Irish Bishops in second meeting with abuse survivors

Maynooth

Irish Bishops held a second meeting with survivors of institutional abuse in Maynooth on Monday. Mr Tom Hayes of the Alliance Support Group, Mr John Kelly and Mr Patrick Walsh of Irish SOCA, Mr Michael O'Brien of Right to Peace, Mr Michael Walsh of Right of Place met with Bishop Colm O'Reilly, Bishop of Ardagh and Clonmacnoise, Bishop John Mc Areavey, Bishop of Dromore, Bishop John Buckley, Bishop of Cork and Ross and Bishop John Fleming, Bishop of Killala.

Bishop John McAreavey said: "Today's meeting was constructive and helpful to us as we prepare to meet the Holy Father next week. The meeting focused on the ongoing concerns of survivors. We intend to relay these concerns to Pope Benedict both verbally and in the form of written submissions which were presented to us today by survivors and which directly represent their views."

The original plans for a meeting between representatives of the four survivors' groups were set in motion on 7 October last year. The first meeting of this group took place on 11 December.

Source: Irish Catholic Media Office