This article is from page 3 of the 2006-04-18 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 3 JPG
BISHOP Willie Walsh, might have saved the life of a man living in Clare, if he had been responsible for handling the man’s clerical sex-abuse claim, the family believe.
A spokesman for the One In Four group told The Clare People that the bereaved family, “believe that if Willie Walsh had been the one dealing with Peter’s case, he would be alive today. He was a source of real comfort to Peter, as was his parish priest.”
Peter had been locked in a fouryear debate with the Diocese of Limerick over his abuse at the hands of Fr Denis Daly, when he was a ten year old altar boy.
His family said that Peter was particularly distressed to discover that the Church knew that Daly had been run out of his parish in Sydney by the police for a “moral lapse”, but did not admit this.
Peter was found dead at his home in Kilkee after years of fighting depression, and just days after a mediation conference with the diocese.
At an emotional press conference in Dublin yesterday (Monday) afternoon, Peter’s mother, Mary, said it was, “with deep sadness and immense grief that I am here to speak the truth for Peter, following his final battle with Dr Donal Murray, Bishop of Limerick and the Diocesan legal representatives.
“It was the unbearable weight of the denial of the truth that became too much for Peter. That denial must end.”
Mrs McCloskey said the abuse caused her son, “untold emotional and psychological suffering”.
She also pointed out that, “this suffering continued through his teenage years, into his adulthood and up to the day he died”.
Rejecting the Bishop’s statement that Peter had walked out of the mediation meeting, she said: “Dr. Donal Murray, Bishop of Limerick and his legal representatives had Peter nailed to the cross, well in advance of Good Friday.”
A spokesperson for Bishop Murray said the recent death of Peter Mc Closkey was “profoundly sad and deeply upsetting for all who knew him.”
The spokesman said that Bishop Murray gave an extensive interview to RTÉ’s Prime Time and the Irish Times concerning issues raised.
“Bishop Murray has been, and will continue to be available to meet Peter’s family and support them in any way he can at this difficult time, and to discuss concerns that they have.
“In order to respect the confidentiality due to Peter’s family Bishop Murray is making no further public comment for the time being.
“Bishop Murray invites anybody with concerns regarding abuse to contact in confidence the diocese, the gardaí, or the health authorities,” the statement concluded.