Michael Ledwith

Miceal Ledwith was Catholic priest of the Diocese of Ferns in County Wexford from 1967 to 2005. After a promising academic start he was promoted rapidly and served for a time as President of St Peter's Diocescan College in Wexford. In 1977 he was appointed to a senior lecturership in Dogmatic Theology at St Patrick's College, Maynooth under the distinguished College President, Dr Tomas O'Fiach. He remained at Maynooth for the next 16 years and advanced quickly up the ladder of offices, serving a term as Dean of the Faculty of Theology, before being appointed to the Chair of Systemic Theology and later a College Vice-President. In 1985 Dr O'Fiach, now Cardinal Archbishop of Armagh and one of the trustees of Maynooth, approved his appointment to the prestigious post of President of Maynooth ^[1], which office carried an ex officio Pro-Vice Chancellorship of the National University of Ireland and membership of the Conference of the Heads of Irish Universities.

President of Maynooth

The Presidency of Maynooth, at that time, was a senior position within the Catholic Church and considered the gateway to glowing career. Ledwith, appointed at 44, proved a capable administrator at Maynooth and was very much seen as a rising star; immediately prior to his resignation he presided over the splitting away of the NUI University and the Pontifical College^[2]. Intelligent, urbane and charming he was regarded within the church as a progressive and it was expected that he would soon be appointed to a prominent Bishopric. In 1988 the See of Dublin became vacant following the sudden death of Archbishop Kevin McNamara and Ledwith was mentioned in the press as a likely successor and his name was submitted to Rome as one of three possible candidates ^[3]. There was considerable surprise following the appointment of a relatively anonymous UCD academic, Professor Desmond Connell^[4]. However despite this setback Ledwith was appointed a Domestic Prelate with the title of Monsignor, and served for seventeen years under Pope John Paul as a member of the International Theological Commission, a small group of theologians of international standing charged with advising the Holy See on theological matters. He also served as Chairman of the Committee of Heads of the Irish Universities and as a member of the Governing Bureau of the Conference of European University Presidents (CRE).

Resignation and abuse allegation

As Maynooth approached its bi-centenary in 1994 Msr Ledwith unexpectedly resigned as President, six months before his term of office was to end. In the immediate aftermath rumours began to circulate and in 1995 the Irish National Broadcaster, RTÉ, initiated discreet inquiries with the college authorities into an allegation of sexual abuse of a minor male. The Maynooth management initally denied that this occasioned Msr Ledwith's sudden departure, however in response to later revelations in the press Ledwith's successor, Monsignor Dermot Farrell and the Bishop Trustees of the College, issued a joint statement in 2002 admitting that an allegation had been made ^[5]. Monsignor Ledwith, they noted, had denied this strenuously but the College authorities had nevertheless commenced an investigation, and his Bishop, Dr Brendan Comiskey, had at the time informed both the Gardaí and relevant Health Board. This process of investigation had commenced in or around 1995 but Ledwith, in the interim, came to a private legal settlement with the claimant which admitted no liability and included a confidentiality clause. This, they said, frustrated the continuing inquiry and Dr Ledwith remained in situ at the College for another two years after his resignation, and continued his professorship^[6].

The McGinnity Affair

In 1997 Dr Ledwith and the College reached a mutual understanding for a parting of ways and he was awarded a pension top-up of £100,000. He also agreed to leave his rooms on the College Campus at this time ^[7]. Subequently, however, more rumours began to circulate in the press and in 2002 the Irish media reported allegations of sexual harassment towards young semanarians made by Msr Ledwith while he was serving as President of Maynooth, the details of which were reported in articles in the Gorey Guardian and the Sunday Tribune ^[8]. Controversies surrounding Dr Ledwith's appointment as President of Maynooth in 1985 were also discussed in the national media and Fr Gerard McGinnity, the former Senior Dean of Maynooth, acted as a whistle blower. It was reported that in 1985 Fr McGinnity complained to the Bishops conference about Ledwith's behaviour towards students and had approached seven key Bishops including the Bishop of Ferns, Dr Comiskey, who was championing his appointment, and Cardinal Tomas O'Fiach and the future Cardinal Cathal Daly. The former Bishop of Galway, Dr Eamon Casey, conducted a private investigation and as no Semanarian was prepared to come forward to make a complaint the matter was discretely dropped. In the immediate aftermath Dean McGinnity was promptly dismissed from his employment at the College and Dr Ledwith promoted. In response to the 2002 reports the Bishop trustees took an opportunity to re-examine the process of appointment and retained Denis McCullough SC to investigate whether the complaints made against Msr Ledwith had received an adequate response. McCullough's report, published on 16 June 2005, found that, while the seminarians had not complained about Ledwith's alleged sexual abuse to the bishops directly, “concerns of apparent propensities rather than accusations of actual crime or specific offences” had been communicated to a number of bishops by the senior dean of the college. McCullough concluded “that to have rejected the senior dean’s concerns so completely and so abruptly without any adequate investigation may have been too precipitate, although, of course, to investigate in any very full or substantial manner, a generic complaint regarding a person’s apparent propensities would have been difficult^[9].

The Bishop's report, whilst critical, was found wanting in key respects and the matter was debated in the Irish Senate in November 2005 and one Senator, Dr Mary Henry, said: "With regard to Monsignor Ledwith, I was dismayed to read the response of the bishops to whom complaints were made by six senior seminarians, as they are described in the report, as well as the senior dean of Maynooth College, Fr. Gerard McGinnity. Cardinal Daly, one of the surviving bishops, indicated in his statement to the inquiry that it was entirely untrue that any seminarian had mentioned homosexuality to him in connection with Monsignor Ledwith."^[10]

Ferns Report

In 2005 a report by a High Court Judge, Mr Justice Murphy, into the activities of certain priests of the Diocese of Ferns included various allegations made against Msr Ledwith. In connection with the accusion of sexual abuse against a minor the Inquiry was hampered by the confidentiality clause agreed between Ledwith and the complainant, and the Ferns Report was unable to make any specific finding. It did, however, repeat the substance of accusations and noted that the complainant had alleged that the abuse began when he was 13 years old and lasted until he was 15. The Inquiry discovered that the Diocese of Ferns had spent substantial monies providing counselling for the complainant^[11] and they also noted that Fr Walter Ford, who had investigated the allegation on behalf of the Diocese, reported to Dr Comiskey that he found the accusation as 'capable of being true'^[12]. In response the Bishop ordered Ledwidth to attend a treatment centre in the United States in 1994, but he declined and commenced proceedings against Dr Comiskey under Canon law. This resulted in the Diocescan investigation ceasing as the complaint was discovered to be outside the Canonical Statute of Limitations, and Bishop Comiskey declined to pursue the matter by other means at his disposal^[13]. In connection with the parallel investigation undertaken by the Maynooth authorities Msr Ledwith was initially open to a proposal waiving the confidentiality clause agreed with the complainant in the civil application, and this was also agreed to by the complainant^[14]. However Dr Ledwith subsequently changed his mind as he was dissatified with the conduct of the sub-committee of Trustees appointed to investigate. After a lengthy investigation he was summoned to the Archibishop's House in Dublin for further questioning, and attended with a solicitor and two Senior Counsel. There he informed the Sub-Committee that he felt that the procedure adopted was fundamentally flawed and unfair from the perspective of civil and canonical law and he submitted his resignation as President of Maynooth^[15]. The Ferns Report, while making no comment on the substance of the allegation, was highly critical of Ledwith's behaviour nd they stated that 'as with many other priests accused of child abuse' Msr Ledwith 'attacked the process rather than facing any charges'^[16].

The Committee also examined the McGinnity affair and found inconsistencies in the evidence presented to the Commission by the surviving Bishops from 1985 and the seven former Semanarians. The Bishops emphatically denied that there had been any allegations known of homosexual activity, whereas the former Semanarians and Fr McGinnity in evidence directly contradicted the Bishop's submission. Ledwith, in his own evidence to the Commission, confirmed that Dr Comiskey had informed him that a charge of homosexuality had been made against him. At the time he had approached Cardinal O'Fiach, who was McGinnity's Bishop, and they had discussed the matter. He also asserted to the Inquiry that Dr McGinnity had been dismissed from his post not because of this incident, but rather due to grave concerns about indiscipline within the College during his time as senior Dean^[17].

The Inquiry also investigated a serious allegation made by one Semarian in 1994 and concluded that in this instance the complainant had proved unreliable and it was put on record that the complainant had changed his statement to police and admitted that any alleged sexual activity had been consensual^[18]. The Commission also noted that Dr Ledwith had co-operated fully with the Inquiry and had given direct oral evidence, where he had consistently asserted his innocence of all charges, though he declined to discuss any issues subject to a confidentiality clause ^[19]. While critical, the Inquiry was unable to make any specific finding against Dr Ledwith in regard to either the allegation of child abuse or the alleged harassment of semanarians.

The sudden resignation of Miceal Ledwith in 1994 remains a controversial issue in Ireland ^[20] and led to considerable criticism of the way the matter was handled by the Irish Hierarchy ^[21]. However the recent appointment of an Apostolic Visitation from the Holy See to the Irish Church has been charged, amongst other things, with investigating all Irish Semanaries, and Maynooth in particular ^[22].

Post-clerical interests

In 2002 Patsy McGarry, Religious Affairs Correspondent of the Irish TImes reported that Msr Ledwith was lecturing with a new age cult in the United States ^[23] and in 2005 he was laicised. Since that time he has lectured in Australia, Canada, Denmark, England, Ecuador, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Scotland, Spain, South Africa, Switzerland, and throughout Canada and the United States.^{[citation needed]} He has taught at the Ramtha School of Ancient Wisdom,^[24] and has spoken at conferences held by the school.^{[citation needed]}

Ledwith appears in What the Bleep Do We Know!?,^[25][26] its sequel Down the Rabbit Hole, and Contact Has Begun, and he has been working on a DVD series that deals with fundamental matters in relation to spiritual evolution. Three titles have appeared so far: The Hamburger Universe in 2005, How Jesus Became a Christ in 2006, and Orbs: Clues to a More Exciting Universe in 2008. His book "The Orb Project", co-authored with the German physicist Dr. Klaus Heinemann, was published by Simon and Schuster/Beyond Words in 2007.^[27]

Further Reading

• Tom Mooney, 'All the Bishops' Men - Clerical Abuse in an Irish Diocese, Collins Press

References

1. ^ The Secret Scandal John Magee will Take to the Grave Irish Independent 27th March 2010
2. ^ Irish Times Smyth is set to be the master of NUI Maynooth Paul Cullen Education Correspondent Jun 1, 1994
3. ^ Irish Times 01 Jan 2003 Ledwith's name submitted for Dublin archbishop post
4. ^ At St Peters: The Dangers of a Priestly Education by Colm Tobin
5. ^ Irish Independent 1st June 2002 Church breaks its silence on departure of seminary head
6. ^ Ledwith made settlement in abuse claim - RTE News website 31st May 2002
7. ^ Ledwith made settlement in abuse claim - RTE News website 31st May 2002
8. ^ Monsignor Michael Ledwith is named in civil suit by ex-student Gorey Guardian 16th May 2002
9. ^ INQUIRY INTO CERTAIN MATTERS RELATING TO MAYNOOTH COLLEGE by DENIS McCULLOUGH, SENIOR COUNSEL March 2005
10. ^ Speech by Dr M Henry, 2005
11. ^ The Ferns Report, presented by Mr Justice Murphy on behalf of the Ferns Inquiry to the Minister for Health and Children (Dublin: Government Publications, October 2005)
12. ^ The Ferns Report, presented by Mr Justice Murphy on behalf of the Ferns Inquiry to the Minister for Health and Children (Dublin: Government Publications, October 2005)
13. ^ The Ferns Report, presented by Mr Justice Murphy on behalf of the Ferns Inquiry to the Minister for Health and Children (Dublin: Government Publications, October 2005)
14. ^ The Ferns Report, presented by Mr Justice Murphy on behalf of the Ferns Inquiry to the Minister for Health and Children (Dublin: Government Publications, October 2005)
15. ^ The Ferns Report, presented by Mr Justice Murphy on behalf of the Ferns Inquiry to the Minister for Health and Children (Dublin: Government Publications, October 2005)
16. ^ The Ferns Report, presented by Mr Justice Murphy on behalf of the Ferns Inquiry to the Minister for Health and Children (Dublin: Government Publications, October 2005)
17. ^ The Ferns Report, presented by Mr Justice Murphy on behalf of the Ferns Inquiry to the Minister for Health and Children (Dublin: Government Publications, October 2005)
18. ^ The Ferns Report, presented by Mr Justice Murphy on behalf of the Ferns Inquiry to the Minister for Health and Children (Dublin: Government Publications, October 2005)
19. ^ The Ferns Report, presented by Mr Justice Murphy on behalf of the Ferns Inquiry to the Minister for Health and Children (Dublin: Government Publications, October 2005)
20. ^ Sunday Independent 9th June 2002 Child sex abuse: it is time to shout stop
21. ^ Sunday Independent He is in cyberspace, we are left in limbo 9th June 2002
22. ^ [http://www.sbpost.ie/news/ireland/new-probe-central-to-popes-message-48071.htm New probe central to Pope’s message Sunday Business Post 21st March 2010]
23. ^ Maynooth head now with US New Age school Patsy McGarry Religious Affairs Correspondent The Irish Times May 8, 2002
24. ^ "Clinic isn't the cure for RTE's ills". Irish Independent. 18 October 2003. http://www.independent.ie/opinion/analysis/clinic-isnt-the-cure-for-rtes-ills-200913.html. Retrieved 16 August 2011. 
25. ^ "The Scientists". What the Bleep Do We Know!?. http://www.whatthebleep.com/scientists/. Retrieved 16 August 2011. 
26. ^ Gorenfeld, John (16 September 2004). ""Bleep" of faith". Salon.com. http://www.salon.com/entertainment/feature/2004/09/16/bleep/. Retrieved 16 August 2011. 
27. ^ "The Hamburger Universe". http://hamburgeruniverse.com/index.html. Retrieved 16 August 2011. 

External links

• The Great Questions in the Hamburger Universe
• What The Bleep
• Ramtha School of Enlightenment
• The Orb Project book, co-authored with Klaus Heinemann, Ph.D.
• Dr., Ledwith presents "The Orb Phenomena" at Body Soul & Spirit Expo
• The Dublin Review
• St Patrick's College, Maynooth Co Kildare Ireland

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