Two sisters abused by a former priest in Co Donegal have encouraged other victims "suffering in silence" to come forward following an apology from the Raphoe Diocese.
Margaret and Paula Martin, who were abused by Con Cunningham, said they look forward to closing this chapter of their lives and thanked those who supported them.
Cunningham, then aged 86, was sentenced to 15 months in prison at Letterkenny Circuit Court in 2021 after pleading guilty to eight counts of indecent assaults in the 1970s.
During that trial, the court heard that Cunningham came to live in their community and that he became like a great uncle to the sisters before the abuse began.
The trial heard that he ate meals in their home and would meet parishioners there. The abuse took place at a number of locations in Donegal.
Margaret and Paula Martin, who were aged between 11 and 13 years of age and 9 and 12 years of age at the time, waived their right to anonymity to name Cunningham.
Following a process of engagement that took place recently, the Raphoe Diocese and the Martin sisters, through their solicitor, Caldwell and Robinson issued statements this week.
The Raphoe Diocesan statement also included an apology presented to Margaret and Paula Martin last July that was released at the sisters' prompting.
The Diocese acknowledged it "failed profoundly" in its pastoral responsibility of care and concern for the wellbeing of the Martin sisters over several decades.
It has urged other people who have been abused to come forward and report it to the relevant authorities.
In their statement, Paula and Margaret Martin thanked their families, clinicians, legal team, and the facilitator and representatives of the Diocese who took part in the engagement process.
The sisters also thanked "the very courageous person who successfully took the first case against Con Cunningham," adding it gave them "the courage we needed to speak".
The sisters said they look forward to "allowing healing to finally close these wounds".
"We encourage others who are suffering in silence to come forward and find the support you deserve".
Raphoe Diocese acknowledges shortcomings
In a statement issued on behalf of the Raphoe Diocese, Diocesan Administrator, Monsignor Kevin Gillespie said the apology traces the history of how their complaints against Cunningham were addressed and the shortcomings in the actions taken.
Monsignor Gillespie said above all, the apology sought to acknowledge the experience and perspective of these two sisters.
He said their sufferings was compounded by a lack of adequate communication and support on behalf of the Diocese.
"The desire of Margaret and Paula is one that is shared by me and which I hope will become more and more the culture of the diocese, namely, to encourage those to come forward who have hesitated to do so and to know they would be supported and accompanied in the actions they may wish to take".
Sisters reported abuse to the Diocese in 1994
A letter of apology on behalf of the Raphoe Diocese presented Margaret and Paula Martin last July was also released to the media this week alongside the Diocesan statement.
The letter apologised to the sisters for the harm and trauma they experienced through the abuse that was perpetrated upon them as children by Cunningham.
It also apologised to the sisters for the manner, in which the Diocese responded to them after they first came forward to then Bishop of the Diocese, Seamus Hegarty in 1994, and in the years since then.
The letter said when the sisters first reported the abuse they suffered to Bishop Hegarty, in 1994, he considered their accounts "were truthful".
Monsignor Gillespie added in the letter, that: "unfortunately, you were not made aware of the process which he was following, or of the actions that he took following receipt of your complaints. Most importantly you were not informed that you were believed".
The letter acknowledged that Margaret and Paula did not hear from the diocese about their complaints for a period of eight years.
Diocese alerted Gardaí in 2002
The letter of apology acknowledged that the Raphoe Diocese reported the sisters’ complaints to the Gardaí for the first time in 2002, eight years after they first confided in Bishop Seamus Hegarty.
The letter of apology to the sisters acknowledged that they "were both thrust into a criminal investigative process at the time" for which they "were not yet ready".
The letter said the sisters sought three measures at the time: that Cunningham would resign from his position as Parish Priest of Falcarragh, that he would be prohibited from contact with children through his role as a priest and that he would be asked to respond formally to their complains.
The letter said Cunningham resigned his position as Parish Priest, agreed to cease public ministry and that he put in writing that he accepted the truth of the complaints.
The letter said following these outcomes, both sisters informed gardaí at the time, that they did not wish to proceed further with the criminal complaints.
Then in 2018, the sisters were contacted by the Raphoe Diocese about criminal charges that were due to come before the courts in connection with Cunningham’s abuse of another child, related to the 1970s.
The letter said the sisters became concerned that "adequate steps had not been taken by the Diocese in its supervision of Con Cunningham between 2002 and 2018".
It said: "you both continue to carry a deep sense of concern that other children may have been left vulnerable to risk of abuse through these years".
The letter said Cunningham was laicised on 17 March 2022.
'Diocese failed profoundly'
In the letter to the Martin sisters, Monsignor Gillespie said he wished to acknowledge that the Raphoe Diocese "failed profoundly in its pastoral responsibility of care and concern" for the wellbeing of the sisters from 1994 to 2018."
He also acknowledged that the Diocese failed to fulfil its own policy of reporting complains of this nature to the civil authorities between 1996 and 2002.
He further acknowledged that from 2002, until Cunningham’s conviction in 2018, that "it was not made clear within the Diocese that he was the subject of complaints of sexual child abuse and therefore potentially a risk to children".
Monsignor Gillespie repeated the apology for the "profound failures" and "for the effects of these failures" upon the lives of the Martin sisters and the lives of their families and friends.
He said that he recognised that the sisters’ motivation in coming forward in 1994 was that others might be protected.
He added that motivation informed their actions in making public their abusive experiences in 2020 and in renewing their criminal complaints at that time.
Appeal to other victims to come forward
Monsignor Gillespie said, having listened carefully to the experiences of the sisters, that the Raphoe Diocese has decided to make a public appeal to others who have suffered abuse in the diocese through the wrongdoing of a cleric, to consider coming forward to them.
"Having listened carefully to all that you have shared with us of your experiences, the Diocese has decided to make a public appeal to others who have suffered abuse in our diocese through the wrongdoing of a cleric, to consider coming forward to us.
"I would assure any such person that we will do all in our power to ensure that anybody who comes forward will experience care and support to the very best of our ability," he said.
He concluded his letter to the sisters in saying that he hoped they may find peace and that the diocese may do better in supporting those who have suffered abuse.
'Heard and understood'
Speaking on Highland Radio this week, the Martin sisters said they felt they were "listened to, heard and understood" during the engagement process with the diocese.
"It did take bravery on their part that led to a process of the best possible outcome that we could imagine.
"When they read that apology, there wasn’t one word that we would change…it has brought a peacefulness to us after a long time," Margaret Martin said.
"That’s important for people to hear who are suffering in silence. I genuinely think that there has been a shift, and we felt that shift in our engagement [with the church]."
