The mother of Mr Brendan Shannon, who received €325,000 from the Kiltegan Fathers following his abuse in 1982 by former priest Peter Kennedy, has called on Bishop Thomas Flynn of Achonry to explain who paid Kennedy's upkeep while he worked in parishes there and abused her son.
Ms Eilish Shannon, of Cloonloo, Co Sligo, also asked him to explain how Kennedy came to serve in the Cloonloo and Gurteen parishes at the time.
Kennedy has since been laicised. His current whereabouts are unknown.
Ms Shannon said Bishop Flynn was always a good friend to her late husband and herself.
"Over the years as a national teacher I had many dealings with him and he is somebody I always respected and still do.
"It is not my intention to hurt Bishop Flynn in any way, but as for the Church I think it has succeeded in doing that to itself."
She said she was not on any kind of a witch-hunt but there were questions she would like answers to.
Ms Shannon said she wanted to know too whether the then curate in Cloonloo, the late Father Charlie Doherty, had told Bishop Flynn about "the horrific final incident with Kennedy in my home", in 1982 which she stopped.
Kennedy was there supposedly on a visit to her dying husband Joe. The following day her brother-in-law and his wife went to Father Doherty about it.
"They got a very poor reception and were sent on their way with a comment such as 'how dare a brat like my son make such an accusation against a man of the cloth'," she said.
In April last year Brendan "finally got the courage to face the facts that ruined his life and decided to make a statement to the guards", she said.
Previously she said he was never able to discuss the full extent of his trauma.
"It took him many years of extensive counselling to finally have the courage to open his heart to me and the family," she said.
She said a meeting the family had last November with Bishop Flynn and Canon John Doherty (PP at Gurteen) was tense.
"While Bishop Flynn might have felt relaxed and at ease, we certainly were not.
"We are a quiet-spoken people and never during this meeting were voices raised," said Ms Shannon.
Canon Doherty had been "a gentleman" since she told him about the abuse, while the delegate, Father Greg Hannan, was "extremely sympathetic, supportive and kind".
Of the Kiltegan priests she said "you couldn't meet two nicer men if you walked the world".
However, though the family had not asked for an apology from the diocese, they were "really annoyed" no apology was offered.
Bishop Flynn expressed his sympathy but said the diocese had no responsibility in the case, as did Father Hannan, Ms Shannon added.
"The denial of responsibility irritated me terribly," Ms Shannon said.
