Franciscans received 36 allegations against single abuser at Gormanston College

The Franciscan Province of Ireland has received 124 allegations of sexual abuse of children made against 26 friars.

Four friars were prosecuted in the courts for the sexual offences, and three were convicted, two of whom are deceased.

The congregation has paid €3,857,000 in settlements to victims/survivors. In addition, it has paid legal fees for all parties, totalling €531,664. The Franciscans also cover the cost of counselling for any victim/survivor who asks for this support.

The most high-profile Franciscan convicted in relation to child sex abuse offences was Fr Ronald Bennett (87), former spiritual director, sports master and bursar at Gormanston College in Co Meath. A total of 36 allegations were made against him related to abuse at the school.

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In 2006 he pleaded guilty at the Dublin Circuit Court to six sample charges of sexually abusing four pupils, three of whom were boarders at the school between 1974 to 1981. He received a five-year suspended sentence and entered a bond of €1,000 to keep the peace for five years.

The DPP appealed the suspended sentence, and in 2008 the court of criminal appeal directed that Bennett serve two-and-a-half years of the five-year sentence, with the balance suspended.

In 2010, at Trim Circuit Court, Bennett pleaded guilty to two counts of sexual assault on another schoolboy, on dates unknown in 1973 and 1974. In that case the-then adult victim told the court he made his complaint after reading reports from the previous case and on reading that Bennett was originally given a five-year suspended sentence for it.

“It caused me a lot of anger and particularly some of the comments about the [Franciscan] order,” he said. “The judge [in the other case] praised the Franciscan order for acting promptly when they became aware of it [the abuse] ... I was well aware they did not act promptly.”

The man also said his confidence was badly affected by the abuse and for a long time he could not go out with girls because their perfume would remind him of Bennett’s smell – a combination of disinfectant and aftershave. He said he was not a practising Catholic and was very fortunate that the support group One in Four was able to provide him with psychiatric help.

In a statement to The Irish Times this week the Franciscan congregation said: “We, the friars of the Franciscan Province of Ireland, apologise unreservedly to any child or young person who was abused whilst in our care, either in our school, Franciscan College, Gormanston, or in other ministry settings.”

The statement pointed out the congregation “has been audited by the Health Service Executive (2009) (the findings of which were published by Tusla, Child and Family Agency in 2018), and by the National Board for Safeguarding Children in the Catholic Church in Ireland”.

It is “committed to maintaining the highest standards in responding to complaints of abuse and is compliant with all safeguarding reporting requirements. We continue to minister in accordance with best practice and in accordance with the relevant legislation”.

It said that: “Once again, we wish to express a willingness to meet with any victim/survivor and to support them in any way we can.”