Therapy treatment cured Southwark priest

BY PIERS MCGRANDLE
AsUTHORITIES FROM THE diocese of Southwark, outh London, apologised this week after admitting that a priest convicted of child abuse in Ireland was allowed to visit local schools.
Fr James Doyle, a 45-year old priest who pleaded guilty in 1990 to indecently assaulting a 12-year-old boy in Co Wexford, is working again as a full-time priest, apparently with the full backing of Church leaders.
The priest's duties in Southwark atk believed to have included local christenings and school visits.
However, Fr Doyle was not given pastoral duties at the church of St Peter and the Guardian Angels, because the Southwark diocese was aware of his conviction for child abuse. In a statement released by the Archbishop's House in Southwark, authorities said that they had received an "assurance from the centre, where Fr Doyle received many months of therapeutic treatment, that he was in no way a danger to children".
The statement continued "While it is to be deeply regretted that Fr Doyle has been entering schools, it must be stressed that, at the time Fr Doyle was offered hospitality in the parish, it was agreed that he would not engage in such work".
Meanwhile, Cardinal Daly said last week that the Church in Ireland had been "humbled" by the recent spate of paedophile priests.
He pledged that the Church would hand over reprobate priests to the police.
The Primate of All Ireland also warned that more cases would emerge, as publicity prompted more victims to complain openly.
The Irish hierarchy is bracing itself for the exposure of up to 200 paedophile cases, some stretching back over 40 years.