Fortune's victims call for a public inquiry

One of Father Fortune’s victims today called on the Church and the State to continue to seek details into incidents of child …

One of Father Fortune’s victims today called on the Church and the State to continue to seek details into incidents of child sexual abuse in the Ferns diocese.

Mr Colm O'Gorman said there was no sense of victory following today's resignation of the Bishop of Ferns, Dr Brendan Comiskey, as it was never something he or other survivors of sexual abuse from priests had sought.

Mr O'Gorman who was interviewed for a BBC documentary due to be shown tomorrow night on RTE - Suing the Pope- added Bishop Comiskey had still not answered the many questions put to him.

With a meeting scheduled for later this week with the Mister for Health Mr Micheál Martin, Mr O’Gorman today called on the Minister to open an inquiry into Father Fortune's activities.

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He said: "If Bishop Comiskey had have been able to answer questions in 1995 and then in 1999 and the years since, maybe we wouldn't be at this point. I would hope that somebody from the church will now step forward to answer those questions.

"I do welcome his statement and I do welcome him finally taking full responsibility for his own part in this. But I really would like to point out that Bishop Comiskey should not be scapegoated in this whole inquiry and a much wider inquiry needs to take place.

"So that is why I have called on Micheal Martin to institute the inquiry next week and I think if anything, Bishop Comiskey's resignation now makes that much more imperative.

"It is a little bit incongruous to hear that the holy Roman Catholic Church, in all of its power and position, was unable to control this one man," he added.

The diocese in question is the the Fethard-on-Sea area of Wexford. Father Fortune, who was curate at Poulfur, is one of four priests in the diocese who have have been accused of sexually molesting children this past 20 years.

Mr Colm O'Gorman, now 35 and living in London, relates on the documentary how he was assaulted and raped by Father Fortune for 2½ years from the age of 14, at Poulfur, where the priest was curate from 1981.

Additional reporting PA

David Labanyi

David Labanyi

David Labanyi is the Head of Audience with The Irish Times