THE HEAD of the St John of God order is facing mounting pressure to step down as a trustee of seven State-funded special needs schools as 30 more cases of alleged abuse involving serial abuser Brother Aidan Clohessy emerged.
This pressure intensified as Children’s Minister Norma Foley, this weekend wrote to St John of God seeking assurances about its safeguarding standards in the wake of decade-long revelations in the Irish Mail on Sunday.
And it comes as more political and public figures added their voices to demands that Br Donatus Forkan, who is at the helm of the order, also face criminal investigation for the alleged reckless endangerment of children.
Sinn Féin and Labour both called on the St John of God provincial to stand aside and for a criminal probe into how the order allowed a lifelong predatory paedophile to prey on vulnerable children.
Concerns about the position of Br Forkan in State-funded roles of responsibility over children were raised after Clohessy, 85, was jailed in June.
Clohessy – described by the trial judge as ‘an ogre’ – was jailed for abusing six boys at St Augustine’s school for special needs children in Blackrock, Co. Dublin in the 1970s and 1980s.
Following his sentencing, the MOS revealed how Clohessy was free to prey on children in Africa for decades as his superiors in Ireland covered up his crimes at home.
In the aftermath of our coverage, around 30 more victims have come forward in Africa alleging they were abused by Clohessy, in addition to as 20 civil cases from there that have already been settled.
The St John of God order has privately settled these African cases in the Irish courts without any admission of liability.
Together with recent settlements to Irish victims, the part-taxpayer-funded order has spent more than €3m on civil cases in the past year.
The MoS now understands that, since Clohessy’s imprisonment, further victims have come forward in Malawi, bringing the number of alleged victims seeking recompense there to more than 50.
The head of the scandal-plagued order dispatched Clohessy to Malawi in 1993 as part of the cover-up of his fellow cleric’s crimes in Ireland.
While in Africa, Clohessy remained free to abuse more vulnerable children until he was withdrawn in 2012 amid a Canonical Inquiry. Ever since, the Vatican has remained silent on the outcome of this investigation and no one in Malawi was ever told why Clohessy was withdrawn.
In the past month, the Vatican has continued this policy of silence despite repeated requests from the MoS to answer questions about the cover-up of Clohessy’s abuse in Africa.
Meanwhile at home, further criminal complaints from former St Augustine’s pupils against Clohessy are also being ?? From Page One many as 20 civil cases from there that have already been settled.
The St John of God order has privately settled these African cases in the Irish courts without any admission of liability.
Together with recent settlements to Irish victims, the part-taxpayer-funded order has spent more than €3m on civil cases in the past year.
The MoS now understands that, since Clohessy’s imprisonment, further victims have come forward in Malawi, bringing the number of alleged victims seeking recompense there to more than 50.
The head of the scandal-plagued order – Br Donatus Forkan – dispatched Clohessy to Malawi in 1993 as part of the cover-up of his fellow cleric’s crimes in Ireland.
While in Africa, Clohessy remained free to abuse more vulnerable children until he was withdrawn in 2012 amid a Canonical Inquiry. Ever since, the Vatican has remained silent on the outcome of this investigation and no one in Malawi was ever told why Clohessy was withdrawn.
In the past month, the Vatican has continued this policy of silence despite repeated requests from the MoS to answer questions about the cover-up of Clohessy’s abuse in Africa.
Meanwhile at home, further criminal complaints from former St Augustine’s pupils against Clohessy are also being considered. by the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) though no new charges have yet been filed.
Despite his role in the cover-up of Clohessy’s abuse, Br Forkan remains at the helm of the order. In this capacity, he is a trustee on the board of a charitable company called the St John of God Hospitaller Services Group.
This is the parent company to St John of God Community Services Ltd, which receives more than €200m annually from the HSE to provide services to intellectually disabled children and adults throughout the State.
In their role as trustees of the wider St John of God group, Br Forkan and his fellow trustees exercise considerable control over State-funded resources.
They retain the power to appoint the CEO of St John of God Community Services Ltd and exert considerable influence over the ethos and management of the organisation.
However, pressure is growing for Br Forkan to stand aside as his order is rocked by dozens more alleged abuse cases.
Ms Foley has written to St John of Community Services in the wake of ongoing MoS investigations into the abuse scandal and its cover-up.
It is understood the minister’s letter acknowledges the work St John of God does to support children and adolescents with intellectual disability and seeks confirmation from St John of God Community Services that all the necessary child protection measures under the Children First Act 2015 are being complied with and implemented.
Ms Foley has also sought assurances that all the necessary child protection measures are in place in the parent company, St John of God Hospitaller Services Group, and that all individuals at all levels of the organisation are in compliance.
Br Forkan is a trustee of seven publicly funded primary schools run by his order.
Four of these are in Dublin – St Augustine’s in Blackrock, the Carmona Special School in Dún Laoghaire, the St John of God School, Islandbridge, and St Peter’s school in Rathgar.
The other schools of which Br Forkan is a trustee are St Mary’s Special School in Drumcar, Co. Louth; St Raphael’s school in Celbridge, Co. Kildare; and St Francis Special School in Killarney, Co. Kerry.
Several public figures, including former HSE board member and Barnardos CEO Fergus Finlay, have called for Br Forkan to be removed from any publicly funded role and demanded he be investigated for recklessly endangering children.
So too has Kindernothilfe (KNH), the German children’s charity that funds St John of God’s operations in Malawi.
The charity told the MoS: ‘With regard to Brother Donatus, it is in our view now urgent that an independent and transparent review of all related events be conducted.
‘Individuals who held central responsibilities and may have knowingly contributed to the endangerment of children should not be allowed to assume further leadership roles in child-related institutions – whether they are still active or have already left.’
KNH also confirmed it is engaging directly with St John of God about its concerns.
There has also been criticism of Br Forkan from within St John of God, most notably from Paul Moran, a consultant psychiatrist working for the order.
He said: ‘Someone of questionable ethics and standards, overseeing the ethics and standards of an organisation dealing with vulnerable people? Can’t be right.’
To date, the Government, the departments of Health and Education and the HSE have repeatedly refused to intervene or address the issue publicly.
A HSE spokesman said this weekend: ‘This is a matter for the board of Saint John of God Hospitaller Services Group. Voluntary organisations are independent legal entities with independent boards that must comply with all relevant legislation.’
The Department of Education said it ‘does not comment on individual cases’ and ‘has no statutory role in investigating child protection concerns or allegations of abuse’.
However, Labour Justice spokesman Alan Kelly told the MoS: ‘It’s quite clear this all needs to be investigated. I’m surprised that An Garda Síochána haven’t investigated this yet. I would hope that will transpire in the near future.
‘Many very established people have said this person should stand aside from the provision of services, and that is something I fundamentally agree with.’
The Tipperary North TD said he intends to raise the matter in the Dáil when it returns from the summer recess.
The former Labour Party leader also encouraged the board of management of the schools under the trusteeship of Br Forkan to ‘look at their roles’.
Sinn Féin Education spokesman Darren O’Rourke also called for ‘a criminal investigation into these extremely serious revelations’.
The Meath East TD said: ‘Donatus Forkan should step down or should be removed from those positions. He cannot be allowed continue in roles where children and vulnerable adults are involved, or which are in receipt of State funding, through the HSE, the Department of Health, the Department of Education and Youth, or elsewhere.’
Mr O’Rourke added: ‘We cannot have deflection, delay, evasion or silence in this regard. History should have taught us that well enough. We cannot have it repeat itself. There must be accountability.’
The Irish Catholic Bishops Conference did not engage with queries relating to the St John of God abuse revelations. A spokesman would only say the conference has no role in overseeing religious orders.
The St John of God order also said it had no comment to make in response to the latest abuse allegations made against Clohessy.
The communal body representing religious orders, the Association of Leaders of Missionaries and Religious of Ireland, also declined to comment.
Contact the author on michaelofarrell@protonmail.com
‘Cover-up was mandated, required and directed by the Vatican’ – Colm O’Gorman.
IN 2005, as founder and executive director of the One In Four charity, I worked to secure a recommendation from the Ferns Inquiry that those who recklessly endanger children should face criminal sanction.
The 2006 Criminal Justice Act made that a crime – yet no one has ever been prosecuted for it.
We fought for this law to ensure accountability for those who wilfully conceal allegations or knowledge of child sexual abuse and enabled further abuse.
It was meant to criminalise conduct like that of St John of God in its handling of convicted paedophile Br Aidan Clohessy.
The cover-up in Clohessy’s case allowed him to keep abusing in Africa.
It is clear Br Donatus Forkan – the head of the St John of God order – bears significant responsibility for allowing Clohessy access to enormously vulnerable children for many years, despite extensive knowledge of multiple credible allegations of child sexual abuse. Clohessy continued to abuse with effective impunity.
Br Forkan and other Church leaders must be held accountable. First and foremost, he is not a fit person to serve on the board of any organisation with responsibility for children or vulnerable adults. You don’t need a Garda investigation to prove it – although that should happen.
There are only two possibilities: either Br Forkan was unaware of the abuse, which would be gross negligence given the information available, or he knew and actively covered it up. Either is grounds for resignation.
This is not ‘just another abuse story’. You may think you’ve heard it all before, but what has never been acknowledged by the Vatican, or understood by wider society, is that the cover-up was wilful, deliberate and directed from the highest levels of the Church.
It wasn’t the result of a few incompetent leaders making bad calls or doing bad things.
It was the result of deliberate and systematic policy mandated by the Vatican and underpinned by Church law.
The first complaints against Clohessy were made in 1985. Yet he remained in a senior position in Malawi until 2012.
The Church acted only then to remove him and launch a Canonical Inquiry – a full 27 years later.
It is not credible that they knew nothing until 2012. Under Church law, the Vatican has had exclusive authority over such cases for decades.
This was not mere negligence or a tragic oversight. It was a deliberate, sustained cover-up that protected a known abuser and gave him extraordinary access to some of the most vulnerable children on the planet.
It demands accountability – starting with the removal of everyone who facilitated Clohessy’s crimes from any position of responsibility involving children or vulnerable adults.
But it must go further.
Br Forkan is responsible for his leadership role and the decisions he made, but many others above and around him share equal responsibility. They too must be held to account.
The facts are clear and well-established: this cover-up was mandated, required and directed by the Vatican. It was wilful, deliberate, forceful, systemic and global. This case is a stark example of that reality.
It is staggering that no one in the Church ever sought to check whether Clohessy continued to abuse in Africa even after they removed him in 2012 – until the Irish Mail on Sunday did. Nor did they make any apparent effort to identify and support his victims there.
Why? Because they simply did not care enough. This is an organisation that knowingly placed a man with multiple allegations of child sexual abuse in a position of immense authority over vulnerable children. If they cared a jot for those children’s safety, why would they do that?
The answer is they didn’t. They left him in place until the risk of scandal became too great, then removed him quietly – concerned only with protecting their power, position, authority, reputation and money.
It’s not complicated. They sent Clohessy to Malawi and allowed him access to children because they did not care enough about those children.
They removed him when it served their interests, without regard for his many victims there. Because they did not care.
Colm O’Gorman is a former executive director of Amnesty International Ireland and the founder of One In Four
