Catholic World News News Feature

Irish Anglican cleric spared prison on child-porn conviction July 23, 2008

A former priest of the (Anglican) Church of Ireland has been given a suspended sentence after being convicted on child-pornography charges.

Joseph Condell, once a clergyman of the Anglican diocese of Killaloe, left the ministry after he was arrested in 2002 and charged with keeping child pornography on his computer. Prosecutors told an Irish court that although the former priest had entered a guilty plea, he had not cooperated with investigators nor shown signs of recognizing the gravity of his offenses.

Judge Tom Teehan of the Nenagh Circuit court agreed that Condell's offenses were more serious because of his position in church ministry. But he added: "The ignominy he has suffered is itself a condign punishment." The judge sentenced Condell to a 3-year suspended sentence.