’Abuse’ pay-out priest in Mass ban [with video] [Ireland / France]
A Catholic priest, who once made a secret pay-out to an alleged sex abuse victim, has been banned from saying Mass.
Father Andrew McCloskey, from Derry, now lives in the South of France but he's barred from ministering as a priest.
The alleged abuse incident dates back almost 20 years, but it comes just weeks after the Catholic Church disclosed how it had dealt with allegations of clerical sex abuse.
In 1992, an 18-year-old man was seeking counselling after he said he had been abused.
He met with Fr Andrew McCloskey, who was at that time a priest in the Derry Diocese and based in Saint Mary's parish church in the Creggan estate.
The man claimed that Fr McCloskey made serious sexual advances to him.
The alleged incident was said to have happened in the priest's house at the rear of the church.
Fr McCloskey subsequently made an out-of-court settlement totalling £19,000 to the teenager. There was, however, no admission of liability.
