Northern Ireland

Bishop Brooks cathedral mosaic to be removed after pressure from Malachy Finegan victims

A mosaic in Newry Cathedral to Bishop Francis Brooks is to be removed
A mosaic in Newry Cathedral to Bishop Francis Brooks is to be removed A mosaic in Newry Cathedral to Bishop Francis Brooks is to be removed

A MOSAIC in Newry Cathedral in tribute to a bishop criticised for his handling of paedophile priest Malachy Finegan is to be removed following pressure from survivors.

The 'Coat of Arms' mosaic to Bishop Francis Brooks on the floor of a side aisle will be taken away months after requests from victims of Finegan.

Archbishop Eamon Martin, who was appointed Apostolic Administrator of the Diocese of Dromore in April, wrote to a solicitor for victims, Claire McKeegan of Phoenix Law, to say the mosaic would be removed as part of ongoing work to the floor of the cathedral.

He also said images of Bishop Brooks displayed in St Colman's College, where he was principal prior to Finegan taking over in 1976, have already been removed.

The archbishop apologised "unreservedly for the hurt and damage caused to victims by Fr Finegan, or any other priest or church representative".

"The Diocese of Dromore finds such behaviour towards children and vulnerable people abhorrent and indefensible, and is fully committed to achieving and maintaining best practice in the area of safeguarding young people and vulnerable adults," he wrote.

At least 12 young boys were sexually abused by Finegan while he taught at St Colman's College between 1967 and 1987. Many more were physically abused by the priest.

He went on to carry out further serious sexual abuse while he was parish priest in Hilltown in the early 1990s.

Bishop Brooks, who died in September 2010, sent Finegan to England for 'treatment' in 1994 instead of reporting him to police.

One of Finegan's victims, who did not want to be named, previously said he informed Bishop Brooks in 1985 that he had been abused by the paedophile.

He said the bishop offered him a 'healing' trip to Lourdes instead of taking action. The man was among a group of survivors who pressed for the mosaic to be removed.

Sean Faloon, another survivor of Finegan, said he was "relieved that it's to be removed rather than happy".

"I would have been happy if it was removed this time last year," he said.

"We have to remove any tributes to Bishop Brooks as soon as possible.

"The mosaic needs to be removed and destroyed in a reasonable time-frame.

"I have offered to remove it myself."

He added: "We shouldn't have to prompt the Catholic Church to make these common-sense decisions.

"The lack of compassion is astonishing compared to the weight of damage which has been done to survivors and our families and friends."

Paul Gilmore, another of Finegan's survivors, questioned how long it would take to remove the mosaic.

"This is nothing more than tokenism as far as I am concerned," he said.

"In the letter, it's couched in terms of other works to the cathedral - it's not a specific project. That doesn't suggest to me he's (Archbishop Martin) particularly serious."

Ms McKeegan said it was "frustrating" that the move only came following pressure from survivors.

"We will ensure that this commitment is fulfilled in a timely fashion."

She said it was offensive to survivors that Bishop Brooks was honoured "in any way, let alone (with) an ornate mosaic in a sacred place of worship".

"All such regalia in any public place must be removed to protect those who have suffered from further distress and trauma," she said.

"It was deeply upsetting for survivors of Malachy Finegan that those who knew what was going on failed to act and protect them."