Fern's report
The Ferns Report is an investigation initiated by the Irish government to investigate allegations of sexual abuse by clerics in the Diocese of Ferns , County Wexford . The report was published in 2005. He confirmed over 100 child abuse cases from 1962 to 2002 by 21 priests, including Seán Fortune . The report criticizes Bishop Donal Herlihy and his successor Brendan Comiskey .
scope
The investigation was initiated by the Irish government to identify complaints and allegations against clergymen in the Diocese of Ferns prior to April 2002 and to report on the response from the Church and civil authorities. The investigation did not deal with the truth or ignorance of the complaints and allegations made, but only with the answer to these allegations. The investigation found her disgust at the extent, severity and duration of child abuse allegedly committed against children by priests under the aegis of the Diocese of Ferns. The investigation was opened in the wake of the broadcast of a documentary by the BBC called Suing the Pope , highlighting the case of Fr Seán Fortune, one of the most notorious clerical sex offenders. The film was about Colm O'Gorman as he explored the story of how Fortune was allowed to abuse him and countless other teenage boys. The organization that O'Gorman founded to support women and men who have experienced sexual violence has successfully campaigned for the Ferns investigation.
The Ferns Report was submitted to the Irish government on October 25, 2005 and published the following day. It found more than 100 allegations of child sexual abuse between 1962 and 2002 against twenty-one priests under the aegis of the Diocese of Ferns. Eleven of these people were still alive in 2002. The manner in which church authorities in the diocese responded to allegations of child sexual abuse by priests under the auspices of the diocese varied over the forty years to 2002.