Kirchenakte Documented events from judgments, reports and church documents
1975-2011 · 36 years · show in timeline

Raphoe and Derry 1975 to 2011: Church safeguarding review finds serious errors of judgement by successive bishops; accused priests were moved and continued to abuse

In the first round of its reviews the Church safeguarding board NBSCCC published reports on six Irish dioceses in November 2011. For Raphoe in the north-west of the Republic it counted allegations against 14 priests since 1975, four of whom were convicted, among them the serial abuser Eugene Greene. The reviewers found that successive bishops made serious errors of judgement, gave too much weight to the situation of the accused and too little to the needs of complainants, and at times delayed reports to the authorities. Victims were dealt with through lawyers, while convicted priests were visited in prison. For Derry, which also covers parts of Northern Ireland, the reviewers counted allegations against 23 priests; problems had often been handled by transfers, and transferred priests had continued to abuse.

Period
1975-2011 (36 years)
Country
Ireland, United Kingdom
Institutions
Diocese of Raphoe
Diocese of Derry
National Board for Safeguarding Children in the Catholic Church
Category
Sexual abuse, Cover-up
Level of evidence
A Primary source · what does this mean?

What happened to the people

Who was affected? Victims and numbers

  1. According to the reviewers, care for complainants was largely handled through lawyers because of litigation, and the role of the support person had become nominal. Around the accused, by contrast, there was much activity: prison visits, family visits and correspondence were commonplace. In at least one serious case the bishop refrained from initiating laicisation to spare the family of the convicted priest; the reviewers call this inappropriate.
    Evidence: National Board for Safeguarding Children in the Catholic Church, Standard 6
    „has reduced the role of the Support Person to nominal status only“
    Review of Safeguarding Practice in the Diocese of Raphoe, Standard 6. Original
    Evidence: National Board for Safeguarding Children in the Catholic Church, Standard 6
    „In contrast there is evidence of quite a lot of activity surrounding the respondent.“
    Review of Safeguarding Practice in the Diocese of Raphoe, Standard 6. Original
    Evidence: National Board for Safeguarding Children in the Catholic Church, Standard 6
    „was keen to protect the family of the convicted priest from further trauma by not initiating“
    Review of Safeguarding Practice in the Diocese of Raphoe, Standard 6. Original
    Evidence: National Board for Safeguarding Children in the Catholic Church, Standard 6
    „understandable, is inappropriate and should be reviewed“
    Review of Safeguarding Practice in the Diocese of Raphoe, Standard 6. Original

Background

Response of the Church

  1. According to the Raphoe review, allegations were made against 14 priests of the diocese since 1975, four of whom were convicted. The outstanding case was that of the serial abuser Eugene Greene, who was charged and convicted of numerous serious offences against children. The reviewers state that successive bishops made serious errors of judgement: too much weight was placed on the situation of the accused priest, too little on the needs of complainants, and preventive steps were not taken quickly enough. In the past reports to the authorities were at times delayed.
    Evidence: National Board for Safeguarding Children in the Catholic Church, Table 1
    „Number of priests incardinated into the Diocese of Raphoe against“
    Review of Safeguarding Practice in the Diocese of Raphoe, Table 1. Original
    Evidence: National Board for Safeguarding Children in the Catholic Church, Introduction
    „serial paedophile priest who was the subject of a book and also of a great deal of media attention.“
    Review of Safeguarding Practice in the Diocese of Raphoe, Introduction. Original
    Evidence: National Board for Safeguarding Children in the Catholic Church, Introduction
    „It is clear that significant errors of judgement were made by successive bishops when responding“
    Review of Safeguarding Practice in the Diocese of Raphoe, Introduction. Original
    Evidence: National Board for Safeguarding Children in the Catholic Church, Introduction
    „situation of the accused priest and too little on the needs of their complainants“
    Review of Safeguarding Practice in the Diocese of Raphoe, Introduction. Original
    Evidence: National Board for Safeguarding Children in the Catholic Church, Standard 2
    „occasions, there were delays in reporting concerns to the appropriate authorities“
    Review of Safeguarding Practice in the Diocese of Raphoe, Standard 2. Original
  2. In the Diocese of Derry allegations were made against 23 priests since 1975. According to the review, priests about whom there were clear concerns were not robustly challenged; problems were often "handled" by moving them to postings elsewhere, and there is evidence that priests moved in this way continued to exhibit abusive behaviour. The bishop's legal advisers placed too little emphasis on prompt referral to police and social services, which contributed to delays.
    Evidence: National Board for Safeguarding Children in the Catholic Church, Table 1
    „Number of priests incardinated in the diocese of Derry“
    Review of Safeguarding Practice in the Diocese of Derry, Table 1. Original
    Evidence: National Board for Safeguarding Children in the Catholic Church, Management of allegations
    „managed and problems were often ‘handled’ by moving them to postings elsewhere“
    Review of Safeguarding Practice in the Diocese of Derry, Management of allegations. Original
    Evidence: National Board for Safeguarding Children in the Catholic Church, Management of allegations
    „is evidence that abusive behaviour continued to be exhibited by priests who were moved“
    Review of Safeguarding Practice in the Diocese of Derry, Management of allegations. Original
    Evidence: National Board for Safeguarding Children in the Catholic Church, Management of allegations
    „police and social services by those legally advising the bishop“
    Review of Safeguarding Practice in the Diocese of Derry, Management of allegations. Original

See also

Original documents to read

  1. Church document
    National Board for Safeguarding Children in the Catholic Church: Review of Safeguarding Practice in the Diocese of Raphoe, 30 November 2011. Original (retrieved 31 Oct 2026)
  2. Church document
    National Board for Safeguarding Children in the Catholic Church: Review of Safeguarding Practice in the Diocese of Derry, 30 November 2011. Original (retrieved 31 Oct 2026)
Change log (1)

The change log is kept in German only.

  • : Aufgenommen

Last changed on 31 October 2026. Is something missing or wrong? Suggest an addition or correction.