Irish broadcaster faces penalties after falsely accusing priest of rape

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Catholic News Agency

02 April 2012

By David Kerr

Dublin, Ireland, Apr 2, 2012 / 05:37 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Ireland’s national broadcaster RTÉ is likely to face charges of anti-Catholic bias following a soon-to-be-published report into why it falsely accused a priest of raping a minor and fathering a child.

“The report must ascertain what misjudgments were made that caused Fr. Kevin Reynolds to be so badly libeled and who made the key decisions?” Irish social commentator David Quinn of the Dublin-based Iona Institute told CNA April 2.

The independent inquiry was launched after RTÉ’s current affairs series “Prime Time” broadcast an episode titled “Mission to Prey” in May 2011. The program wrongly accused County Galway priest Father Kevin Reynolds of raping and impregnating a minor while working in Kenya as a missionary 30 years ago. It also falsely alleged that Fr. Reynolds secretly provided financial support for the baby over many years.

Prior to broadcast, Fr. Reynolds had volunteered to undergo a DNA test to prove his innocence but RTÉ refused. He was subsequently removed from his home and parish ministry. His innocence was later proven however by two separate and independent DNA tests.

In November of 2011, Fr. Reynolds agreed to accept substantial damages from RTÉ in an out-of-court libel settlement. The broadcaster’s Director-General Noel Curran apologized and admitted it was “one of the gravest editorial mistakes ever made” in the stations 51-year history.

“Why did RTÉ not accept Fr. Reynolds’s offer of a paternity test? Has the presumption of innocence being lost in the case of priests?” Quinn asked.

“Will RTÉ bias only ever be exposed when a black and white scientific test is failed, or will some other criteria be developed to determine when bias is at work in the making of programs about the Catholic Church?”

The country’s official broadcasting watchdog, the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland, has now sent a copy of their independent investigation to RTÉ along with notification of the financial sanctions it plans to impose.

RTÉ could be fined up to 250,000 euros or $333,000 U.S. dollars. It will be given 14 days to respond to the broadcasting authority’s conclusions. At the end of the process, the authority will officially publish its report along with notification of the financial penalties imposed.

1 Response to Irish broadcaster faces penalties after falsely accusing priest of rape

  1. JG says:

    Maybe all the victims of Church cover-ups…of priestly abuse who were called “liars”, “cheats” …. should have the opportunity to use the same “monetary yardstick”…same libel counter attack!…
    …$333,000.00 for a lapse in judgement…but a lot less, if anything at all, for hundreds and thousands of victims lives…Is this closure for a priest and not for their victims of sexual assaults?
    Does it seem more like Justice when the “victim” is a priest? Is he more deserving (financially) because of his “status” as compared to one who was crushed, destroyed and became an alcoholic or a frequent visitor in jail…and then is called “unreliable” when he eventually gets to a Court room to tell his story of abuse?…
    If this was so grave for this priest, the church and society should recognize secular victims of much more serious “assaults” and accept their(church, priests et al) “responsibility”…
    One measure for all?…
    That won’t happen anytime soon; we are too easily made to feel “guilt” with the need to “confess” !!!…They taught us well!… and they continue to “demand” the privileges of their “class”…
    We put our heads down and hand over our shame, as they request from high above…

    Will “Father” Reynolds consider giving his settlement to the poor? …the sick?…needy children?…
    A question of a “test” for these “men of God”…
    jg

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