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BBC<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\nTwo sisters who were abused by a former priest have called on the Catholic Church to ensure every diocese in Ireland is proactive in providing opportunities for direct engagement between abuse survivors and church leaders.<\/p>\n Paula and Margaret Martin from County Donegal said a legally-facilitated meeting with Diocese of Raphoe representatives last year was “deeply healing”.<\/p>\n Con 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 assault in the 1970s.<\/p>\n A spokesperson for the Catholic Church said it is committed to “continuous learning and responding positively” to those who have been hurt.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n The Martin sisters were nine and 11 when the abuse started.<\/p>\n They waived their right to anonymity to name Cunningham.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n The women had gone to the Church three times over a 25-year period about the actions of their abuser.<\/p>\n After Cunnigham’s conviction, the sisters felt only “one part of their pain” had been dealt with.<\/p>\n The rest of the pain was caused, they said, by “a lack of care, concern or engagement by the Church over a period of almost 30 years”.<\/p>\n The sisters said they were unsure as to what steps to take next following the criminal case but had decided to initiate civil proceedings against the Church.<\/p>\n They were then contacted by legal representatives for the Diocese of Raphoe who asked them to consider a sit-down meeting with senior church figures.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n They accepted and the meeting was facilitated by a mediator in Londonderry last year.<\/p>\n Representing the church was the diocesan administrator, Monsignor Kevin Gillespie, the now retired Bishop Philip Boyce and the Bishop of Down and Connor, Bishop Alan McGuckian.<\/p>\n Monsignor Gillespie was appointed in 2024.<\/p>\n Bishop Boyce was Bishop of Raphoe from 1995 until 2017.<\/p>\n In 2011, he was criticised for his handling of clerical sex abuse allegations in the diocese.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n At the time, Bishop Boyce fully accepted the recommendations and apologised for “poor judgements” in managing priests accused of “horrific acts of abuse”<\/a> against children.<\/p>\n Bishop McGuckian was installed as Bishop of Raphoe in 2017 and served there until 2024.<\/p>\n In September, following the meeting, a public apology was issued to the sisters by the Diocese of Raphoe.<\/p>\n It acknowledged the diocese had “failed profoundly in its pastoral care and responsibility of care and concern for your well being during the years from 1994 to 2018”.<\/p>\n Paula Martin told BBC Radio Foyle’s North West Today programme<\/a> while initially cautious about the meeting, she found it brought her “peace I had not expected”.<\/p>\n “Over the past 30 years it has felt that the Catholic Church was protecting itself at all costs,” she said.<\/p>\n “For the very first time, we felt heard and understood.<\/p>\n “It was a very honest, open and heartfelt meeting.”<\/p>\n The sisters said all parties were very clear on the structure of the meeting and it felt like a “safe space”.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n For Margaret Martin, the impact of the meeting and the apology was profound.<\/p>\n “It opened the door to healing in a way that I never imagined – it was like a cloud lifting,” she added.<\/p>\n “It really helped to take away the pain I have been carrying for 30 years.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n In a statement to BBC News NI, a spokesperson for the Irish Bishops Catholic Conference said there was no single policy on mediation that was in place for every diocese and religious congregation across the island.<\/p>\n “Each church body has its own safeguarding personnel employed who assist and advise the bishop or congregational leader on responding to survivors on an individual basis,” they said.<\/p>\n “Other church bodies have implemented restorative justice or redress schemes which incorporate an element of mediation.<\/p>\n “The Church is committed to continuous learning and responding positively to those who have been hurt in order that some healing may emerge from a dreadful history.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Prof Marie Keenan is an international scholar on child sexual abuse and the Catholic Church.<\/p>\n She said facilitated meetings between survivors and institutional leaders were becoming more common.<\/p>\n “I’ve seen first hand that these meetings can be transformational,” Keenan told BBC News NI.<\/p>\n “Many survivors aren’t even aware that this type of process is available.<\/p>\n “It may not be for everyone as survivors can have very different justice needs.”<\/p>\n However, Keenan said the meetings can be a chance for victims to get “validation, vindication and accountability”.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Keenan said research has shown meetings that have an independent facilitator, have better outcomes for survivors as opposed to informal meetings.<\/p>\n The Diocese of Raphoe did not respond to a request for further comment when contacted by BBC News NI.<\/p>\n The office of the Bishop of Down and Connor has also been contacted by BBC News NI.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n If you have been affected by any of the issues in this story, help and advice is available on the <\/i>BBC Action Line.<\/i><\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nConviction dealt with ‘one part of pain’<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n
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<\/div>\n<\/div>\n‘We felt heard and understood’<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n
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<\/div>\n<\/div>\nWhat has the Catholic Church said?<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n
‘Validation and vindication’<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n
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Marie Keenan<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n