Archbishop Diarmuid Martin of Dublin has said he will no longer send students to the national seminary at Maynooth, amid allegations of inappropriate sexual behaviour.
The archbishop referred to allegations of what he described as a “gay culture” in the seminary and further claims that some seminarians have been using a gay dating app.
The archbishop said he was “somewhat unhappy about an atmosphere that was growing” at St Patrick’s College, Maynooth. “There are people saying that anyone who tries to go to the authorities with an allegation are being dismissed from the seminary,” the archbishop told RTÉ Radio. He said his intention was to send students to Rome’s Pontifical Irish College.
“There seems to an atmosphere of strange goings-on; it seems like a quarrelsome place with anonymous letters being sent around,” he said.
“I don’t think this is a good place for students. However, when I informed the president of Maynooth of my decision, I did add ‘at least for the moment’.”
The archbishop’s decision to send his students to Rome comes after anonymous letters were circulated about student activities in Maynooth.
Archbishop Martin said if the allegations of seminarians using gay dating apps were true, it would be “inappropriate”, not just because priests are celibate, “but because an app like that is something which is fostering promiscuous sexuality, which is certainly not in any way the mature vision of sexuality one would expect a priest to understand”.
Abuse inquiry to go ahead despite spate of resignations
An inquiry into how British institutions handle their duty of care to child abuse victims will not be delayed by the resignation of the committee’s chairwoman, the Home Secretary Amber Rudd has said.The Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse was set up in 2014 and is looking into 13 claims of historical child abuse involving institutional cover-ups. Among the cases are claims against the Anglican and Catholic Churches.
The inquiry is expected to examine specific cases within the Catholic Church, largely focusing on the English Benedictine Congregation. The current child protection policy of the Catholic Church will be scrutinised as part of the investigation. The bishops’ conference in England and Wales has formed a council in order to aid in the inquiry.
Ms Rudd thanked Dame Lowell Goddard – who resigned in a letter last week – for her hard work and contribution. Justice Goddard is the third chair of the inquiry to resign. Her letter of resignation came on the same day that The Times newspaper reported that she had spent 70 days in the last year abroad.
Greg Dyke joins St Mary’s staff
Former bbc director-general Greg Dyke has joined the staff at St Mary’s University, Britain’s largest Catholic university, as a visiting lecturer.Mr Dyke was director-general of the BBC from 2000 to 2004 and chairman of the FA from 2013 to 2016. He will work with students from the School of Health and Applied Science. Head of School John Brewer said he was “delighted” at the news.
