Priest Who Attacked 9 Year Old Boy On The Isle of Man Has Been Allowed To Remain As A Cleric.

It's been revealed that a priest who attacked a nine year old boy on the Isle of Man has been allowed to remain as a cleric.

The allegations have come to light as the scandal over the abuse cover ups in the Catholic Church moves to Britian.

It's emerged that Father Neil Gallanagh abused boys while working as the chaplain of a School for the Deaf in West Yorkshire in the 70s.

But more than a decade before that he admitted attacking a nine-year-old boy on a day trip to the Isle of Man while he was a priest in Northern Ireland.

Gallanagh, at the time, was fined £30 and promised to seek medical treatment.
 
In 2005 when he was 75 and retired, he pleaded guilty to indecently assaulting boys and  was given a six-month suspended sentence and a further 11 charges involving boys as young as 11 years old were left on file.

Founder of the support group Minister and Clergy Sexual Abuse Survivors Margaret Kennedy told 3FM they need stricter policies to ensure that people like him are stripped of their clerical duties. (audio above).

Media reports today suggest that the decision not to unfrock Gallanagh is likely to prove embarrassing for the Catholic Church in England and Wales, which has up until now escaped from being dragged into the crisis that has engulfed the Catholic church over the past 12 months.