Cover-up

"He wanted Carney in court so he could ask him why, why had Carney raped him? That never happened and the way things are going, the way the police and the clergy are handling it now I can't see it ever happening."
Bridie Dwyer, mother of Paul, raped by Carney at age 13.


How many more serial child abusers are at large - hidden and protected by the catholic church? As a mother and former catholic, I'm disgusted and horrified by the church's blind eye approach to an all-pervasive problem that is no doubt causing a downturn in congregations.

Last night's Newsnight fetched up the case of former priest Bill Carney – named as one of the worst cases in Dublin's Catholic diocese in the Murphy report into clerical abuse there. He's abused at least 32 boys and girls and for the last 10 years has been free to live quietly in Britain - oh and was paid off to the tune of £30,000 by the church!

Newsnight reporter Olenka Frenkiel tracked him down. He'd married and was running a 'family friendly' guesthouse in St Andrews near the golf course. His wife knew nothing of his murky, abusive past. How disturbing must that have been for her to find out she's been sharing her bed with a paedophile and putting her own children at risk?

All the children in Ayrfield, Dublin, knew fun-loving Father Bill Carney - not just the altar boys and those who met him through school, but members of the scout troop he ran and the groups of local children he took swimming. His door was always open, there was a ready supply of coke in the fridge and in the 1980s he had the very latest thing to lure youngsters in - a video player. Adults disapproved of his swearing and crazy driving, but the catholic church was still so trusted, no-one suspected the truth about him. Indeed, I remember a similar such swearing, hard-drinking, golf-playing priest from my past who liked to sit us young girls on his knee!

But back to Carney...the nasty truth is, he's at large in the Canary Isles now and neither the catholic church nor the Guarda have informed the authorities and he's not even listed on a sex offenders' register. The psychiatric report said Carney was a serial psychopath who didn't recognise his wrongdoing, so cannot be 'cured'! And the aftershock of his behaviour is that Paul Dwyer, one of Carney's rape victims was so traumatised by the lack of justice that he committed suicide. What a terrible waste of life!

As a mother I find it outrageous that priests like Carney have slipped away, but not surprising as the church is deeply entwined with the state in Ireland and both are incredibly paternalistic. Thing is, as with the recent Venables case - it's in the public's interest to be informed of paedophiles. Nothing could be more horrific than entertaining a child abuser if you have children. And nothing could be more despicable than finding out the authorities knew, but did nothing!