KARE11.com Minneapolis-St. Pail Minnesota

26 March 2010

  By Scott Goldberg

GRANITE FALLS, Minn. -- The scandal that started in Ireland and spread across the globe has come knocking on the door of a Catholic church in this small city 120 miles west of Minneapolis.

"I was very shocked and disgusted," said the Rev. Jim Devorak, the pastor at St. Andrew, who learned about the connection the same way as most in his parish.

Last week, CNN reported 82-year-old priest Francis Markey, who is in an Indiana jail awaiting extradition to Ireland on charges he raped a 15-year-old boy 40 years ago, once spent three months as the interim pastor at St. Andrew.

The alleged rape happened well before Markey turned up in Granite Falls in the early 1980s.

"He was a great homilist, good sense of humor, an outgoing and lively person," said Devorak, who has been at St. Andrew for the last 10 years and said he never met Markey.

Devorak said he knows about Markey from conversation with several members of his church who remember the Irish pastor, including a man who told CNN that Markey once kissed him.

"He gave me a hug, and as he did so, he stuck his tongue down my throat," the man said in the CNN report. The cable network disguised the man's identity.

Devorak said no one else has come forward with allegations of abuse, and he doesn't know if other members of his congregation might tell similar stories.

"I hope there aren't (more people)," he said. "On the other hand, if there are, I hope they can come forward and be helped."

The Diocese of New Ulm said Markey was accepted to a pastoral education program - an ongoing education progam for priests - in Willmar, in 1981. While he was there, the priest at St. Andrew died and Markey went to Granite Falls to fill in until the church got a new pastor.

Jim Devorak, the current pastor, said he's not sure where Markey went after those three months at St. Andrew. Nor is he willing to speculate about how Markey ended up in Minnesota. While some suggested the Catholic Church may have tried to cover up the Ireland incident by sending Markey to America, Devorak said it's possible Markey simply came to Willmar for the educational opportunity.

This week Devorak sent a letter to the 275 families at his church promising to find help if anyone needs it.

"I think, if it's dealt with open and honestly, I think we can get through," he said.

Irish priest awaiting extradition on abuse charge was removed from Minn. pulpit in '82

Fox 59 WXIN Indianapolis

3 :14 PM EST, March 25, 2010

By Associated Press

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — An official in the New Ulm Roman Catholic diocese says an Irish priest facing extradition over sexual abuse allegations was removed from a Granite Falls church in 1982 after parents complained he was "overly affectionate" with boys.

The Rev. Douglas Grams is vicar general in New Ulm. He said Thursday that the Rev. Francis Markey filled in at St. Andrew in Granite Falls for about three months ending in June 1982. Grams says after the complaints, the diocese sent Markey to a church-run treatment center in New Mexico and did not deal with him again.

Markey is in an Indiana jail as he fights extradition.

Markey, 82, is accused of twice raping a 15-year-old boy in Ireland in 1968. Grams says there will be a message in the St. Andrew bulletin this weekend encouraging anyone who was abused by Markey to come forward.

Small U.S. town watches case of accused Irish priest

CNN

From Drew Griffin, CNN Special Investigations Unit

March 19, 2010 -- Updated 0212 GMT (1012 HKT)

19 March 2010

Granite Falls, Minnesota (CNN) -- As a boy in Ireland, Francis Markey dreamed of becoming a priest and serving parishioners all over the world. His dream of ordination came true, but his relationship with parishioners has become the object of international scrutiny.

Now 82 years old, Markey is sitting in an Indiana jail awaiting extradition to Ireland to face the charge that he raped a boy more than 40 years ago.

His story is part of a growing crisis in the Irish Catholic Church, which has recently admitted its leaders hid, moved and even exported suspected pedophile priests abroad to cover up horrific crimes.

Deeply Catholic Ireland has been badly shaken by a government-backed report that found the Archdiocese of Dublin and other church authorities covered up child abuse by priests from 1975 to 2004. Child sexual abuse was widespread then, the report found.

Pope Benedict XVI said Wednesday that he has finished writing an official statement, or pastoral letter, on the child abuse scandal facing the Irish church and he is expected to release the letter on Saturday.

The head of the Irish Catholic Church, Cardinal Sean Brady, said Wednesday that the church's response to abuse had been "hopelessly inadequate."

As a priest, Markey was first suspended in 1964 and sent for psychiatric treatment in Dublin.

Throughout the '60s and '70s he was suspended and sent for treatment three times. Eventually, he was sent to New Mexico, where the Catholic church ran a treatment facility for priests with various addictions and sexual problems.

In 1982, Markey resurfaced in the tiny Minnesota town of Granite Falls to fill in for a priest at the small parish of St. Andrew. It was there and then that a boy would come to the priest's home, just across the street from church, and find himself in Markey's arms.

"As I was leaving, he gave me a hug and as he did so he stuck his tongue down my throat," that person, now grown, told CNN. "He had been drinking. ... I can't say if he was drunk but he was definitely drinking."

The man, who requested anonymity, said the abuse never went further.

But Markey's arrest in Indiana, based on the accusation against him in Ireland, has refocused attention not only on the Irish church, but also on the secrets of a small-town Minnesota parish.

"To this day, I wonder how many people ... had encounters with him," said the man who says Markey kissed him as a child.

Markey's attorney did not return calls from CNN.

The Rev. James Moran, the St. Andrew priest who Markey filled in for in the early '80s, said he knew nothing of the allegations against Markey.

But the diocese overseeing St. Andrew told CNN that Markey was sent from the church to treatment because parents were concerned he had an "unnatural attraction to minor males." He never returned to the parish.

Now, decades later, some of Markey's former Granite Falls parishioners may see their old priest again -- in the benches of a courtroom in Ireland, where he is expected to stand trial.

Child rape accused priest first suspended in 1964

Belfast Telegraph

Friday, 13 November 2009

An elderly Irish Catholic priest facing extradition from the US over charges of child sex abuse was first suspended from service 45 years ago.

Father Francis Markey is accused of raping a 15-year-old boy during a pilgrimage to Lough Derg, Co Donegal, and again in Co Galway, both in 1968.

The retired cleric had been treated in a top Dublin mental health hospital following an allegation of abuse four years earlier.

The 81-year-old was arrested by US Marshals at his home in Indiana on Monday and was brought before the US District Court the following day.

Joseph Duffy, Bishop of Clogher where Fr Markey served until 1976, revealed he had written to the priest seven years ago urging him to return home and present himself to authorities to answer allegations.

"The abuse of a child is a despicable act and I condemn it unreservedly," the bishop said.

"My primary concern regarding abuse, and allegations of abuse, is for the victim."

Fr Markey, who was ordained in 1952, has been treated four times in mental health facilities after concerns were raised about his behaviour.

He was first suspended and sent for treatment in 1964.

The following year he became curate in Threemilehouse, Co Monaghan, where an accusation was reported to gardai in 1973. He was again suspended and sent for treatment.

Within two years Fr Markey was suspended from another position at Inniskeen parish and sent to a rehabilitation clinic known as Stroud in Brownshill, Gloucestershire.

He then had five years supervision in Clifden diocese in England before he went to a treatment centre run by a religious congregation in New Mexico in 1981.

The priest became a member of the Servants of the Paraclete before he skipped the centre four years later.

It is understood the Director of Public Prosecutions issued a warrant for his arrest 18 months ago and requested the priest be sent back to Ireland to face trial.

Pamela Mozdzierz, a spokeswoman for the US Marshal in northern Indiana, said the pensioner was arrested without any struggle at his home address in Miller Court, South Bend.

"When he was approached he was standing outside his home on the front porch," she said.

"He appeared in court yesterday and the next hearing is Monday next week."

The accused priest told the judge he was in bad health, having survived a stroke and a recent fall in which he hit his head.

The court heard that Irish authorities issued warrants for the priest in April and May last year after a garda investigation and requested he be held without bail until the extradition request was resolved.

Fr Markey was remanded to St Joseph County Jail until 16 November.

Bishop Duffy said that, in all cases of abuse, the diocese follows State and Church best practice guidelines, with gardai and health chiefs advised of all allegations.

"The safeguarding of children in the Diocese of Clogher is underpinned by the existence of child protection-trained volunteers in each of the 37 parishes of the diocese," he said.

He added that a dedicated committee had been set up in the diocese to liaise with the church watchdog, the National Board for Safeguarding Children in the Catholic Church.

Priest who served Co Monaghan faces extradition from US

94-98 FM (Northern Sound - the spirit of Cavan and Monaghan)

Nov 12 2009

An priest who served in Monaghan has appeared in court in Indiana in the United States this week following a request for his extradition to Ireland to face child sexual abuse charges.

Fr Francis Markey served the areas of Magheracloone, Threemilehouse and Inniskeen but has spent the last 24 years in America after escaping supervision by a religious order that had been treating him.

 In 2006, allegations emerged that 81-year-old Fr Francis Markey, twice raped a 15-year-old boy over 38 years ago in Lough Derg and in Galway.

He was arrested in Indiana on Monday on foot of a warrant issued by the Director of Public Prosecutions 18 months ago.

The priest told the court he's in bad health, had survived a stroke and had recently fallen and hit his head.

In a statement, the Bishop of Clogher Joseph Duffy, details Fr Markey's history since he first arrived in Magheracloone in 1952.

The statement says that in 1964 Father Markey was suspended from the priesthood and sent for treatment in St John of God's, Dublin, however in the following year he was made curate of Threemilehouse.

An accusation of abuse was brought to the attention of local gardai in 1973 after which he was suspended once more and again sent for treatment to St John of God's.

He became curate in Inniskeen in 1974, and following a further suspension the following year, was sent for treatment in the UK.

From 1976 to 1981 he was under supervision in the Clifden diocese in England before joining the Servants of the Paraclete in New Mexico.

After leaving that centre in 1985, Fr Markey did not communicate with the diocese until the late 1990s.

The statement adds that in 2002, in response to abuse allegations, Bishop Duffy wrote to the priest requesting that he would present himself to the Gardai but Fr Markey refused.

Bishop Duffy has also stressed that the abuse of a child is a despicable act which he condemns.

Father Markey's extradition hearing will take place in Indiania on November 16th.

Jailed Irish priest worked with addicts

WSBT

Story Created: Nov 12, 2009 at 7:49 PM EDT

(Story Updated: Nov 12, 2009 at 10:04 PM EDT )

By KEVIN ALLEN, Tribune Staff Writer

The Catholic Church sent the Rev. Francis Markey to the United States in 1982 to be treated for addiction.

As it turned out, the Irish priest reportedly spent far more time treating others.

Markey, 81, was arrested this week at his home on Miller Court in South Bend and is facing possible extradition to Ireland on charges that he raped a teenage boy there in 1968.

He moved to Michiana in 1990, five years after reportedly fleeing an addiction-treatment center in New Mexico, to take a job counseling drug and alcohol abusers in Niles, said Bob Truitt, a staff attorney with Federal Community Defenders who is representing the priest during the extradition proceedings.

Most recently, Markey worked at Community Healing Center in Niles from 2001 until poor health forced him to retire in March, said Sally Reimes, the organization’s chief executive officer.

Reimes said Thursday that the center was not aware of Markey’s reported history of addiction or the abuse charges against him until his arrest was reported this week.

Truitt said Markey told him that he completed a clinical educational program in Minnesota and also worked at the Betty Ford Center in California before moving to South Bend.

Markey is a legal U.S. resident, but he never became a citizen and does not have any family members in the United States, Truitt said.

Truitt said Federal Community Defenders chose to represent Markey because courts do not appoint lawyers to represent defendants in extradition cases.

“Based on his age, his health and his limited financial resources, we felt strongly he should have the services of an attorney,” Truitt said.

Markey is diabetic, survived a stroke and has a history of heart problems, Truitt said.

He is being held in the St. Joseph County Jail until Monday, when he is scheduled to appear in U.S. District Court for a hearing to determine whether he will continue to be jailed or released with conditions until extradition proceedings begin, Truitt said.

Staff writer Kevin Allen:

kallen@sbtinfo.com

(574) 235-6244

Priest who served Co Monaghan faces extradition from US

northernsound.ie (Northern Sound: the Spirit of Cavan and Monaghan)

Nov 12 2009

An priest who served in Monaghan has appeared in court in Indiana in the United States this week following a request for his extradition to Ireland to face child sexual abuse charges.

Fr Francis Markey served the areas of Magheracloone, Threemilehouse and Inniskeen but has spent the last 24 years in America after escaping supervision by a religious order that had been treating him.

In 2006, allegations emerged that 81-year-old Fr Francis Markey, twice raped a 15-year-old boy over 38 years ago in Lough Derg and in Galway.

He was arrested in Indiana on Monday on foot of a warrant issued by the Director of Public Prosecutions 18 months ago.

The priest told the court he's in bad health, had survived a stroke and had recently fallen and hit his head.

In a statement, the Bishop of Clogher Joseph Duffy, details Fr Markey's history since he first arrived in Magheracloone in 1952.

The statement says that in 1964 Father Markey was suspended from the priesthood and sent for treatment in St John of God's, Dublin, however in the following year he was made curate of Threemilehouse.

An accusation of abuse was brought to the attention of local gardai in 1973 after which he was suspended once more and again sent for treatment to St John of God's.

He became curate in Inniskeen in 1974, and following a further suspension the following year, was sent for treatment in the UK.

From 1976 to 1981 he was under supervision in the Clifden diocese in England before joining the Servants of the Paraclete in New Mexico.

After leaving that centre in 1985, Fr Markey did not communicate with the diocese until the late 1990s.

The statement adds that in 2002, in response to abuse allegations, Bishop Duffy wrote to the priest requesting that he would present himself to the Gardai but Fr Markey refused.

Bishop Duffy has also stressed that the abuse of a child is a despicable act which he condemns.

Father Markey's extradition hearing will take place in Indiania on November 16th.

Priest accused of raping boy after boy's father's funeral

Priest (81) told to face being extradited on rape charges

Daon-Phoblacht Chorcai

12-11-2009

COURT IN South Bend, Indiana, has given Fr Francis Markey (81) until November 16th to find a lawyer and prepare for his extradition hearing.

The priest, from the Catholic diocese of Clogher, is wanted in Ireland on charges of twice raping a 15-year-old boy in 1968.

Fr Markey was on the front porch of his home when US marshals arrested him at about 5pm on Monday, the South Bend Tribune reported. He is being held in the St Joseph county jail. The Irish Government has requested that he not be released on bail.

“I’m at a loss,” Fr Markey murmured in the district court on Tuesday when Judge Christopher Nuechterlein asked if he had any questions. Kevin Allen, the South Bend Tribune’s reporter in the courtroom, described the priest as “a slight, bespectacled man with a head of thinning white hair” who “entered the courtroom slowly and gingerly with the help of a cane”.

He wore a blue jail uniform, “spoke softly with an Irish accent” and said he was in poor health, having suffered a stroke, fallen and hit his head recently.

Fr Markey’s alleged victim made the accusations against him in 2006, nearly 38 years after he said the rapes took place. The priest’s accuser said he was 15 years old when Fr Markey, who was considered a family friend, allegedly raped him once in Lough Derg and once in Co Galway, after his father’s funeral.

The DPP issued two warrants for Fr Markey’s arrest in April and May 2008. Representatives of the diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend and the University of Notre Dame said the priest was not affiliated with them.

In a statement yesterday the Catholic Bishop of Clogher, Dr Joseph Duffy, said: “A retired priest of the diocese of Clogher has been arrested in the United States on the basis of an extradition warrant in connection with allegations of child sexual abuse more than 40 years ago.

“These allegations were made directly to An Garda Síochána. The priest concerned has not held a position of ministry in the diocese of Clogher since 1976. He has been living in the United States since 1982.”

Priest's extradition moves step closer

RTE (Ireland)

Thursday, 10 December 2009 22:08

The US government has moved closer toward sending a Catholic priest back to Ireland to face sexual molestation charges.

The DPP is attempting to extradite Father Francis Markey, aged 82, of South Bend, Indiana, so it can charge him with twice raping a 15-year-old boy in 1968.

Markey's attorneys are making two arguments to fight the extradition: That their client is not the same man the Irish authorities are seeking, and that a 1993 change in the Irish criminal code abolished the crime with which Mr Markey is being charged.

At a hearing today, US Magistrate Judge Christopher Neuchterlein quickly dispatched with the first attempt.

The man in his courtroom clearly was the same man sought by the Irish government, Mr Neuchterlein ruled.

When a deputy US marshal came to his apartment last month to arrest him, he told the officer that he was Francis Xavier Markey, a priest who had the same birth date as the one listed by Irish officials.

When allowed to read the charging documents, Markey didn't deny he was the same man, Deputy Marshal William Boothe testified at today's hearing.

'He said to me, 'I did nothing to hurt that boy,' or, 'I didn't hurt that boy,'' Mr Boothe said in court.

On the second argument, Mr Neuchterlein gave the US government and Markey's attorneys until 30 December 30 to file written briefs.

The DPP's extradition warrant alleges that Markey committed 'buggery', defined by an 1861 Irish law.

Because a 1993 Irish criminal code change abolished the crime of 'buggery,' Mr Markey can no longer be charged with it, his attorney, Robert Truitt, has argued in a motion to dismiss the extradition request.

Mr Neuchterlein said he will await the written arguments before issuing a finding on this claim, but indicated he is leaning toward recommending that the U.S. Secretary of State honor Ireland's extradition request.

'My guess is we're not talking about what was illegal at some point is now legal,' Mr Neuchterlein said. 'My thought is it's only the title of the criminal conduct that has changed.'

Mr Neuchterlein added that he does not feel that a 1983 extradition treaty between the two countries allows him much discretion to deny extradition requests based on technical arguments about the alleged charging documents from the country seeking extradition.

'The way I view my role and this court's role, it's rather narrow,' Mr Neuchterlein said. 'I think this court should give deference to the Secretary of State that it would not surrender a fugitive if it was not appropriate under the treaty.'