A victim of Father Sean Fortune yesterday expressed his concern at Dr Brendan Comiskey's resignation, saying he feared the bishop would be used as a scapegoat by the Catholic Church.
Mr Declan McAlean, from Belfast, was one of the four people abused by Father Fortune who was interviewed for the BBC Correspondent documentary aired by RTÉ last night.
He told South East Radio his immediate concern was that the church should answer the questions raised about the handling of sexual abuse cases in the Ferns diocese.
"I don't understand why Father Sean Fortune was allowed to continue in office when clearly Bishop Comiskey knew he was a paedophile, as stated in his statement," he said. It was equally clear that other people in the Church also knew.
Mr McAlean said he had instructed his solicitor on Good Friday to write a letter to the Pope about the matter. He was pursuing the case to ensure "that this never happens again", he said. "I hope the actions I'm taking will support all the good priests who are out there. I'm no church-basher. All we are looking for is the truth."
A former Mayor of Wexford last night expressed his sadness that Bishop Brendan Comiskey had been "driven out of office". Mr Dominic Kiernan, a Fianna Fáil member of Wexford Corporation, was among a group who gathered outside Dr Comiskey's residence on Monday evening to express their support for the bishop.
Bishop Comiskey, he said, was a "very, very compassionate man" who had done great things for Wexford and was always prepared to help people in trouble.
He had brought third-level education to the county by making St Peter's College available for that purpose and was also "the best ecumenist I ever met".
Mr Kiernan said he did not wish to minimise the horrific things that had happened to the victims of Father Fortune. He believed, however, that the bishop was still the best person to deal with the situation and he hoped his resignation would not be accepted.
The vicar general of the diocese, Mgr Lory Kehoe, has taken over the running of its day-to-day affairs at Dr Comiskey's request, pending the appointment of a successor. Mgr Kehoe was among those being spoken of yesterday as a contender for that post.
The bishop's resignation has been greeted with a mixed reaction in Wexford. A number of callers to a phone line run by the Regional Express programme on South East Radio claimed he was the victim of a media witch-hunt. Others, however, said he had made the right decision.
