In a 98-page report -- designed to track progress in tackling clerical sex abuse within dioceses -- it said the 69 cases over 2023 and 2024 involved 118 alleged victims, nearly a third of whom were between 10 to 14 years old. In 2022, the survey documented 54 potential victims in 32 cases of abuse. Eleven of the cases identified in Wednesday's report involved sexual relations, with 19 involving sexual molestation and 25 cases of touching. Out of 67 alleged perpetrators, 44 were clerics, 15 were defined as other religious people and the rest were lay people working in the parish. They had an average age of 50 and all bar two were men. Confronting a tide of revelations around the world about paedophile priests and cover-ups by senior clergy, the late Pope Francis vowed an 'all-out battle' against paedophilia within the Church in 2019. But critics say not enough is being done, and in Italy, lament the absence of a national inquiry. The Italian Bishops Conference said the rise in potential victims and perpetrators 'can be interpreted as the emergence of facts and situations that were hidden in the past'. 'But it must still be noted as a wound that is still present in the ecclesial and social life of the Christian community,' it said. Last year, only 373 people sought information, counsel or other services at one of the Italian dioceses' 103 'listening centres' to support victims. Those centres are mainly run by lay women, many of whom are psychologists or educators. The centres reported only 14 cases in which they were aware of an abuse case being reported to secular judicial authorities. The Vatican does not require bishops to automatically refer abuse cases to police. For internal Church investigations, respondents said 16 cases were subject to a preliminary investigation and 11 cases resulted in penalties or other restrictions. Six cases were forwarded to the Vatican's powerful Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, whose duties include disciplinary matters involving sexual abuse cases. One case resulted in a conviction and in five others the process was pending, the report found. The conference cited progress over the last two years in training priests, religious and other pastoral workers in how to identify and combat abuse and support victims. But it noted a lack of collaboration with local entities -- which could potentially include police, health authorities or non-parochial schools. Nearly 82 percent of Italy's dioceses said they had no initiatives or collaboration with non-Church entities. One quoted survey respondent noted the need for 'a more transparent and courageous attitude of the Church in recognising cases of abuse that have happened in its own sphere -- even when it comes to bishops accused of abuse and those who have covered up abuse'.
The Independent
14-05-2025
- Health
- The Independent
Assisted dying Bill ‘devalues human life', says top Bishop
The assisted dying legislation which passed its first parliamentary hurdle at Holyrood on Tuesday 'devalues human life', a leading Catholic Bishop has said. John Keenan, the Bishop of Paisley and the President of the Bishops' Conference of Scotland, expressed his 'sadness' that MSPs backed the general principles of the Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults (Scotland) Bill. Proposed by Lib Dem MSP Liam McArthur, the Bill will go forward for further scrutiny in the Scottish Parliament. But Bishop Keenan equated assisted dying to suicide, claiming the law would normalise the idea of someone taking their own life, as he urged politicians to focus on caring for people to live. Mr McArthur said equating assisted dying and suicide was 'regrettable'. 'It is hard to believe that any parliamentarian could support what will effectively be the creation of a state suicide service,' the Bishop said. 'Politicians should be working hard to provide the support necessary for people to live, not give them a lethal concoction of drugs to die. 'At a time when suicide is on the rise in Scotland and we are doing our best to reduce it, what message are we sending when we say that suicide is the right choice provided it is overseen by a doctor? 'Laws like this normalise suicide and, with it, the false idea that some people's lives are beyond hope. 'This dangerous legislation devalues human life and puts our most vulnerable brothers and sisters under terrible pressure to take their lives prematurely. 'When vulnerable people, including the elderly and disabled, express concerns about being a burden, the appropriate response is not to suggest that they have a duty to die. 'Rather, it is to commit ourselves to meeting their needs and providing the care and compassion they need to help them live. 'I urge every MSP to consider the great dangers inherent in assisted suicide legislation and to focus their energies on ensuring we provide better palliative care, giving everyone access to modern pain relief and the highest quality of care.' Mr McArthur, who is the third MSP in Holyrood's history to table a Bill on assisted dying, said he understood there would always be opposition to the legislation. 'This is about putting in place more choice, it's not about any obligation,' he told BBC Radio Scotland. 'Indeed, for medical practitioners, I think there needs to be a robust conscientious objection to ensure that their choices are respected.' He added: 'But I think referring to suicide is regrettable. 'I know a number of mental health charities, for example in Australia, have reflected that the mindset of an individual considering suicide could not be more different than the mindset of somebody faced with a terminal diagnosis, who's desperate to live, desperate to get the most out of the life that they have left.'
Sunday World
29-04-2025
- Sunday World
Archbishops pay tribute to disgraced former bishop Brendan Comiskey as funeral announced
'PERSONAL SYMPATHIES' | Comiskey, who died yesterday at the age of 89, will be buried on Thursday, May 1, at 1pm in the Church of the Sacred Heart, St Johns Drive, Clondalkin, Dublin Former Bishop of Ferns, Brendan Comiskey. Photo: PJ Browne Comiskey, who died yesterday at the age of 89, will be buried on Thursday, May 1, at 1pm in the Church of the Sacred Heart, St Johns Drive, Clondalkin, Dublin. He died early Monday morning in the Louth County Hospital, Dundalk, predeceased by his parents, two sisters and seven brothers. Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland Eamon Martin said: "I wish to express my sadness at the death of Bishop Brendan Comiskey SS CC, Bishop Emeritus of Ferns, who served for over twenty years as a member of the Bishops Conference.' He added: "I am deeply conscious that he chose to resign as Bishop of Ferns in April 2002 while recognising his failures in governance, and accepting that his continuation in office would 'indeed be an obstacle to healing' for victims and survivors of abuse. "The safeguarding of children and vulnerable persons, and the prompt reporting of allegations of abuse, is of paramount importance in the Church today and must remain so. "Bishop Comiskey's death will rekindle memories of pain and suffering for many and I my thoughts and prayers at this time are also with all those who have been traumatised or let down by the awful sins and crimes and abuse perpetrated by members of the Church, or by the failure to appropriately and adequately follow up concerns that were brought to those in leadership.' Archbishop of Dublin Dermot Farrell said Comiskey's decision to resign as Bishop of Ferns following allegations of child abuse in the Diocese 'necessitated both courage and strength' Archbishop Farrell said: 'His words communicated both his humility, and the painful discovery of the reality of abuse, and its long-lasting consequences. It brought him to the realisation that those who shepherd the Lord's flock were to be more concerned about the survivors, the most vulnerable, than about themselves, their position in society, their reputation, or their status. "I offer my personal sympathies and prayers to his family, to the members of the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary, priests, religious, friends, and to the many people whose lives he touched throughout his 64 years of priestly and episcopal ministry. We ask the Lord to grant him eternal rest.' The Monaghan native retreated from public life following the publication of the damning Ferns Report which outlined a catalogue of child sex abuse in the diocese over a period of forty years. It emerged that Bishop Comiskey had failed to protect children from paedophile priests and failed to report allegations that Fr Seán Fortune had abused a number of children. The Ferns report found that Comiskey had "failed to recognise the paramount need to protect children, as a matter of urgency, from potential abusers". Born in August 1935, Dr Comiskey was originally from Clontibret in Co Monaghan and was ordained a priest in 1961. He became Bishop of Ferns back in 1984, aged just 49. He would serve in the role for 18 years, through what is widely regarded as one of the darkest periods of the Catholic Church. Speaking to the Irish Independent in 2014 about the clerical abuse scandal, he said: 'I did my best and it wasn't good enough and that's it.' For clerical sex abuse survivor Colm O'Gorman, the news of Bishop Comiskey's passing stopped him in his tracks. "I had to think, 'how do I feel about it?'' he said. 'First of all, I'd say that the death of anybody is a sad moment. I genuinely mean it when I offer my heartfelt condolences to his family, friends and those who loved him. "Brendan Comiskey has been a private individual for a very long time. In terms of his legacy, I think it's clearly laid out in the Ferns Report for anyone who wants to read it,' said Mr O'Gorman, who founded the One in Four charity which offers support to women and men who have experienced sexual violence. "He was, however, one Bishop. It was really clear in the years following the report that Ferns was sadly not unique at all.' In recent years, Bishop Comiskey had been under the care of the Sisters of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary in Ranelagh in Dublin.
Irish Independent
29-04-2025
- Irish Independent
Archbishops pay tribute to former bishop Brendan Comiskey as funeral details announced
Comiskey, who died yesterday at the age of 89, will be buried on Thursday, May 1, at 1pm in the Church of the Sacred Heart, St Johns Drive, Clondalkin, Dublin. He died early Monday morning in the Louth County Hospital, Dundalk, predeceased by his parents, two sisters and seven brothers. Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland Eamon Martin said: "I wish to express my sadness at the death of Bishop Brendan Comiskey SS CC, Bishop Emeritus of Ferns, who served for over twenty years as a member of the Bishops Conference.' He added: "I am deeply conscious that he chose to resign as Bishop of Ferns in April 2002 while recognising his failures in governance, and accepting that his continuation in office would 'indeed be an obstacle to healing' for victims and survivors of abuse. "The safeguarding of children and vulnerable persons, and the prompt reporting of allegations of abuse, is of paramount importance in the Church today and must remain so. "Bishop Comiskey's death will rekindle memories of pain and suffering for many and I my thoughts and prayers at this time are also with all those who have been traumatised or let down by the awful sins and crimes and abuse perpetrated by members of the Church, or by the failure to appropriately and adequately follow up concerns that were brought to those in leadership.' Archbishop of Dublin Dermot Farrell said Comiskey's decision to resign as Bishop of Ferns following allegations of child abuse in the Diocese 'necessitated both courage and strength' Archbishop Farrell said: 'His words communicated both his humility, and the painful discovery of the reality of abuse, and its long-lasting consequences. It brought him to the realisation that those who shepherd the Lord's flock were to be more concerned about the survivors, the most vulnerable, than about themselves, their position in society, their reputation, or their status. "I offer my personal sympathies and prayers to his family, to the members of the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary, priests, religious, friends, and to the many people whose lives he touched throughout his 64 years of priestly and episcopal ministry. We ask the Lord to grant him eternal rest.' The Monaghan native retreated from public life following the publication of the damning Ferns Report which outlined a catalogue of child sex abuse in the diocese over a period of forty years. ADVERTISEMENT Learn more It emerged that Bishop Comiskey had failed to protect children from paedophile priests and failed to report allegations that Fr Seán Fortune had abused a number of children. The Ferns report found that Comiskey had "failed to recognise the paramount need to protect children, as a matter of urgency, from potential abusers". Born in August 1935, Dr Comiskey was originally from Clontibret in Co Monaghan and was ordained a priest in 1961. He became Bishop of Ferns back in 1984, aged just 49. He would serve in the role for 18 years, through what is widely regarded as one of the darkest periods of the Catholic Church. Speaking to the Irish Independent in 2014 about the clerical abuse scandal, he said: 'I did my best and it wasn't good enough and that's it.' For clerical sex abuse survivor Colm O'Gorman, the news of Bishop Comiskey's passing stopped him in his tracks. "I had to think, 'how do I feel about it?'' he said. 'First of all, I'd say that the death of anybody is a sad moment. I genuinely mean it when I offer my heartfelt condolences to his family, friends and those who loved him. "Brendan Comiskey has been a private individual for a very long time. In terms of his legacy, I think it's clearly laid out in the Ferns Report for anyone who wants to read it,' said Mr O'Gorman, who founded the One in Four charity which offers support to women and men who have experienced sexual violence. "He was, however, one Bishop. It was really clear in the years following the report that Ferns was sadly not unique at all.' In recent years, Bishop Comiskey had been under the care of the Sisters of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary in Ranelagh in Dublin.
