The 4 Irish Priests, below, Raped over a 1,000 Children.
Pedophile Father Eugene Greene
Father Eugene Greene, who was sentenced in 1999 to 12 years in prison for Raping 26 boys between 1965 and 1982 in Co Donegal, Ireland. Nearly all the victims were altar boys. Fr. Greene pleaded guilty to 40 charges of indecent assault, buggery and gross indecency out of a total of 108 criminal charges. Father Eugene Greene was not dismissed from the Clerical State until November 2004. Fr. Eugene Greene, was one of Ireland’s most notorious pedophile. Most of the altar boys were 8 years of age.
What was sad was, in spite of his admitted guilt of the rape of hundreds of children, the parishioners in County Donegal, collected money for Fr. Green. It’s incomprehensible that people in the Raphoe area of Donegal would raise money for a man who has caused such devastation to human lives, raping hundreds of their children, what on earth were they thinking about.
From 1965 to 1975, Father Eugene Greene served with the Kiltegan Fathers in Nigeria, where by all reports he raped over a hundred local boys over a ten year period. Father Eugene Greene returned to Ireland in 1965, he was a curate in Gweedore, a parish located on the Atlantic Coast of County Donegal. After this Fr. Green served in served in Killybegs, Lettermacaward, Gorthahork, Glenties, Kilmacrennan and Annagry, all in Donegal. In Gortathork, he sexually raped 16 boys between 1976 and 1981, though the locals say that the number of boys is much, much higher.
What is more shocking is Not a single piece of paper existed in Raphoe Diocese, Donegal records on allegations going back 30 years, even though complaints had been made against him by parents of the children raped. Fr. Greene would groom his victims, many just eight years old, by offering them drinks and cigarettes. Fr. Green raped many of the eight year old boys in this parochial house. Many of the locals said- “ a holy Priest can never do that'."
There was uproar from Rape Survivors across the country of Ireland when it emerged that former parishioners in Donegal, had collected over €50,000 for Fr. Eugene Greene, a convicted pedophile. Voices of the Faithful, a support group, said the scale of donations to Fr. Greene indicated a "most serious state of denial of the most horrific crimes in Donegal, the rape of hundreds of children”.
Retired Garda Martin Ridge said on the BBC Spotlight programme- the investigation, into Fr Greene’s activities:
“I don’t believe a week went by in West Donegal where you hadn’t a child or a number of children sexually raped . It’s horrendous. Anywhere you look around here which is so hard to fathom: by-roads, side roads, churches, schools – the rape here was something unbelievable, unbelievable. And the fact that nobody in the public spoke out about this after the total carnage here.”
And something else, the local Bishop Dr Philip Boyce, the Bishop of Raphoe in Donegal at the time, was told in 1995 about the numerous complaints against Fr Eugene Greene from Annagry in Co Donegal. However, Fr Greene remained in active ministry until 1998, many senior Priests and Bishops were informed of the volume of complaints against Fr Greene on many occasions dating back to 1971, but the complaints were never recorded in the diocesan files.
Fr. Green was originally charged with more than 100 counts of sexual assault, mainly against altar boys who said they were subjected to repeated Rapes. The Bishop, Dr Philip Boyce said he done his own investigations and his subsequent inquiries found no complaints or records of complaints against his Priest, Fr. Eugene Green. That is stunning, the Irish Catholic Church failed to Act again, but to us Survivors, that is not a surprise.
Father Eugene Greene, who was sentenced in 1999 to 12 years in prison for Raping 26 boys between 1965 and 1982 in Co Donegal, Ireland. Nearly all the victims were altar boys. Fr. Greene pleaded guilty to 40 charges of indecent assault, buggery and gross indecency out of a total of 108 criminal charges. Father Eugene Greene was not dismissed from the Clerical State until November 2004. Fr. Eugene Greene, was one of Ireland’s most notorious pedophile. Most of the altar boys were 8 years of age.
What was sad was, in spite of his admitted guilt of the rape of hundreds of children, the parishioners in County Donegal, collected money for Fr. Green. It’s incomprehensible that people in the Raphoe area of Donegal would raise money for a man who has caused such devastation to human lives, raping hundreds of their children, what on earth were they thinking about.
From 1965 to 1975, Father Eugene Greene served with the Kiltegan Fathers in Nigeria, where by all reports he raped over a hundred local boys over a ten year period. Father Eugene Greene returned to Ireland in 1965, he was a curate in Gweedore, a parish located on the Atlantic Coast of County Donegal. After this Fr. Green served in served in Killybegs, Lettermacaward, Gorthahork, Glenties, Kilmacrennan and Annagry, all in Donegal. In Gortathork, he sexually raped 16 boys between 1976 and 1981, though the locals say that the number of boys is much, much higher.
What is more shocking is Not a single piece of paper existed in Raphoe Diocese, Donegal records on allegations going back 30 years, even though complaints had been made against him by parents of the children raped. Fr. Greene would groom his victims, many just eight years old, by offering them drinks and cigarettes. Fr. Green raped many of the eight year old boys in this parochial house. Many of the locals said- “ a holy Priest can never do that'."
There was uproar from Rape Survivors across the country of Ireland when it emerged that former parishioners in Donegal, had collected over €50,000 for Fr. Eugene Greene, a convicted pedophile. Voices of the Faithful, a support group, said the scale of donations to Fr. Greene indicated a "most serious state of denial of the most horrific crimes in Donegal, the rape of hundreds of children”.
Retired Garda Martin Ridge said on the BBC Spotlight programme- the investigation, into Fr Greene’s activities:
“I don’t believe a week went by in West Donegal where you hadn’t a child or a number of children sexually raped . It’s horrendous. Anywhere you look around here which is so hard to fathom: by-roads, side roads, churches, schools – the rape here was something unbelievable, unbelievable. And the fact that nobody in the public spoke out about this after the total carnage here.”
And something else, the local Bishop Dr Philip Boyce, the Bishop of Raphoe in Donegal at the time, was told in 1995 about the numerous complaints against Fr Eugene Greene from Annagry in Co Donegal. However, Fr Greene remained in active ministry until 1998, many senior Priests and Bishops were informed of the volume of complaints against Fr Greene on many occasions dating back to 1971, but the complaints were never recorded in the diocesan files.
Fr. Green was originally charged with more than 100 counts of sexual assault, mainly against altar boys who said they were subjected to repeated Rapes. The Bishop, Dr Philip Boyce said he done his own investigations and his subsequent inquiries found no complaints or records of complaints against his Priest, Fr. Eugene Green. That is stunning, the Irish Catholic Church failed to Act again, but to us Survivors, that is not a surprise.
Pedophile Father Seán Fortune
Father Seán Fortune was an Irish Catholic Priest who was accused of hundreds of rapes of Boys in the South East of Ireland. He used his position as a local Priest to gain access to the boys, before raping them. He raped 29 different boys, in County Wexford. Fr. Fortune was never tried, and committed suicide before any charges were proved against him. The first reports of his rapes against boys was during his training as a Priest, when he was just 16 years of age. The Diocesan authorities had knowledge of these complaints before his ordination, but didn’t or refused to act.
Fr. Seán Fortune ministered in the village of Fethard-on-Sea in County Wexford, in Belfast and in Dundalk. Allegations of Rape were made against him in all three, Fr. Fortune worked in. Fr. Seán Fortune also set up a business in Dublin which offered media and journalism training to the public.
In March 1999, Fr. Seán Fortune committed suicide in New Ross, in County Wexford, while awaiting trial on 66 charges of sexual Rape against 29 boys. Fr. Seán Fortune had taken a lethal cocktail of drugs and alcohol and was found dead in bed by his housekeeper. He was 45. He had been remanded in custody pending trial but had been released days earlier. Sadly some of his victims have since committed suicide.
The rot started at the very top of the Irish Catholic Church with the local Bishop Brendan Comiskey- “By his failure to act, children were left open to be raped by Fr. Seán Fortune." One 15-year-old boy was brutally raped by Fortune the year after he returned from London, the boy had been sent there by Bishop Comiskey for “treatment" of his rape by Fr. Seán Fortune. Most local Priest knew at the time of the activities of Fr. Seán Fortune, yet did nothing to stop him. The allegations of rape on local boys by Fr. Seán Fortune date back as far as 1976. It's the old-boy's network; they, the Clerics don't ditch on their own."
The Irish Catholic Church knew about the rapes of children by Fr. Fortune, but made no attempt to remove Fr Fortune from his position as a local Priest and his interactions with the local children. The local Bishop, Comiskey never notified the Irish Police, in spite of the fact they he, Bishop Comiskey knew of dozens of local boys raped by Fr. Fortune. The truth is we will never know the true number of boys his prolific Pedophile Priest raped throughout his career as a Catholic Priest, but it probably runs into the hundreds.
What is extraordinary is that over 160 local people gathered in St Patrick's Church in Gorey, in Wexford for the requiem Mass for Pedophile Father Sean Fortune. The Mass was concelebrated by Canon John Gahan, Father Lar O'Connor and Father Hugh Byrne. Bishop Brendan Comiskey, asked the congregation to believe in the mercy of God. Fr. Fortune as a young Priest in Belfast in Northern Ireland was effectively run out of the Boy Scouts for the Rape and attempted rapes of some of the boys. The modus operandi of the Pedophile Father Sean Fortune is broadly similar to what went on all around Ireland by the Catholic Priests. The Irish Catholic Church is like any institution, the desire to protect the institution from scandal apparently superseded all.
A suicide note left by Fr Sean Fortune at the time was never disclosed to the Irish Police or the public, but instead, it was destroyed by a fellow Catholic Priest who feared the suicide letter was a deliberate attempt to destroy the local Bishop, Brendan Comiskey. The sick Fr Fortune, claimed in the suicide letter that he was innocent of all the allegations against him and that he himself had been raped by Bishop Comiskey. "Fr Sean Fortune claimed that Bishop Comiskey was 'responsible for all this as he had raped and buggered me’ The Bishop described the contents of the suicide letter as "absolutely grotesque" and a fabrication of lies. It was the Housekeeper who found the suicide letter in Fr Sean Fortune bedroom on the day his body was discovered. She gave the suicide letter to the local curate, Fr Gerald O'Leary, who stored the note in a safe before later burning it. That is a great cover-up by the local curate, Fr Gerald O’Leary.
We need to read the https://thedublinreview.com/article/on-the-ferns-report/
Father Seán Fortune was an Irish Catholic Priest who was accused of hundreds of rapes of Boys in the South East of Ireland. He used his position as a local Priest to gain access to the boys, before raping them. He raped 29 different boys, in County Wexford. Fr. Fortune was never tried, and committed suicide before any charges were proved against him. The first reports of his rapes against boys was during his training as a Priest, when he was just 16 years of age. The Diocesan authorities had knowledge of these complaints before his ordination, but didn’t or refused to act.
Fr. Seán Fortune ministered in the village of Fethard-on-Sea in County Wexford, in Belfast and in Dundalk. Allegations of Rape were made against him in all three, Fr. Fortune worked in. Fr. Seán Fortune also set up a business in Dublin which offered media and journalism training to the public.
In March 1999, Fr. Seán Fortune committed suicide in New Ross, in County Wexford, while awaiting trial on 66 charges of sexual Rape against 29 boys. Fr. Seán Fortune had taken a lethal cocktail of drugs and alcohol and was found dead in bed by his housekeeper. He was 45. He had been remanded in custody pending trial but had been released days earlier. Sadly some of his victims have since committed suicide.
The rot started at the very top of the Irish Catholic Church with the local Bishop Brendan Comiskey- “By his failure to act, children were left open to be raped by Fr. Seán Fortune." One 15-year-old boy was brutally raped by Fortune the year after he returned from London, the boy had been sent there by Bishop Comiskey for “treatment" of his rape by Fr. Seán Fortune. Most local Priest knew at the time of the activities of Fr. Seán Fortune, yet did nothing to stop him. The allegations of rape on local boys by Fr. Seán Fortune date back as far as 1976. It's the old-boy's network; they, the Clerics don't ditch on their own."
The Irish Catholic Church knew about the rapes of children by Fr. Fortune, but made no attempt to remove Fr Fortune from his position as a local Priest and his interactions with the local children. The local Bishop, Comiskey never notified the Irish Police, in spite of the fact they he, Bishop Comiskey knew of dozens of local boys raped by Fr. Fortune. The truth is we will never know the true number of boys his prolific Pedophile Priest raped throughout his career as a Catholic Priest, but it probably runs into the hundreds.
What is extraordinary is that over 160 local people gathered in St Patrick's Church in Gorey, in Wexford for the requiem Mass for Pedophile Father Sean Fortune. The Mass was concelebrated by Canon John Gahan, Father Lar O'Connor and Father Hugh Byrne. Bishop Brendan Comiskey, asked the congregation to believe in the mercy of God. Fr. Fortune as a young Priest in Belfast in Northern Ireland was effectively run out of the Boy Scouts for the Rape and attempted rapes of some of the boys. The modus operandi of the Pedophile Father Sean Fortune is broadly similar to what went on all around Ireland by the Catholic Priests. The Irish Catholic Church is like any institution, the desire to protect the institution from scandal apparently superseded all.
A suicide note left by Fr Sean Fortune at the time was never disclosed to the Irish Police or the public, but instead, it was destroyed by a fellow Catholic Priest who feared the suicide letter was a deliberate attempt to destroy the local Bishop, Brendan Comiskey. The sick Fr Fortune, claimed in the suicide letter that he was innocent of all the allegations against him and that he himself had been raped by Bishop Comiskey. "Fr Sean Fortune claimed that Bishop Comiskey was 'responsible for all this as he had raped and buggered me’ The Bishop described the contents of the suicide letter as "absolutely grotesque" and a fabrication of lies. It was the Housekeeper who found the suicide letter in Fr Sean Fortune bedroom on the day his body was discovered. She gave the suicide letter to the local curate, Fr Gerald O'Leary, who stored the note in a safe before later burning it. That is a great cover-up by the local curate, Fr Gerald O’Leary.
We need to read the https://thedublinreview.com/article/on-the-ferns-report/
Pedophile Father Brendan Smyth.
Father Brendan Smyth was a Catholic Priest from Belfast, Northern Ireland, who became notorious as a child rapist. Using his position as a Catholic Priest to obtain access to children, over a period of over 40 years. Father Brendan Smyth Smyth sexually raped at least 500 children in Parishes in Belfast, Northern Ireland, Dublin and the United States, though many say the number is much higher, than 500 children. His rapes were frequently hidden, but known to the Police, North and South of the Irish Border and by Roman Catholic Church Officials. Controversy surrounding his case contributed to the downfall of the Irish Government in December 1994.
Fr. Smyth’s first conviction followed the reporting to police of his Rape of four Brothers in Belfast’s Falls Road. After his arrest in 1991, he fled to the Republic of Ireland, where he spent the next three years on the run, hiding mostly at Kilnacrott Abbey in Ballyjamesduff, County Cavan. The home of his Priesthood, The Norbertine Priests. It was The Norbertine Priests, mishandling of the rape case, and negligence and its failure to tell others of Fr. Smyth’s sex crimes against children, thus enabling Fr. Smyth to sexually Rape hundreds of more children for the next 40 years. The Norbertine Priests were well aware of Fr. Smyth’s sex crimes of rape of children as early as 1970s, but they The Norbertine Priests never acted.
Instead Fr. Smyth was moved from Parish to Parish and between Dioceses and Countries whenever credible allegations were made. In some cases, the Order did not inform the Diocesan Bishop that Fr. Smyth had a history of the RAPE of Children and should be kept away from children. He raped children in Parishes in Rhode Island and North Dakota in America and at one time worked inBoston is Massachusetts, where he again rape more Children. Again Fr. Smyth was sent to Wales and Italy and continued to rape even more Children. Cardinal Seán Brady of Roman Catholic Archbishop of Armagh, Ireland said- he "did not have the authority" to turn Fr. Smyth in, considering that Fr. Smyth raped hundreds of Children. The Abbot of Smyth’s Religious Order, The Norbertine Priests said he didn’t know that pedophile was a crime, what he really is saying is that the rape of children was is not a crime.
The notorious Pedophile Priest Brendan Smyth admitted to having raped more than 500 children. In his own words, which during a hearing of the Historical Institutional Abuse Inquiry, Fr. Smyth told a doctor in 1994: "Over the years of religious life it could be that I have sexually Raped between hundreds of children. The inquiry heard that Smyth received psychiatric treatment many times during his time in the priesthood. Fr. Smyth was convicted of more than 100 indecent Rapes against children across Ireland, offences which took place over a 40-year period. He died in prison in 1997 after a heart attack. Fr. Brendan Smyth would prey on Children as young as eight years of age, and the Irish Catholic Church knew, but never stopped him. The Countries he worked as a Catholic Priest and Raped children in were -
Northern Ireland
The Republic of Ireland
Wales
America
Italy
Father Brendan Smyth was a Catholic Priest from Belfast, Northern Ireland, who became notorious as a child rapist. Using his position as a Catholic Priest to obtain access to children, over a period of over 40 years. Father Brendan Smyth Smyth sexually raped at least 500 children in Parishes in Belfast, Northern Ireland, Dublin and the United States, though many say the number is much higher, than 500 children. His rapes were frequently hidden, but known to the Police, North and South of the Irish Border and by Roman Catholic Church Officials. Controversy surrounding his case contributed to the downfall of the Irish Government in December 1994.
Fr. Smyth’s first conviction followed the reporting to police of his Rape of four Brothers in Belfast’s Falls Road. After his arrest in 1991, he fled to the Republic of Ireland, where he spent the next three years on the run, hiding mostly at Kilnacrott Abbey in Ballyjamesduff, County Cavan. The home of his Priesthood, The Norbertine Priests. It was The Norbertine Priests, mishandling of the rape case, and negligence and its failure to tell others of Fr. Smyth’s sex crimes against children, thus enabling Fr. Smyth to sexually Rape hundreds of more children for the next 40 years. The Norbertine Priests were well aware of Fr. Smyth’s sex crimes of rape of children as early as 1970s, but they The Norbertine Priests never acted.
Instead Fr. Smyth was moved from Parish to Parish and between Dioceses and Countries whenever credible allegations were made. In some cases, the Order did not inform the Diocesan Bishop that Fr. Smyth had a history of the RAPE of Children and should be kept away from children. He raped children in Parishes in Rhode Island and North Dakota in America and at one time worked inBoston is Massachusetts, where he again rape more Children. Again Fr. Smyth was sent to Wales and Italy and continued to rape even more Children. Cardinal Seán Brady of Roman Catholic Archbishop of Armagh, Ireland said- he "did not have the authority" to turn Fr. Smyth in, considering that Fr. Smyth raped hundreds of Children. The Abbot of Smyth’s Religious Order, The Norbertine Priests said he didn’t know that pedophile was a crime, what he really is saying is that the rape of children was is not a crime.
The notorious Pedophile Priest Brendan Smyth admitted to having raped more than 500 children. In his own words, which during a hearing of the Historical Institutional Abuse Inquiry, Fr. Smyth told a doctor in 1994: "Over the years of religious life it could be that I have sexually Raped between hundreds of children. The inquiry heard that Smyth received psychiatric treatment many times during his time in the priesthood. Fr. Smyth was convicted of more than 100 indecent Rapes against children across Ireland, offences which took place over a 40-year period. He died in prison in 1997 after a heart attack. Fr. Brendan Smyth would prey on Children as young as eight years of age, and the Irish Catholic Church knew, but never stopped him. The Countries he worked as a Catholic Priest and Raped children in were -
Northern Ireland
The Republic of Ireland
Wales
America
Italy
Pedophile Father Ivan Payne .
Father Ivan Payne, was a Irish Catholic Priest and convicted of Child rape. Fr. Payne was convicted at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court on 26 January 1998 of 14 sample charges of Rape of 8 Boys aged between 11 and 14 years old between 1968 and 1987. The abuse took place while the boys were patients in Our Lady's Hospital for Sick Children, Crumlin, Dublin, Ireland in 1991 while Fr. Payne was hospital Chaplain. Fr. Ivan Payne was originally sentenced to 6 years with 4 years suspended, for Raping 8 sick children. Fr. Ivan Payne also raped altar boys in Cabra, Dublin. Hard to believe, but shocking Fr. Ivan Payne served only 4½ years in jail and was released in October 2002. The Archdiocese of Dublin provides Fr. Payne with free accommodation and an income equivalent to that of a retired Priest. € 20,000 a year. Fr. Ivan Payne still remains a Priest to this very day.
This Pedophile Priest, known as Ivan the Terrible, Sexually Raped seriously ill children in a Dublin hospital, often referred to the Boys as his “little angels.” Fr. Payne studied canon law from 1974-76. Payne in fact studied Canon Law at Ottawa’s St. Paul University, Quebec, Canada. Fr. Payne would regularly spend weekends at the Church Rectory. Fr. Payne was actively involved in the Parish Youth Group which he claimed “was his forte.” He are reports of him raping Canadian Children. Fr. Payne returned to Ireland, but he made frequent trips back to Quebec, Canada, in the ensuing years. On one such visit to Canada, Fr. Payne was accompanied by a young boy who Fr. Payne said the boy was his nephew, but the boy wasn’t.
The Commission, The Murphy Report is aware of a total of 31 people who have made allegations of child rape against Fr. Payne 16 of these people allege they were raped during his time as chaplain in Our Lady’s Hospital for Sick Children, Crumlin, and the vast majority are Boys. Fr. Payne was convicted of indecent assault in respect of 10 victims and he served a prison sentence.
Fr. Ivan Payne admitted his guilt. The first complaint to the Archdiocese of Dublin about Fr Payne was made in November 1981. The complaint concerned the rape of Andrew Madden and was made by Madden’s school guidance counsellor to Msgr Alex Stenson. Msgr Stenson compiled a comprehensive contemporaneous written account of the allegations of rape being made. Fr Payne was also working in the Regional Marriage Tribunal at the time. The rape started when Andrew Madden was about 12 years old (about 1976) and continued until 1981. Fr Payne described the abuse (in 1993) as -
”going as far as was necessary to get satisfied without unnecessary violation”.
All the Bishops, and Archbishop and Cardinal of Dublin knew about Fr. Ivan Payne. Fr Payne was sent to a therapeutic facility in the USA for a further assessment. A lengthy report showed, among other things, that Fr Payne: was sexually attracted to adolescent boys but was also sexually attracted to adult men and women. It recommended that he undergo residential treatment. Cardinal Connell did read this report but Fr Payne was not sent for residential treatment; he did attend the Granada Institute in Dublin. He was continuing to work in Sutton parish (until June 1995) and in the Marriage Tribunal. Where Fr Payne continued to rape more children, boys from Sutton Parish made statements to the Irish Police of rape against Fr Ivan Payne.
In March 1997, Fr Payne was charged with 13 counts of rape on 9 of the complainants. Later he was charged with 29 counts of rape on Andrew Madden. In January 1998, Fr. Ivan Payne pleaded guilty to charges of indecent assault on 10 children and was sentenced (in June) to six years’ imprisonment. The Murphy Commission concludes that ”Archbishop Ryan and Bishop O’Mahony were particularly culpable” in the case of Fr Ivan Payne. When Archbishop Connell first became aware of the problem, he did not inform himself properly. He took a very hands off approach to this case.
Msgr Sheehy (an influential background figure) believed in Fr. Payne’s innocence even when it became abundantly clear that there was no basis for such a belief. He wrote eloquently on the subject of the rights of priests without ever managing to refer to, or consider, the rights of children. He acted in an entirely irresponsible manner in arranging supply work for Fr Payne when Archbishop Connell had effectively, but not formally, removed him from ministry. Overall, The Murphy Report-states-
“ the failure to deal properly with the initial complaint against Fr. Ivan Payne meant that ”many other children were raped or potentially exposed to rape”.
http://www.justice.ie/en/JELR/Pages/PB09000504
Report by Commission of Investigation into Catholic Archdiocese of Dublin
Father Ivan Payne, was a Irish Catholic Priest and convicted of Child rape. Fr. Payne was convicted at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court on 26 January 1998 of 14 sample charges of Rape of 8 Boys aged between 11 and 14 years old between 1968 and 1987. The abuse took place while the boys were patients in Our Lady's Hospital for Sick Children, Crumlin, Dublin, Ireland in 1991 while Fr. Payne was hospital Chaplain. Fr. Ivan Payne was originally sentenced to 6 years with 4 years suspended, for Raping 8 sick children. Fr. Ivan Payne also raped altar boys in Cabra, Dublin. Hard to believe, but shocking Fr. Ivan Payne served only 4½ years in jail and was released in October 2002. The Archdiocese of Dublin provides Fr. Payne with free accommodation and an income equivalent to that of a retired Priest. € 20,000 a year. Fr. Ivan Payne still remains a Priest to this very day.
This Pedophile Priest, known as Ivan the Terrible, Sexually Raped seriously ill children in a Dublin hospital, often referred to the Boys as his “little angels.” Fr. Payne studied canon law from 1974-76. Payne in fact studied Canon Law at Ottawa’s St. Paul University, Quebec, Canada. Fr. Payne would regularly spend weekends at the Church Rectory. Fr. Payne was actively involved in the Parish Youth Group which he claimed “was his forte.” He are reports of him raping Canadian Children. Fr. Payne returned to Ireland, but he made frequent trips back to Quebec, Canada, in the ensuing years. On one such visit to Canada, Fr. Payne was accompanied by a young boy who Fr. Payne said the boy was his nephew, but the boy wasn’t.
The Commission, The Murphy Report is aware of a total of 31 people who have made allegations of child rape against Fr. Payne 16 of these people allege they were raped during his time as chaplain in Our Lady’s Hospital for Sick Children, Crumlin, and the vast majority are Boys. Fr. Payne was convicted of indecent assault in respect of 10 victims and he served a prison sentence.
Fr. Ivan Payne admitted his guilt. The first complaint to the Archdiocese of Dublin about Fr Payne was made in November 1981. The complaint concerned the rape of Andrew Madden and was made by Madden’s school guidance counsellor to Msgr Alex Stenson. Msgr Stenson compiled a comprehensive contemporaneous written account of the allegations of rape being made. Fr Payne was also working in the Regional Marriage Tribunal at the time. The rape started when Andrew Madden was about 12 years old (about 1976) and continued until 1981. Fr Payne described the abuse (in 1993) as -
”going as far as was necessary to get satisfied without unnecessary violation”.
All the Bishops, and Archbishop and Cardinal of Dublin knew about Fr. Ivan Payne. Fr Payne was sent to a therapeutic facility in the USA for a further assessment. A lengthy report showed, among other things, that Fr Payne: was sexually attracted to adolescent boys but was also sexually attracted to adult men and women. It recommended that he undergo residential treatment. Cardinal Connell did read this report but Fr Payne was not sent for residential treatment; he did attend the Granada Institute in Dublin. He was continuing to work in Sutton parish (until June 1995) and in the Marriage Tribunal. Where Fr Payne continued to rape more children, boys from Sutton Parish made statements to the Irish Police of rape against Fr Ivan Payne.
In March 1997, Fr Payne was charged with 13 counts of rape on 9 of the complainants. Later he was charged with 29 counts of rape on Andrew Madden. In January 1998, Fr. Ivan Payne pleaded guilty to charges of indecent assault on 10 children and was sentenced (in June) to six years’ imprisonment. The Murphy Commission concludes that ”Archbishop Ryan and Bishop O’Mahony were particularly culpable” in the case of Fr Ivan Payne. When Archbishop Connell first became aware of the problem, he did not inform himself properly. He took a very hands off approach to this case.
Msgr Sheehy (an influential background figure) believed in Fr. Payne’s innocence even when it became abundantly clear that there was no basis for such a belief. He wrote eloquently on the subject of the rights of priests without ever managing to refer to, or consider, the rights of children. He acted in an entirely irresponsible manner in arranging supply work for Fr Payne when Archbishop Connell had effectively, but not formally, removed him from ministry. Overall, The Murphy Report-states-
“ the failure to deal properly with the initial complaint against Fr. Ivan Payne meant that ”many other children were raped or potentially exposed to rape”.
http://www.justice.ie/en/JELR/Pages/PB09000504
Report by Commission of Investigation into Catholic Archdiocese of Dublin
