By Donna Deeney
donna@letterkennypost.com
An inquiry into the Raphoe Diocese has been called for by the author of a damming book which blows the lid on one of the most dark and disturbing periods of the Catholic Church.
Martin Ridge, the investigating officer in the cases against paedophiles Fr Eugene Greene and Denis McGinley, both cases involved the Church in Raphoe, launches ‘Breaking the Silence’ in Letterkenny tomorrow, Friday.
Speaking to the Letterkenny Post, Martin said the need for an inquiry similar to Ferns is essential so that people are finally told the truth.
He added: “There was such an obvious cover up by the clergy that only an inquiry will resolve because we are talking about four decades of child abuse and it needs to be brought into the open.
“There are many, many questions that to this very day the Church has failed to answer.”
In his book, Martin documents the painstaking process of talking to victims, often in dark corners as they were too afraid to speak openly about the suffering they endured at the hands of either Green or McGinley.
He also poignantly tells of the frustration he endured as he tried to get answers or even an acceptable level of co-operation from the Diocese and worse, the examples of active attempts to hinder his investigation.
In the book, he states: “It seemed that the churchmen were more willing to sympathise with the paedophile than his victims. They visited Greene’s family and McGinley’s family but none of them ever came to me to ask , how are the victims doing.
“There seemed to be no concern for the children who were abused.”
Eugene Greene is due for release from prison on 6th December 2008 after serving only nine of his twelve-year sentence. Some parishioners have deposited approximately €25,000 in a bank account for Greene.