Irish archbishop files defamation case against TV network for portraying him as a pedophile

June 25, 2015

An Irish-born archbishop who resigned in 2010 from his post in Nigeria has filed a defamation lawsuit against the television network that identified him as a pedophile.

Archbishop Richard Burke, an Irish missionary who had been Archbishop of Benin City, Nigeria since 2007, resigned in May 2010, admitting that he had “been unfaithful to my oath of celibacy.” But he insisted that the woman with whom he had conducted an affair was not 14 years old when their relationship began, as the woman has claimed.

RTE had reported the woman's charge in a “Prime Time” broadcast in 2011. The archbishop, in his lawsuit, complains that RTE presented the charge as if it were an established fact.

A lawyer representing the archbishop said that his client was ashamed of his behavior. But his misconduct had not involved a child, he said, and RTE damaged his reputation by portraying him as a pedophile.

 

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Further information:

• Former Archbishop takes defamation case against RTÉ over 'Mission to Prey' (RTE)
• Irish-born bishop resigns, admits affair with young woman (CWN, 5/31/10)