I was 14. Within 6 months of the visit I was raped for 1st time by a Priest who had been ordained despite the Church knowing he was a paedophile. 15 years later I sued Pope JPII to try get the Vatican to tell the truth about what they knew about the priest jrnl.ie/4151688
The priests parishioners complained repeatedly to Bishops about the priests behaviour. They also complained to the Papal Nuncio. The Nuncio responded and told them the Holy See (the Pope) was aware of their concerns. Nothing happened. He kept abusing. For years.
He was only finally removed from ministry when I made a criminal complaint in early 1995. In the meantime he had abused scores of other children. And the church had continued to ignore repeated complaints about his abusive behaviour.
And when I sued this Pope to try get to the truth, the Vatican asserted diplomatic immunity to avoid having to deal with the case. The truth it appears, didn’t matter. So when I hear JPII’s “Young people of Ireland, I love you”, it doesn’t inspire me. It sickens me.
Because if JPII really had loved the young people of Ireland he would have protected us from known clerical paedophiles. And I wouldn’t have had to endure three years of rape and sexual assaults. And thousands of other of Irish children wouldn’t have endured the same.
If JPII had really loved the young people of Ireland, then he would have at the very least, told the damn truth and made some kind of effort to redress the harm he allows to happen.
If he really loved the young people of Ireland, young men like Peter Fitzpatrick probably wouldn’t have died. Peter was abused by the same priest as me. He shot himself aged 23 with a shotgun. One of a number of that priests victims who died by suicide.
And if Pope Frances loves the young people of Ireland, or has the slightest regard for principles such as truth and justice, he will acknowledge the depth of the Vatican’s appalling failures, it’s role in the cover up of the rape and abuse of Irish children like me. Let’s see.
Years later, 2002 to be precise, I made a film for BBC called ‘Suing the Pope’ to expose it all. That led to the resignation of Bishop Brendan Comiskey. I then campaigned for the Ferns Inquiry, the first Inquiry into how the state & church had handled such cases.
That film aired on BBC2 in the UK on March 19, 2002. Bishop Brendan Comiskey resigned following the public outcry that followed on April 1 2002. RTE finally broadcast the film on April 2, 2002. news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programme…
Just realised I was in fact 13. And the abuse started just over a year later when I was 14. It continued until I was 17. That's when I fled my home town....it was another 11 years before I went back and reported the abuse to the police.
