Saturday 10 February 2018

BISHOP REGRETS PAEDOPHILE FUNERAL





Belfast Newsletter9 February 2018

A Catholic bishop said he “regrets” saying funeral mass for a paedophile priest who abused pupils at a grammar school in Newry.

St Colman’s College in Newry said it has removed former school president Malachy Finnegan’s image from photographs after a claim was settled by the diocese.
MALACHY FINNEGAN




A total of 12 allegations of abuse have been made against the former priest, 10 of which were made after his death in 2002.

The Diocese of Dromore has settled a number of cases linked to Fr Finnegan’s crimes, with others still ongoing.

Dr John McAreavey, who became bishop of Dromore in 1999, said in a statement: “The first allegation against Malachy Finnegan came to light in 1994 some seven years after he left St Colman’s College.

“The second allegation came in 1998 and was not related to his tenure at St Colman’s. No further allegations emerged until after his death in January 2002.”

The bishop continued: “Since becoming bishop in 1999 everything I have learned about the abuse of victims I have learned from victims.

“It is their testimonies and their stories, which have impacted most on me. It is through their perspective that I realised that my decision to say the funeral mass of Malachy Finnegan in 2002 was the wrong one. In November 2002 a victim told me how hurt he was by this, I realised that I had made an error of judgment. It is something I regret and will not repeat.

“The actions of Malachy Finnegan were abhorrent, inexcusable and indefensible. I apologise unreservedly to the victims and their families for his actions.”

A statement issued by the board of governors of St Colman’s College said they condemn “in the strongest possible terms the physical, sexual and emotional abuse inflicted by Malachy Finnegan when he was in the employment of the college over 30 years ago”.

Stressing that Finnegan’s image has been removed from photographs on display in the college, the statement added: “The abuse that Malachy Finnegan inflicted is the antithesis of all that the college stands for in terms of its aims, objectives, ethos and culture and it is a matter of absolute regret and sorrow that such behaviour should ever have occurred in St Colman’s College.”

The board of governors also encouraged any victims to contact the PSNI.


PAT SAYS;

John McAreavy is not a nice man and never has been.

Right through the 1990s Cahal Daly and the Church used him as a canon lawyer to cover their backs in all kinds of situations.

He was always an ass licker and a company man and his reward was being made bishop of Dromore in 1999.

My impressions of McAreavy is of a man without a deep faith or spirituality, an unhappy man, a possibly depressed man.

Does this come a lifetime of service to legalism and institutionalism - which often brings a reward of emotional and spiitual dryness in later life?

In any event it is unimaginable that he did not know about Malachy Finnegan by the time of his death.

Finnegan deserved a simple Christian burial but without adulation or praise.

McAreavys legalism and company-man-ship made him give Finnegan a heros farewell. 

It was wrong, inappropriate, dishonest and an insult to his victims.

But in Canon Law the institution comes first and a cleric must  be honoured in death and life.

McAreavy should resign.

Dromore needs better - if any better is available!

157 comments:

  1. Well said , Pat!
    He should resign.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Of course, the fool should step down, but any new appointments must be like Scrapheap Challenge; trying to find something useful in a pile of useless old shit.

    ReplyDelete
  3. “ He is not a nice man”. How can you conclude such a nonsense statement? You probably never heard of the Diocese of Dromore let alone set foot in it. Yes, it’s been the big story on the BBC over the past few days and a Spotlight programme in days ahead but Mc Areavey (spell his name correctly) was not at fault.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I've always found him a sincere, modest, and honest man.

      Delete
    2. The upcoming Spotlight programme may heap more pressure on him to fall on some titties.

      Delete
    3. 02:02, if Bishop McAreavey was aware of two allegations of sexual abuse against Finnegan before presiding at his funeral in 2002, then his decision to so so was, to say the least, unwise for him. In these circumstsnces, your opinion, that Bishop McAreavey 'was not at fault', is unreasonable.

      Delete
    4. And we agree.

      Delete
    5. A source in BBC NI says that this Spotlight will be explosive.

      Delete
    6. Well ,they always say that, don't they?

      Delete
  4. Bishop Pat, I think you have summed up Bishop McAreavey to a tee. He comes across as a very emotionless person, judging from a recent Confirmation in the Diocese. It was a case of get me out of here.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. May have had the Giant's Ring on his mind... it's not so very far from Dromore

      Delete
  5. Pat,
    Can you or any of your readers in this blog give me any update on Fr Terry Rafferty, also from Dromore Diocese ?
    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-21277248
    Was he ever put out of ministry ? After the criminal investigation and his guilty plea , what was the result of the church investigation ?
    We do have to remember that he denied all guilt - His bishop issued a statement to remind us of this - and then pleaded guilty just before his trial! I would like to know what action then church took as a result of his guilty plea and what decisions were made arising from their church investigation - this might show us if Bishop Mc Areavey hasn’t learnt anything since his previous regrets and mistakes !!
    I often wonder what happened to him as he ran around Newry asking parishioners to light candles and pray for him because of this wicked and false accusation. We were all lednup the garden path by a devious and dishonest man.
    What did Bishop Mc Areavey do with Fr Rafferty? Can we be sure , as a registered sex offender , that he has no further access to children??

    ReplyDelete
  6. Totally agree Pat, the clown should resign! What sort of Bishop says he regrets saying (his words) a Mass for one of his deceased Priests over 15 years ago. I find this a totally shocking statement from Bishop McAreavy.

    ReplyDelete
  7. I dont think the Bishop should have apologised for the mass but say he has learned from the past and wants to pray for and support victims. There is also an attitude that once a mass is "said for" someone they automatically see the good side of the afterlife. This I believe is rubbish. We need to trust God's justice in the here and the hereafter

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The reason he said he regretted saying the mass was because he ment that a stuck up bishop should not be seen near a sinner and that the mass should have been said by a mere priest.
      That is the hypocrisy here Sean......a robed incense waving dramaqueen should never be seen near a sinner
      Even though the paedo priest might have repented and seen the error..A paper pointy hat wearing , long dress,highly educated should never be seen near a sinner.
      The deviant priest should just have had a curate .....


      This is what annoys people...bishops think the laity genuflect to them...sure people used get down on one knee to kiss their ring....i5 was almost like performing oral sex...or so the cloked one imagined..it gave them a thrill.

      Delete
    2. 11.13 I remember the kissing the ring bit. A Bishops mass is no more powerful than a priests. It's smoke and mirrors. Mass is an act of the community not a priestly performance. That's why Vat 2 got rid of the private altars

      Delete
  8. Useless Bishop McAreavey couldn’t be bothered to conduct a Confirmation in Rostrevor a few years ago in one of the smallest Dioceses in Ireland he sent the wounded healer (Sean Brady) instead. People were seething!! The man is a joke as Bishop.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Is this true? If so, why send such a charlatan?

      Delete
  9. McAreavey was an incredibly dull lecturer, even worse than his predecessor, Teeps. McAreavey always wore grey, which matched his personality.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Totally. He made Maynooth construct an en-suite to his room in Long Corridor when he was made Proff Canon Law. Unbelievably the Maynooth priests had shared loos well into the 1990s if they lived in Long Corridor.

      John McAreavy had no time for that type of nonsense.

      Delete
  10. Another safe pair of hands protecting the institution, no empathy or cop on, apologizing now when a bright light is being shone on him. I hope its very warm where Finnegan is!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. @9.19.
      You say "I Ihope it's very warm.. etc,
      Ah... ha... not your call, poster 9.19...definitely not your call to say such a thing!

      Delete
  11. Fr Ray Blake has posted on his blog a point by point listing of the woeful failings of Francis when it comes to handling child abuse.

    No wonder that Marie Collins said the other day that things are getting worse, not better.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Not surprising that Rev Blake would do that. It must be killing him that Francis is the Bishop of Rome.

      Delete
    2. Facts are facts irrespective of who's saying them. How do you explain away the letter Cardinal O'Malley handed to Francis? What about Marie Collins' concerns about the Commission going into abeyance?

      Delete
    3. Does your worship of Francis trump the needs of children being abused? Marie Collins is right.

      Delete
    4. Facts are facts. But it’s the selective choice of facts which is at issue. Rev Blake hasn’t yet accepted that Francis was elected under the influence of the Holy Spirit. He’s too busy promoting the liturgy repudiated by Vatican II, with his birettas, ad murum, lace, fiddle-backs, maniples etc.
      Francis isn’t perfect. But he’s the best we’ve got - by a ling shot.

      Delete
    5. Selected under the influence of Mahoney, Maradiaga, Danneels, Murphy-O'Connor. Great child protectors. LOL

      Delete
    6. Have you actually read Sacrosanctium Concillium?

      Delete
    7. Francis said it was slander. He used his full magisterial authority lol.

      Delete
    8. Magna at 21.47: Why are you using CARTAR instead of Carta? Hope you're not being bothered by the obnoxious faux magna! Now I'm totally confused. There can't be another pretender to the throne? OMG - we'll not get a word in between all 3....Magna Carta Blue, Magna Carta Black and now Magna Cartar. Pat, please free us from this afflictions.

      Delete
    9. 19:41 No. But I have read Sacrosanctum concilium.

      Delete
    10. 19:35
      If you don’t accept the election of the 2013 conclave, you are not a Roman Catholic.

      Delete
    11. There's no such thing as a Roman Catholic. Only English-speaking Protestants call us that.

      Delete
    12. What about the letter though?

      Delete
    13. 09:13
      Not quite. Herr’s the preamble to the Profession of Faith of the Council of Trent published by Pope Pius IV:

      I, N, with a firm faith believe and profess each and everything which is contained in the Creed which the Holy Roman Church makes use of.

      Delete
    14. Not quite: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_Catholic_(term)

      Delete
    15. The authority of Wikipedia! Only as good as the last editor of an entry.

      The said article is not reliable. Roman, in the Tridentine confession, refers to the whole church under Pius’ governance and not to the local church on the Tiber. QED.

      Delete
    16. The letter? I assume that you assent to the Profession of Faith of the Council of Trent. You know that it's still normative for Catholics.

      The church calls itself Roman Catholic extremely rarely. In fact it's unknown in the languages of Catholic Europe e.g. Italy, France, Spanish, Portuguese. The English-speakers invented RC as a more polite version of Papist.

      Delete
    17. What do you mean by still normative?

      Delete
  12. Leaving aside the venomous comments directed against JMcA himself, it is actually cruel and inhuman of the Codex Iuris Canonici to expect a diocesan bishop to remain in office until he is 75+ if he, and therefore all parties, would be better off, if he resigned.

    If a man has had enough it should be possible for him to take his leave with no further questions asked.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Why..we all have to work into our 70 s now
      Sure what do they do anyway
      Please tell me what a bishop does that he even needs to retire
      Dress up...and mumble

      Delete
    2. He gathers people around him to do his dirty work...Like send someone to complain to the psni about Pat

      A bishop walks around his palace..eg Treanor mansion up in the city... drinks wine..gets a big meal after confirmation with other ordained...not the people...yes I sat through this observing.

      Delete
  13. Of course John McAreavey would have advised bishop Brooks. McAreavey was a priest of Dromore and Professor of Canon Law in Maynooth from 1988 so it would be unthinkable for his bishop not to take his advice, which was presumably "do nothing".

    ReplyDelete
  14. It's why you shouldn't have priests on the staff of diocesan colleges. Every diocesan college seems to have had scandals of this kind.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. 09:31 Myopic, illogical, prejudiced, hate-filled, nonsensical, stupid and peevish comment.

      By that ‘logic’ there should be no males on the staff either. The percentage of clerical and religious abusers is the same as in the population at large. (The fact that it is more shameful is not the issue.)

      Grow up and make a useful contribution to your community by keeping it litter free.

      Delete
    2. He’s in his 70th year already and has carried the burden of leadership for almost 20 years. He deserves to be allowed to do something else.

      Because he had his tongue out for the job makes it more intolerable for him to stay on, not less.

      Delete
    3. 12:53 priests on the teaching staff have much more a position of trust. In St Michael's College, Enniskillen in the 1980s there were four resident priest teachers and about 50 lay teachers.

      Only one abuse conviction was secured, against Fr Jack McCabe. Bishop Duffy covered it all up and gave Fr McCabe a reference which helped him get a job in another school.

      So, if Frs Finnigan & McCabe had not being on the teaching staff the abuse could not have happened in their schools.

      Delete
    4. 13:07’s contribution defies logic (if [s]he is the same poster as 09:31) again.

      Here’s the logic in question:
      If 3-4% of clerical/religious abusers warrants the removal of all clerics/religious from school staffs, the 3-4% of male abusers in the population at large should lead to the removal of all males from such roles.

      If males had not been on the teaching staff could not have happened.

      Your presuppositions stink. Your conclusions reek of ignorant prejudice.

      Delete
    5. 12.53
      Tetchy...lol at grow up
      Are you a priest teacher.
      priest teachers need monitoring.
      Sorry, but it how I feel.
      Most male teachers are married and are aware of how to behave with children....no touching ....schools should be integrated anyways.
      Concerned mum

      Delete
    6. In the Enniskillen example provided it would appear that the conviction rates among the staff were as follows:

      priest teachers: 25% convicted

      lay teachers: 0% convicted

      Delete
    7. 14:12, 14:19 More peddling of fake information.
      What has being married got to do with it? The vast majority of abusers are family members of the victim including married fathers, married grandfathers, married uncles and married brothers.

      The stupidity of generalising from one abuser in one situation is obvious. All it takes to counter it is to select one example of one lay person who abused.

      Delete
    8. The vast majority of abusers in diocesan colleges were priests. In fact I cannot think of any lay convictions in such places. That's why there should be no priests in them.

      Delete
    9. The vast majority of abusers in diocesan colleges were priests. In fact I cannot think of any lay convictions in such places. That's why there should be no priests in them.

      Delete
    10. Frustration.

      Delete
    11. 15:46, 15:48 Statistics have to be more than just what you feel.
      An ignorant conclusion. You’ve contributed nothing to the discussion except to perpetuate a misconception that’s already popular.

      By your skewed focus you are allowing the real perpetrators to avoid detection. And you have stupidly villified many good people.

      Delete
    12. Using words like stupidly and ignorant wont wash with those of us who are concerned about our children.
      Celibate men can get frustrated...teaching requires well balanced mindsets.i wd say that Pat has a more fulfilled life since marriage...same as a man with a woman partner.

      Delete
    13. If, as you claim, you are concerned about children’s welfare, you would do well to inform yourself of where, statistically, the danger lies. You and they would be far better off and they would be safer.
      Instead you villify a whole cohort of people in an ignorant and stupid manner. Grow up and act your age.

      Delete
    14. 18.21: The primary and secondary schools I went to were staffed entirely by lay people and I can assure you that the physical and emotional abuse at times were horrendous. (They were all married). And what about the horrendous catalogue of abuse carried out by people closest to children...family members, relatives, neighbours etc....All abuse, whoever the perpetrator may be, is reprehensible and repugnant. Thank God my experiences of priests and religious are all positive.

      Delete
    15. When you use words like ignorant and stupid 19.25
      I know you are in trouble.
      Why not try being nice to posters and use more compassionate and empathic words.
      It will help to heal your soul...honestly it will.
      Try it

      Delete
    16. 19 .25
      There you go again
      ‘’Grow up and act your age ‘’ isn’t a reply that is conducive to good debate
      Just saying.

      Delete
    17. 18.21
      I hope you reported the abuse.
      It is never too late..
      I don’t have any personal experience of abuse praise the Lord.
      I had nuns at primary and at grammar..
      Never really had any truck with priests.
      But I do remember a bishop being ever so lofty and unapproachable.
      Think his name was Farren a Derry bishop.
      The nuns were scared stiff of him, judging by the way they behaved when he was present at any school function

      Delete
    18. The nuns should have treated that bishop with ordinary courtesy but should certainly not have been "scared stiff" of him to use your phrase..In a sense, they made a choice to allow his appearance in the school to elicit feelings of fear and inferiority. They could have decided otherwise!
      (Believe me, that's a wonderful moment when that truth dawns on you!)

      Delete
  15. How are ye today girls?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I’m feeling very fit ..as an over 75 granny.
      I think you think that everyone who posts here is a gay person
      How wrong you are.
      Some of us have wonderful fulfilled lives, we don’t need to think about sex all day..everyday.

      Delete
    2. so gay people don't live wonderful fulfilled lives? and they think about sex all day..everyday?

      In addition to your wonderful fulfilled life your also very deluded and shallow!

      Delete
    3. Me too - - we're actually planning on having a girls' night in tonight although we usually hit the town until late on a Saturday night. It's always different but tonight the agenda is to paint your nails, enjoy mugs of tea and homemade pancakes and then watch Pride and Prejudice! Maybe a vino later for anyone who wants...

      Delete
    4. 18.14
      I always know when a poster types words like deluded and shallow...that their lives are anything but fulfilled.
      I never use denigrating words to others especially in a post on a blog.

      Delete
    5. Wey-hey! Go girls go!

      Delete
  16. Dromore's another micro diocese that should be merged with a neighbouring one. It has only 22 parishes.

    ReplyDelete
  17. I always try to be fair and balanced. But looking at the facts here, not conjecture, and the timings involved I’m afraid that the bishop comes out of this sordid mess smelling of shite.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. He should shit and quit.

      https://media3.giphy.com/media/3ayyJHZsPQqjK/giphy.gif

      Delete
    2. @12.46 He will be smelling of more than shite when the BBC programme is finished with him.

      Delete
    3. Why are people in the Republic of Ireland so fond of that crude word "sh***e"?
      I keep hearing it and reading it down here.

      Delete
    4. I think it's the same poster every time. Frankie is fond of the word too, to be fair.

      Delete
    5. Francis used a cognate in a scientific context once to very great effect when he needed to call a spade a spade.
      That you still remember it shows just how effective a communicator he is.

      Delete
    6. It just shows how scandalised I was. Francis is notorious in the Vatican for foul-mouthed temper tantrums.

      Delete
    7. Great communicator? Lol. Have you ever tried reading his long, meandering and prolix documents. And if he's so good why have the numbers at the General Audience collapsed?

      Delete
    8. 12:33
      For the same reason when he asked his fellow Argentinians to stay at home instead of travelling to Rome for his inauguration - and to make a donation to the poor.

      Delete
    9. In this age of technology The Vatican website provides almost instantaneous texts and translations of his addresses.

      Delete
    10. 12:33 that's the best excuse yet. The Rome tourism numbers haven't fallen. Do you realise that the decline in South America has declined under your idol's watch? Chile, where the crowds were sparse, is the second nation in the region where Catholics are in a minority (after Uruguay). Argentina to follow.

      Centuries of Catholic evangelization undone in a generation. Same with Ireland. Good old Vatican II. Francis is its death rattle.

      Delete
    11. Of course the tourism numbers haven’t fallen. If Francis were a museum exhibit the bums on seats at the audiences and the bodies in the Piazza would be keeping up. Sure.

      You just continue to read Rev Blake to ensure the survival and flourishing of your levels of faith, hope and charity.

      Delete
    12. Re 12:30
      Being scandalised can sometimes lead to enlightenment.
      Jesus’ hearers were likely scandalised by the action of the shepherd’s abandoning 99 sheep.

      Francis made the perfect call. Your covert slander about his alleged temper tantrums is actually more violent than the Holy Father exploding occasionally. God knows with people like you around he’s entitled to.

      Delete
    13. Arlene's "statistics" are made up and complete nonsense.
      Stop making up lies, woman! There's enough of that.

      Delete
    14. Yes, 00:06 the statistics were made up. The church in Europe is finished, its declining rapidly in Latin America and Africa will be next, squeezed by Islam and Pentcostalism. Good old spirit of Vatican II.

      http://www.catholicherald.co.uk/issues/january-26th-2018/is-latin-america-still-catholic/

      Delete
  18. Is it Ironic that Bishop McAreaveys Palace is within the grounds of St Colmans College where Finnegan abused children?

    ReplyDelete
  19. I heard today parishioners in a Parish in Banbridge don’t want this idiot at Confirmation after the BBC news. The BBC Spotlight programme about him Is going to be very damning, he should just get out now but his arrogance leaves him in his job.

    ReplyDelete
  20. According to the Kingscourt bulletin there are two places left for the pilgrimage to the Holy Land. It also says that there will be a chance to have a 'dip in the sea'. It is run by Sr Consilio Rock, Fr Gerry McCormack and Fr Dwayne Gavin. Pat would you not go with them? Maybe Pat Relihan might go too?

    ReplyDelete
  21. I agree with 12.12. Dromore is a micro diocese. I have a simple solution. Retire McAreavy, amalgamate Dromore into Down and Connor, appoint Treanor to look after Nth Ireland’s ecclesiastical interests in Europe post Brexit and appoint a good,strong,authoritarian prelate to govern the new enlarged diocese. Could I suggest the Rev Timothy Bartlett.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Authoritarian is a derogatory term. Authoritative a positive one.

      Delete
    2. Believe me you are not the first to suggest Tim Bartlett for the next Irish Sede Vacante. The Congregation for Bishops is sore sick of hearing that name.

      Delete
    3. The Christian Brothers (e.g. Tim) taught me that important distinction.

      Delete
    4. No Treanor or Bartlett in Dromore please, we have enough problems.

      Delete
  22. An interesting article in today's Irish Times concerning the Papal Nuncio and Pope Francis.

    Though I would imagine that many people who read this blog may not be interested in it.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. No, they'd be more interested in hearing about The Irish College from years ago. Might you be going with Sr Consilio to the holy Land? With Fr Dwayne and Fr Gerry? What has the Papal Nuncio and the Pope to say about recent revelations from The Irish College?
      Oh, Pat, please don't bore the nuts off us with that new Papal Nuncio and the Pope. Will you give us a bit of Gossip. It'll be Sunday. We need a bit of titillation. All those Sunday roasts when some of us go dining with old classmates. We need something to talk about.

      Delete
    2. How is the article 'interesting'? Give us a clue or two.

      Delete
    3. Thr poster @ 18.17 said HE/SHE found the article interesting.
      They don't have to count for the interests of other people.

      Delete
  23. When are you back Pat? Hate thinking there'll be no Maynooth news until your back

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. All quiet in Maynooth. All the problems have been sorted now that they have communal Rosary and the formation team slums it by leaving the Pros ref and joining the lads in Pugin Hall. Nothing to see, move along.

      Delete
    2. I hope your holiday Pat was a good one.
      Safe journey home to you and your family.

      Delete
    3. Communal Rosary? A jerk circle with that lot.

      Delete
  24. If bishop McAreavy decides to tough it out in the wake of the forthcoming BBC expose will the Province of Armagh be in the unique position of being blessed with two wounded healers?

    ReplyDelete
  25. Isn’t it funny how the once Very Reverened Malachy Finnegan has suddenly been reduced to plain old Malachy Finnegan. Where has the “ today thou art a priest forever’ baloney gone. Lol

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Most people don’t bother with ‘very reverent’ theses days
      I hear the word Frankie often..it seems a common reference to the holy one nowadays.

      Delete
    2. Isn’t it awful that some parents still use boarding schools.

      Delete
    3. I have absolutely no problem at all in giving the pope his proper name, Pope Francis, none whatsoever . I treat everyone with respect. If you call the pope Frankie, that doesn't say a single thing about the pope, nothing whatsoever but on the contrary it says a lot about you.

      Delete
    4. Sometimes boarding school is the preferred option if the parents are in the Forces abroad or in a job which causes them to have to constantly up sticks and move to a different part of the country or the world. The child actually prefers the stability of keeping the same school friends and teachers whom he has come to know instead of having to make a fresh start yet again. It suits some people in certain situations but day school with a home life should be the norm wherever possible..

      Delete
    5. 22..56
      Of course it says about me.
      I don’t give a shit about titles
      Very rev indeed.....

      Delete
    6. We don’t have much problem with the forces in ni
      So no need for boarding schools

      Delete
    7. We don't need so many boarding schools in N Ireland - - that's correct, though the very good ones that we have, such as Victoria College and Campbell College have pupils mixing happily together from many different countries all over the world . They also have day pupils of course and thst is preferable unless there is a reason.....

      Delete
  26. Readers should be reminded that when another Dromore priest Fr Terry Rafferty was convicted of the sexual abuse of a 16 year old girl his actions were described as ‘a betrayal of sacred trust’ by the then VG, Monsignor Aiden Hamill.
    Now, there you have it.
    More ecclesiastical shitewash.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. where is Terry Rafferty now.?
      Never heard of him
      Was his behaviour covered up?
      Was it in the papers?

      Delete
    2. Google him. He's disappeared, not even c/o bishop's house.

      Delete
    3. 00.36 NOYB
      are you serious ?
      You do know that Rafferty is a convicted sex offender - a man who is now on the sex offenders register , a man with a sexual prevention order that disqualifies him from working with children or vulnerable adults .
      And then we have people like you who don’t believe that we as a community and transparent society , do not have the right to know his whereabouts.
      I think protection of children and community awareness will be more important than your support for a convicted priest

      Delete
    4. Of course I know all that, poster 18.36 but it's not your business to deal with this case. Others are already doing that and don't feel obliged to make a song and dance about it..

      Delete
  27. 18:21 Celibate men can get frustrated. Really? You deserve to be a candidate for the next Nobel Prize for science.

    What are you saying? That frustrated celibate adults take out their frustrations on children?
    That married men and women don’t get frustrated?

    A sequence of non sequiturs!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It’s not illogical to believe that celibate men suffer from frustration.
      Their lives are an abnormal way of being.

      Delete
    2. I think your use of clerical Latin there shows you up.
      And big kudos for your Nobel Prize comments.
      Brilliant reply...Not

      Delete
    3. That wasn't "clerical Latin",silly boy!

      Delete
    4. 22.59
      Told you there was no need for derogatory words typed to others.
      I’m not a boy either, I’m the 75 year old granny
      It is a Latin word

      I ment that you the poster is prob clerical

      Delete
  28. I assume +McAreavy's statement is a damage limitation exercise before the upcoming Spotlight programme. Will he still be the Bishop of Dromore this time next week? I wonder.

    ReplyDelete
  29. Monsignor Aidan Hamill of Lurgan VG - we know all about him. McAreavey put all his trust in such a man!!!!. Imagine trusting such a person - Dromore isn’t having a good time of late. McAreavey has made major bad decisions and they are coming back to haunt him. All to be revealed on Tuesday night BBC1. McAreavey getting ready to step down after more scandal being uncovered.

    ReplyDelete
  30. What about Aiden Hamill ?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I’ve just read about Aidan Hamill...omg
      This mans victim has never come forward...yet...is that the case.?
      And could there be other victims
      Did Aidan ever teach....?????

      Delete
    2. Where is Aidan Hamill...will he feature on Spotlight.
      What a rotten places these Rc Catholic parishes are .
      How many more abusing acting priests are there out there.
      I thought all this abusing had stopped.
      The coverups certainly hasn’t.

      Delete
  31. Bishop regrets funeral my arse, he's more inclined to say that the church is for sinners.
    But of course he's wrong there too.

    ReplyDelete
  32. Some of you were asking about a Terry Rafferty

    http://clericalwhispers.blogspot.co.uk/2013/02/fury-as-priest-guilty-of-abusing.html?m=1

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you 00.21....that’s the first I knew about him.

      Delete
    2. Says, after pleading guilty, the 50-year-old priest, Fr Terrence 'Gerry' Rafferty, was sentenced to 100 hours’ community service and a three-year probation order and banned from working with children or vulnerable adults for 10 years. Apparently, he admitted "engaging in heavy fondling" but denied the relationship became sexual prior to the girl turning 17, the then legal age of consent.

      Seems a heavy sentence when you consider much of Keith O'Brien's alleged misconduct with young men must have taken place below the legal age of consent, 21 at the time.

      Delete
    3. @04.02
      That's an outrageous claim. It's actually libelous. Put your name to it and see what happens.

      Delete
    4. What a pathetic and disturbing response -
      The girl was a child .... under the sexual age of consent. A child ! No other justification - the law is clear. Rafferty would have known this - especially in his role of chair of governors of both a primary and girls secondary school.
      An abuse of trust and a sexual offender. .
      A priest , in position of authority , who has already pleaded guilty to sex offences with a minor, and yet morons like you suggest the judge gave him harsh treatment.
      Honestly ,with that mindset ; we need to protect our children from morons like you - as well as priests and bishops.

      Delete
    5. WHAT claim is outrageous?
      Rafferty or O Brien?
      One is a matter of public record and the offences have been pleaded guilty to.

      Delete
  33. Of coursc the Church welcomes sinners, Big Hank.!
    (Parables of the Lost Sheep and the Lost Coin and the Prodigal Son etc) Also ask yourself--What was the reason for the Crucifixion?)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The church is a place for repenters not to house sinners, not to house the evil its full off.

      Delete
    2. The Church has an open door warm welcome for repentant sinners in the Sacrament of Reconciliation .

      Delete
  34. Part of this context is the contemporary misconception of a Requiem Mass. its main purpose is to ask God’s mercy and forgiveness on the person who has died. It’s not a canonization.
    It’s not strange that a priest who has died should have his community gather to pray for him.
    John McAreavey should have known this and not contributed to the canonization mentality by apologizing for presiding at Mass.

    When he was travelling around the country selling the new Mass translation, which has now been shown to have been based on deficient principles, he showed where his loyalty lay.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I find the concept and thinking behind mass/prayers for the dead intriguing. If one subscribes to and follows orthodox Christian thinking, on death, one's "lot is cast, so, with destiny determined, the deceased's "soul" either 'heads for heaven', is hoisted to hell, or 'hangs about' for a temporary purgatorial purging.
      So what exactly are the prayers/mass supposed to achieve since predestination is a no no?
      Is it more a respectful tribute by wellwishers than any effective aid to the deceased?
      I'm all for the rites of passage element in wakes but struggle with the rationale of much of the funeral rigmarole. And don't mention mass cards!
      MMM

      Delete
    2. I find the statement by Mc Areavy regarding presiding over a funeral for a known sinner abhorrent.



      Did he think that bishops above praying for sinners ?
      Isn’t he Mc Areavy a servant of god ?
      I do hope that he will clarify this and apologise to his people.
      Where did he say mass today.?
      Did the people just sit there like lambs ?

      Delete
  35. Well 01:30 that’s another fact you have got wrong just like your blinkered view above casting aspersions on an entire category of innicent people.

    Granny or not you haven’t much to show for your age in the line of wisdom about life.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I repeat
      It is not illogical to believe that celibate can suffer from frustration.
      Their lives are an abnormal way of being.

      Delete
    2. Dear granny, anyone can.

      Delete
    3. And dear granny, your conclusion the sexual frustration would lead celibate adults to abuse children is outrageous prejudice and yes ignorant stupidity.

      Delete
    4. Reoly to the "Granny" comment... Not a lot, except courtesy and good manners. Not everyone has claim to that..

      Delete
    5. Reoly to the "Granny" comment... Not a lot, except courtesy and good manners. Not everyone has claim to that..

      Delete
    6. There’s nothing courteous or good-mannered about your blithe blackening of a cohort of innocent people.

      It’s delusional not to make the connection between your self awareness and your actions here.

      Delete
  36. 10:15
    And not only his loyalty but also his ambition. Those were the days before Eamon Martin was appointed to Armagh. Not that JMcA had a snowball’s chance in hell at that stage.

    ReplyDelete
  37. Has he appeared in public today, or has he gone into hiding? I wonder.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Maybe up at the Giant's Ring. Who knows.

      Delete
  38. Have just read catholic whisper blog on Terry Rafferty- disgusted !!

    ReplyDelete
  39. Apparently, he temporarily stepped aside in 2012 citing (understandably) the loss of his mother and later his niece in very tragic circumstances. However, at the time, the bishop said that the controversy over child protection did not have a bearing on his decision to take a sabbatical. Monsignor Aidan 'Ada' Hamill, Vicar-General of the diocese, administered Dromore during Bishop McAreavey's absence.

    ReplyDelete
  40. Finnnegan, Rafferty,Hamill
    How many more covered up.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Presumably, we may find out on Tuesday after Spotlight.

      Delete
  41. Pat,
    We have someone posting at 04.12
    Who is equating the sexual abuse of a child by Terry Rafferty to sexual misconduct by Keith O Brien and seminarians and young priests. One was criminal and involved a prosecution.
    We need you to put this poster in their place by responding. How can we ever get through this mess of clerical abuse with people making those parallels?

    ReplyDelete
  42. Pancake Tuesday is here.

    ReplyDelete