Ronald Bennett, was a Friend of Paedophile Michael Shine, not many are Aware of this Connection.

Fr. Ronald Bennett, a Franciscan friar and former spiritual director, sports master, and bursar at Gormanston College in County Meath, Ireland, was convicted of sexually abusing pupils at the school. Below is a detailed summary based on available information:

Convictions and Allegations

• 2006 Conviction: On June 29, 2006, Bennett pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to six sample charges of indecent assault against four pupils, three of whom were boarders, between 1974 and 1981. The abuse ranged from touching outside clothing to incidents involving both parties being fully naked, often occurring in Bennett’s office during so-called “sex education lessons.” Victims were summoned via the college’s public address system, and access to his office was controlled by a red and green light system.
  • Initial Sentence: On July 26, 2006, Bennett received a five-year suspended sentence and was required to enter a €1,000 bond to keep the peace for five years while adhering to the Franciscan code of practice. This lenient sentence sparked outrage, with the support group One in Four expressing disappointment over the mitigation factors, such as Bennett’s personal circumstances, being given excessive weight.
  • Appeal and Revised Sentence: In March 2007, the Court of Criminal Appeal overturned the suspended sentence, ruling that it was too lenient. Bennett was ordered to serve 2½ years in prison, with the remaining 2½ years suspended, to better reflect the serious breach of trust and the harm caused to victims.
• 2010 Conviction: In February 2010, Bennett pleaded guilty at Trim Circuit Court to two counts of sexual assault on another schoolboy in 1973 and 1974. The abuse involved weekly summonings to Bennett’s room, where he would discuss seduction techniques before assaulting the victim. He received a 2½-year suspended sentence, with the judge noting the severe restrictions already imposed by the Franciscan Order and the fact that this case would typically have been handled with the earlier convictions.
• Scale of Allegations: The Franciscan Order reported 36 allegations of sexual abuse against Bennett related to his time at Gormanston College, part of a broader total of 124 allegations against 26 friars in the order.

Context and Institutional Response

• Time at Gormanston: Bennett joined the college staff in 1963, serving as spiritual director, sports master, and later bursar. His roles gave him significant access to students, including organizing altar boy teams. The abuse was facilitated by his authority and the school’s infrastructure, such as the tannoy system and his private office.
• Institutional Awareness: Court hearings revealed that Gormanston College management was aware of Bennett’s abusive behavior as early as 1973, when parents of a victim complained, but he was not removed from his post. This failure was criticized by victims and past pupils, with one, Richard Lanigan, noting that Bennett’s behavior was “common knowledge” among students in the 1970s, though the full extent was not widely understood. The neglect by other priests and authorities was described as equally harmful as the abuse itself.
• Franciscan Order’s Response:
  • The Franciscans paid €3,857,000 in settlements to victims and €531,664 in legal fees, in addition to covering counseling costs for survivors.
  • In 2014, during the college’s 60th anniversary Mass, the Franciscan Order, through Fr. Hugh McKenna, issued an unreserved apology for the abuse perpetrated by Bennett, acknowledging the “shameful reality” of their failure to protect students. They invited survivors to contact their designated liaison persons for support.
  • Bennett’s faculties for hearing confession and celebrating Mass publicly were withdrawn, and he was placed under strict supervision, described as “open house arrest,” at a Franciscan home in Killiney, Co. Dublin, and later at Assisi House, a Franciscan-run nursing home on Navan Road, Dublin.Impact on Victims
  • Victims reported profound psychological harm, including loss of confidence, aversion to certain sensory triggers (e.g., smells reminiscent of Bennett’s disinfectant and aftershave), and abandonment of religious practice. Support groups like One in Four provided psychiatric help to some survivors.
  • Past pupils, such as John McMahon, who was abused in 1969, came forward to file complaints, with some expressing anger at the initial leniency of Bennett’s sentences and the cover-up by authorities. McMahon noted that Bennett targeted younger boys and that the abuse was an open secret among students.
  • Bennett’s Background and Later Life
  • Profile: Born in 1935, Bennett was ordained in 1961 and appointed to Gormanston in 1963. A clinical psychologist testified in 2006 that Bennett was ill-equipped for his role due to his sheltered upbringing and immaturity regarding sexual boundaries, though he later expressed remorse after learning of the harm caused in the 1980s.
  • Therapy and Risk Assessment: Since 1999, Bennett underwent therapy at the Granada Institute, where he was assessed as having a low risk of reoffending.
  • Death: Bennett died in February 2024 at age 88, reportedly of natural causes, while residing at Assisi House. Former pupils expressed relief at his death, with one stating, “Nobody who went to Gormanston is shedding any tears over his death. He got away with a huge amount of abuse.”
  • Additional Notes
  • The Franciscan Order has been audited by the Health Service Executive (2009) and the National Board for Safeguarding Children in the Catholic Church, claiming compliance with safeguarding standards.
  • Discussions on platforms like gormanston.net reveal ongoing anger among past pupils, with some alleging other priests were involved and calling for further accountability. These claims suggest a broader culture of abuse and cover-up at the school, though only Bennett’s convictions are documented here.