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Article: Bishop resigns over handling of abusive priest. (Church in Crisis).(Brief Article)
- Article from:
- National Catholic Reporter
- Article date:
- April 12, 2002
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2002 National Catholic Reporter. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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IRELAND: Bishop Brendan Comiskey of Ferns, Ireland, has resigned following criticism of his handling of the case of a pedophile priest, Fr. Sean Fortune, who committed suicide in March 1999 after being put on trial on 66 charges of sexual abuse.
The criticism of the bishop was sparked by a recent BBC-TV documentary on the case.
Comiskey, who has been bishop of Ferns since 1984 and who is 66, told a news conference April 1, that "I confronted him regularly, for a time I removed him from ministry, I sought professional advice in several quarters, I listened to the criticisms and the praise, I tried compassion and I tried firmness; treatment was sought and ...