- Seán Fortune
Fr. Seán Fortune (died
March 13 1999 ) was an Irishpriest and child molester, who used his position to gain access to his victims.Born in
New Ross ,County Wexford , Fortune was educated atSt Peter's College, Wexford , which was the diocesan seminary of thediocese of Ferns . It was during his training that the church authorities became aware that Fortune was engaged in abuse. This, however, did not impede his ordination. Fortune ministered in the village of Fethard on Sea in Co.Wexford , inBelfast and inDundalk . Allegations of abuse were made against him in all three places. He also set up a business in Dublin which offered media and journalism training to the public.In March 1999, he committed
suicide in New Ross while awaiting trial for 66 charges of sexual abuse against 29 boys. He had taken a lethal cocktail of drugs and alcohol and was found dead in bed by his housekeeper. He had been remanded in custody pending trial but had been released days earlier.In March 2002, the
BBC broadcast "Suing the Pope", a documentary detailing the activities of Fortune and the response of theDiocese of Ferns to his activities over the years. As a result,Bishop Brendan Comiskey , the Bishop of Ferns, resigned due to his perceived mishandling of the case. He had described Fortune as being "virtually impossible to deal with."The Report of the
Ferns Inquiry claims that two of Fortune's victims have since committed suicide.ee also
*
Colm O'Gorman
*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
*Deliver Us from Evil (2006 film)
*Sex Crimes and the Vatican (Panorama Documentary Episode)
*Barbara Blaine founder of SNAP (Survivors Network for those Abused by Priests)
*Red Hot Catholic Love , "South Park" television episodeources
* "A Message from Heaven:The Life and Crimes of Father Sean Fortune" - Alison O'Connor, 2000 - ISBN 0863222706, referenced in
List of books portraying paedophilia or sexual abuse of minors .External links
* [http://www.worldpress.org/Europe/547.cfm Bleeding the Church]
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