The Jesuit Order has named a further 15 deceased Jesuits who have been the subject of child sexual abuse complaints, eight of whom were already the subject of complaint during their lifetimes.
The other seven first became the subject of complaint after their deaths. All allegations in these cases have been reported to gardaí and statutory authorities.
It follows an examination of files of deceased Jesuits by an Independent Working Group, which was established by the Jesuits in Ireland last year.
The independent group was convened following the publication of accounts concerning child sexual abuse and other serious misconduct by Fr Joseph Marmion in 2021 and further reports relating to Fr Paul Andrews and Fr Dermot Casey which were published last year.
The order found that publication of the Marmion Report showed that the identification of one or more perpetrators had the effect of bringing forward evidence in relation to other perpetrators.
The working group was given the files of 37 deceased Jesuits who had been the subject of complaint of child sexual abuse and elicited a set of standards derived by sampling material from the cases provided and then applied these standards when examining each of the cases.
They have named 15 deceased members of the order.
They are Fr Rupert Coyle (1896-1978); Fr Shaun Curran (1924-1999); Fr Brendan Kearney (1935-2014); Fr John T Kelly (1906-1977); Fr Patrick Kelly (1920-2012); Fr Kevin Laheen (1919-2019); Fr Henry (Harry) Lawlor (1911-1989); Fr John A (Jack) Leonard (1912-1992); Fr Finbarr Lynch (1933-2022); Fr Michael McGrath (1910-1989); Fr Oliver Joseph O'Brien (1920-1994); Br Edward O’Sullivan (1920-1996); Fr Diarmuid Ó Péicín (1916-2008); Br Douglas A Pill (1918-2003); Fr James Stephenson (1906-1979).
The working group consisted of former Supreme Court judge John MacMenamin; Dr Rosaleen McElvaney PhD, Principal Psychotherapist in the Alders Unit at Children’s Health Ireland in Connolly Hospital and Registered Social Worker Paul Harrison.
Its aim was to be victim-centred while at the same time balancing the rights of complainants, and interests of deceased members of the Jesuit Society against whom complaints were made.
There is one living Jesuit currently out of ministry as a result of a legal process.
Apology
The Order has acknowledged and apologised for failings.
It has stated that a primary consideration appeared to have been the avoidance of public scandal and therefore the protection of the reputation of the Jesuit Order and Jesuit institutions.
"Our approach was inward-looking, prioritising the interests of the Order. In addition, inexplicably we often perceived the abuse from the perspective of moral failure as distinct from a criminal act. These misguided considerations allowed individual Jesuits who had offended against children to avoid accountability for their crimes."
It has also acknowledged that the right of the Jesuit accused to his good name took precedence over the consideration of the wellbeing of children, both in terms of protection and outreach.
"Through allowing these Jesuits to continue in ministry we implicitly communicated the message that they were priests in good standing, with the result that people who had suffered abuse would have been reluctant to come forward out of the continuing fear of not being believed."
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It has stated that the vital needs of children for support and acknowledgement at the time of their abuse disclosures, and the need for inclusion of their families, were either not considered at all or were disregarded.
"Many of the adults who came forward with accounts of their childhood abuse experience did not receive the acceptance and compassion they deserved," it said.
Notwithstanding the recommendations of Government and Church guidelines, reporting of complaints to gardaí and Health Boards was very poor with significant delays. In a number of instances such reporting did not first occur until after the death of the accused priest.
The order has acknowledged its failure in challenging behaviours on the part of some Jesuits that could later be seen to have been 'red flags' and so missed the opportunities for interventions that could have safeguarded children from sexual abuse.
It also added that systems of recording, gathering and sharing information about Jesuits who had become the subject of complaint were very inadequate, resulting in a failure to track patterns of behaviour and to manage the associated risk.
Read more: Who are the 15 Jesuits named in publication?
Cavalier attitude
Jesuit Provincial Fr Shane Daly SJ said the Order believes "it will be naming others into the future".
Speaking on RTÉ's News at One, Fr Daly said the Order will continue to speak to those who came forward to report abuse.
Regarding complaints against Fr Patrick Kelly - who was moved from New York to California to Dublin's Gardiner Street and then to Co Limerick - Fr Daly said "we were totally cavalier in how we dealt with him".
He said it is "shocking" that despite a Bishop in the US informing the then Jesuit Provincial of Fr Kelly's alleged abuse in 1988, that he was then "allowed to go on to the west coast of America without even being brought home and questioned".
He added: "Again, it is shocking that we did not inform the authorities in the west coast that these allegations had been made.
"When Fr Kelly was brought home, or when further allegations were made, and Fr Kelly was then charged in the US court and returned to Ireland, it was effectively kept quiet.
"Nobody was informed, he was moved to Gardiner Street and eventually he was put on restricted ministry."
However, Fr Daly added, Fr Kelly was then moved to Co Limerick where the local superior "was not informed that he had been on unrestricted ministry".
The Jesuit Provincial said he could not defend the actions.
"We felt the need to protect these individuals good name," he said, adding if the Jesuits were to deal with the matter "in any adequate way" then it might have become "a much more public thing".
'Truly ashamed'
Earlier in a statement, Fr Daly said the Jesuit Order was pursuing a process of acknowledging child abuse perpetrated by Jesuits over the past 70 years.
He said the Jesuits were "reckoning with their response to that abuse" and that "the process is one of accountability, transparency and making amends".
The Provincial also noted that, in the eyes of those who suffered abuse, it was the public acceptance by the Order of its responsibility regarding what happened and how they responded, that carried a greater weight with them than the Order's offer of support.
In a statement, he added: "We are truly ashamed that innocent young people were abused by those Jesuits who were supposed to be serving them and caring for them. To learn that much of their abuse could have been avoided, had timely and necessary action been taken by those to whom the abuse was made known, must surely compound the suffering of those who were abused.
"We put the good name of the institution before their suffering and for this we are truly sorry. Our expression of sorrow and regret for the suffering and pain inflicted on children who suffered abuse is real. But it will mean little if it is not accompanied by effective action such as the public naming we have done today, which is part of an ongoing process. Again, I want to invite any person who was harmed by any Jesuit to consider speaking with us. We really want to hear from you."
160 people have contacted the Jesuits Safeguarding Office to make disclosures.
