There were extraordinary scenes in a Kerry court earlier this week as up to 50 people queued to shake hands with sex offender Danny Foley, a man the judge accused of telling "lie after lie" to the court before being convicted by a unanimous jury.
Fr Sean Sheehy, of Castlegregory, Co Kerry, gave a favourable character reference on behalf of Foley, of Meen, Listowel, after he was accused of sexually assaulting a 22-year-old woman in the town last year.
(snip)
An unrepentant Fr Sheehy said he stood by his comments and the fact that he shook the sex abuser's hand in court, saying he wanted to "let him (Foley) know he was not alone".
(snip)
Fr Sheehy also reiterated his support for the sex offender.
"I mean, it's a horrible situation to be in the dock as a prisoner, just sitting with his prison officers," he said. He said that he didn't know the victim but if he did he would have shaken her hand too.
He added that he believed Foley's sentence was "extremely harsh".
"I would go again as a character witness -- I would say the same thing about this person and I would say the same thing about reasonable doubt given the circumstances and given the situation," he said.
"The evidence that she (the victim) said she was quite blurry about a lot of things -- and, as I said, both were under the influence of alcohol which definitely blurs everything."
Fr Sheehy said he did not regret his court support for Foley and his family who he has known for years.
"I didn't go (to court) to represent the Church or anyone else," he said. "I went as a neighbour and I was more than happy to do that."
You also didn't mention that the fiancée of Danny Foley affirmed that she still planned to marry him. (mentioned in that article)
And, of course, you didn't bother to mention that up to 50 people queued to shake hands with Foley.
Any reason for omitting those statements out of that article you cited, Alex?
Why include them? They do nothing to slander the Catholic Church.
markomally:
I can say that I know this priest personally. He is an outstanding priest. He is an Irishman who was ordained for the Diocese of Baton Rouge, Louisiana and worked here for about 35 years before retiring and moving back home to Irleand.