A survivor of paedophile priest Malachy Finegan believes his trauma has been forgotten after he wasn’t consulted about plans to knock down the parochial house where he was abused.
Abuse survivor Sean Faloon spoke out after plans to tumble the parochial house at Hillltown in Co Down came to light.
The 45-year-old from Hilltown in Co Down was abused in the building, which was damaged in an arson attack last year, by Finegan.
Mr Faloon has previously told how his abuse began with hugging and kissing after Mass.
He was later raped and abused by Finegan who died in 2002, over a seven-year period from 1990 to 1997.
Details of the abuse came to light when Mr Faloon, who was aged 17 at the time, told his GP.
In 2006 he settled an action against the Diocese of Dromore for a six-figure sum.
Finegan, who is believed by some to have been an RUC informer, also taught and worked at St Colman’s College, Newry, from 1967 to 1987.
Mr Faloon spoke out after it emerged that church authorities in Hilltown are now planning to knock down Finegan’s former home.
Parish priest Fr Charlie Byrne told Mass goers at the weekend that the land on which the parochial house currently stands will be used as a drop-off point for a nearby primary school and a new parish centre if plans are accepted.
The proposals are set to be discussed at a meeting on December 4 during which parishioners can state their views.
Mr Faloon has now called for the meeting to be postponed until January to allow him and others to attend.
The survivor believes he and others have been sidelined.
“Wider parish opinion and my trauma has been forgotten about, it has been totally left out of it,” he said.
Mr Falon said when he heard about the plans from other survivors and the media he was “upset and angry”.
He believes the reasons for taking the building down should include what took place there including the attacks on him which he said was “one of the worst rape cases ever in Europe”.
Mr Faloon said he also wants to drive the digger when demolition at the site eventually begins.
Mr Faloon’s solicitor Kevin Winters, of KRW Law, said: “It was retraumatising for our clients to learn about the development in the media.
“Mr Faloon feels it was discourteous and utterly insensitive that both the Church and the relevant committee failed to contact him. It’s well known in the entire wider community that Sean was abused on an industrial scale in that building and yet no one had the gumption to reach out to him about it.”
