Parishes in the Diocese of Cloyne are to hold public meetings to discuss the damning report into clerical sex abuse and the continued absence of former Bishop Dr John Magee.

A series of special meetings are to be held in parish halls across the area in the wake of the Cloyne Report.

Local priests want to address the sense of public outrage and anger over the mishandling of the complaints relating to child sex abuse in the Cork diocese.

The public, many of whom have stayed away from Mass in the diocese in recent times, will be afforded an opportunity to have their say on the findings of the Cloyne Report.

The Association of Catholic Priests has called on its members in Cloyne to conduct the meetings as soon as possible.

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Fr Eoin Whooley, parish priest for Barryroe and a spokesman for the ACP group, insisted that his fellow Cloyne clerics are as upset and as angry as their parishioners.

“There was a strong sense of being let down by people who should know better,” Fr Whooley told the Sunday Independent.

“There was a sense of disappointment that the childcare guidelines were not followed. We thought we had moved on. There was also anger.

“It is now proposed to provide a forum whereby ordinary mass-goers will have a chance to talk about their opinions and their fears.”

The former Bishop of Cloyne, Dr Magee left Ireland for America before the Cloyne Report was published.

It is believed he is staying with relatives in the States but so far he has resisted all calls to return to Ireland and answer the claims made against him in the report.