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Run for and by people who have experienced sexual abuse.
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THE Bishop of Derry, Rev Seamus Hegarty, told parishioners in Dungiven, Co Derry, yesterday that their curate, who has been given leave of absence as the result of a sex abuse allegation, was a broken, wounded man.
Fr Andrew McCloskey (55), had admitted during masses in St Patrick's Church, Dungiven, eight days ago that he was the un-named priest reported to have paid an out-of-court settlement earlier this month to a man who claimed he had made sexual advances to him in 1992.
The €15,000 payment was made without any admission of liability. Fr McCloskey said that in 1992 he was an alcoholic. The injured party claimed that the incident occurred when he was 19 years of age after he'd gone to the priest seeking counselling.
Fr McCloskey was administrator of St Mary's Parish in the Creggan area of Derry and the incident is alleged to have taken place in the parochial house.
Following his admissions from the altar eight days ago, the majority of the congregations at each of the four weekend masses in St Patrick's Church applauded Fr McCloskey, and yesterday Bishop Hegarty told them that their reaction had heartened and encouraged their curate.
Bishop Hegarty said that the prayers of the congregation were with Fr McCloskey and with "the other person involved". "Fr McCloskey came to you within a few months of his having received treatment for his problem with alcohol.
"It is a further tribute to all of your priests, past and present, and you the people of the parish that you have contributed so effectively to his recovery. The decision to re-instate Fr McCloskey in the ministry in 1993 has been vindicated by the quality of his ministry since then," he said.
