MY DUBLIN HIGH COURT JUDGE WAS A PAPAL KNIGHT!

MY DUBLIN HIGH COURT JUDGE WAS A PAPAL KNIGHT!

JUDGE DERMOT KINLEN

In 1995 I sued the late Father Michael Cleary and a Dublin radio station for libel after they refused to give me the right of reply after they made serious and untrue accusations about my marriage ministry to Irish citizend who were divorced and wanted to marry.

I would have been perfectly happy to settle the matter out of court with an apology, the right of reply and a small donation to a charity.

But no that was refused. It was refused because the Irish Roman Catholic Establishment at that time was still very powerful. It was before the onslaught of all the scandals that came afterwards. 

One of the biggest problems I encountered in seeking justice was the fact that the Dublin High Court judge - Dermot Kinlen - was an arch Roman Catholic and had been created a Papal Knight by Pope John Paul 11.

Can you imagine the scene - me - a dissident Catholic priest who had taken Rome on - was to have a trial presided over by a Papal Knight!

Judge Dermot Kinlen was a devout daily Mass going Roman Catholic who also helped organise the Kerry Diocese Annual Lourdes Pilgrimage - who also had a sister a nun and who was as I said a Knight of the Order of Saint Gregory!

A KNIGHT OF ST GREGORY

During my three week court ordeal Judge Kinlen was very rude to me and threatened to tell the jury that I was "a con man" because I was celebrating the marriages of divorcees, Thankfully he said this in the absence of the jury.

A PAPAL KNIGHT'S MEDAL

On one occasion during a break in court proceedings someone went into Judge Kinlen's chambers and found the judge saying the Rosary in front of a lit candle and a statue of Virgin Mary.That person came out of chambers and told me what he saw and said to me: "You're f****d.

As it turned out - and thankfully we got a hung jury. I sacked my whole legal team and got one of Ireland's top barristers at the time. At the beginning of the retrial we were offered and accepted a settlement. After paying the lawyers I was left with a very small sum of money - that just about covered my expenses. 

One of the big problems in every society is trying to have a totally and objective judiciary. When a judge sits on his bench he should not allow his personal beliefes or prejudices to affect his judgement. Nor should he allow his religious or political beliefs to interfere with justice.

Sadly I have found that when you go to court you very often do not get JUSTICE. Instead you get LAW.

Above many court houses you can see the statue of LADY JUSTICE - holding the scales of justice and blindfolded as a symbol of total objectivity.

LADY JUSTICE

Sadly, everyday of the week -in countries all over the world - Lady Justice is denied and betrayed!

+Pat Buckley

29.5.2014