In a statement this week, the Irish Jesuits admitted that Fr. Marmion’s case was mishandled, and called it “shameful.”
“What has emerged in terms of the story of Marmion’s abuse, and subsequent handling of his case is shameful for us Jesuits and must be very difficult for survivors to read,” the Society of Jesus in Ireland stated.
“We are profoundly sorry for the terrible wrongs that were done to survivors. We again ask forgiveness of all those impacted by Joseph Marmion’s abuse.”
A victim who was 13 years old at the time of the abuse contacted the Irish Jesuits in 2019, the order said. Fr. Leonard Moloney SJ, Provincial of the Order, met with the man, who asked that his abuser, Marmion, be named publicly.
The order said it has been in contact “over many years with others who were abused” by Marmion as young students. The survivors wanted “a robust process that would address the whole truth of what happened and how it was allowed to happen,” the Jesuits said.
The order engaged two “independent restorative justice practitioners,” Barbara Walshe and Catherine O’Connell, to help aid former students who had suffered abuse. The order also prepared a report on the Jesuits’ “knowledge, actions and omission” related to the abuse case. The Irish broadcaster RTE obtained a copy of the draft report this week.
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