Head of Catholic Church in Ireland facing resignation call from abuse survivor over invite to top US Cardinal
Several survivors of child sex abuse at the hands of Catholic clergy have spoken out against the Archbishop Eamon Martin, primate of All Ireland, after he invited a top American Cardinal Timothy Dolan - criticised for his handling of child sex abuse allegations - to celebrate a special anniversary Mass in Armagh at the weekend.
Also present at the special Mass on Sunday was Archbishop Martin's predecessor as primate of all-Ireland, Cardinal Sean Brady, who has faced significant criticism over his handling of child sex abuse allegations.
In 2010, Cardinal Brady denied accusations of a "cover up" when it became known he attended meetings in the 1970s where two abused teenagers signed vows of silence over complaints against the notorious sex offender Fr Brendan Smyth, who was jailed in 1990s for child abuse.
Cardinal Dolan, meanwhile, was reported by the New York Times around a decade ago to have requested permission to move almost $57million into a cemetery trust fund in order to protect Church assets amid demands from victims of sex abuse for compensation.
Speaking to Belfast Live, Mr Faloon described the invite to Cardinal Dolan as a "two-fingered salute to survivors of sex abuse and child rape in the Catholic Church".
He continued: "I was raped by Finnegan around once a week, every week, for seven years. I was raped at least 350 times. It affects us every minute of our lives, every minute of every day.
"What I am calling for is that he [Archbishop Martin] has to resign. I'm not asking him to resign, I'm telling him he has to resign.
"Think of it this way, McAreavey resigned in 2018 one day after it was put out what he did not do [with regards to Fr Finnegan].
https://www.belfastlive.co.uk/news/head-...g-27616350
Several survivors of child sex abuse at the hands of Catholic clergy have spoken out against the Archbishop Eamon Martin, primate of All Ireland, after he invited a top American Cardinal Timothy Dolan - criticised for his handling of child sex abuse allegations - to celebrate a special anniversary Mass in Armagh at the weekend.
Also present at the special Mass on Sunday was Archbishop Martin's predecessor as primate of all-Ireland, Cardinal Sean Brady, who has faced significant criticism over his handling of child sex abuse allegations.
In 2010, Cardinal Brady denied accusations of a "cover up" when it became known he attended meetings in the 1970s where two abused teenagers signed vows of silence over complaints against the notorious sex offender Fr Brendan Smyth, who was jailed in 1990s for child abuse.
Cardinal Dolan, meanwhile, was reported by the New York Times around a decade ago to have requested permission to move almost $57million into a cemetery trust fund in order to protect Church assets amid demands from victims of sex abuse for compensation.
Speaking to Belfast Live, Mr Faloon described the invite to Cardinal Dolan as a "two-fingered salute to survivors of sex abuse and child rape in the Catholic Church".
He continued: "I was raped by Finnegan around once a week, every week, for seven years. I was raped at least 350 times. It affects us every minute of our lives, every minute of every day.
"What I am calling for is that he [Archbishop Martin] has to resign. I'm not asking him to resign, I'm telling him he has to resign.
"Think of it this way, McAreavey resigned in 2018 one day after it was put out what he did not do [with regards to Fr Finnegan].
https://www.belfastlive.co.uk/news/head-...g-27616350
teachings of the Bible are so muddled and self-contradictory that it was possible for Christians to happily burn heretics alive for five long centuries. It was even possible for the most venerated patriarchs of the Church, like St. Augustine and St. Thomas Aquinas, to conclude that heretics should be tortured (Augustine) or killed outright (Aquinas). Martin Luther and John Calvin advocated the wholesale murder of heretics, apostates, Jews, and witches. - Sam Harris, "Letter To A Christian Nation"
