Noel Reynolds

Fr Noel Reynolds was a priest of the Archdiocese of Dublin who died in 1997. He served as curate in eight parishes including Rathcoole, parish priest of Glendalough, County Wicklow and then chaplain at the National Rehabilitation Centre, Dun Laoghaire, County Dublin.

Reynolds was a self-confessed paedophile. Complaints about him surfaced in 1995 but he was not removed from ministry until 1998 when the first formal complaint was made.

Cardinal Desmond Connell admitted he knew about the “inappropriate behaviour” of Reynolds two years before he reassigned him from a parish to a hospital chaplaincy and three years before he finally removed him from duty.

A colleague of Reynolds, Fr Arthur O’Neill revealed he had reported concerns about Fr Noel Reynolds when he was parish priest of Rathnew, Co Wicklow, and Fr Reynolds was parish priest in neighbouring Glendalough, but Reynolds was allowed to continue his duties. Reynolds later admitted that he abused more than 100 children in eight parishes.^[1] Reynolds resigned from his role as parish priest on health grounds but Connell neglected to inform National Rehabilitation Hospital authorities where was to become chaplain in 1997 that Reynolds was a paedophile.^[2]

References

1. ^ "Justice denied again". The Irish Examiner. 2002-10-19. http://archives.tcm.ie/irishexaminer/2002/10/19/story395123089.asp. 
2. ^ "Fr Noel Reynolds". Child Protection Service, Archdiocese of Dublin. 2002-10-18. http://www.cps.dublindiocese.ie/article_1.shtml. 

See also

• Roman Catholic Church sex abuse scandal
• Roman Catholic priests accused of sex offenses
• Ferns Report, on sexual abuse in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Ferns, Ireland
• Crimen sollicitationis
• Pontifical Secret

Persondata
Name	Reynolds, Noel
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Date of death	1997
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