The Association of Catholic Priests has accused Irish state broadcaster RTE and sections of the media of a bias against the Church and the clergy.
The ACP made the claims in a statement issued in reaction to RTE’s recent libellous claims that a missionary priest raped a teenage girl in Africa and left her pregnant.
Fr Kevin Reynolds, now based in Galway, won over $1.5million in libel damages after the claims were broadcast on the Prime Time Investigates TV show.
He was forced to undergo a paternity test and take RTE to court before the station backed down on the claims relating to his time as a missionary in Kenya.
ACP spokesperson Fr Seán McDonagh criticised RTE’s “failure to operate normal editorial controls” in the making of the programme.
The ACP statement also referred to a recent survey which indicated that over half of all Irish adults believe one in five priests is guilty of child abuse.
See also:
RTÉ apology to priest in High Court “a wake-up call”Association of Catholic Priests founder calls Prime Time Investigates accusations against Fr Kevin Reynolds “vile and appalling” as RTÉ apologises and pays undisclosed damages.
http://www.thejournal.ie/rte-apology-to-priest-in-high-court-a-wake-up-call-282112-Nov2011/