Aug 25, 2010 / 01:07 am
Two bishops responded Tuesday to claims that a Catholic priest was never questioned for his suspected role in a Northern Ireland bombing during the 1970s. The prelates remarked that the suspicions are “shocking” and commented that the case should have been properly investigated during the priest’s lifetime.
On July 31, 1972 a triple car bombing killed nine, including an eight-year-old girl, and injured 30 in the village of Claudy. Among those who died were five Catholics and four Protestants.
The Irish Republican Army (IRA) never claimed responsibility for the attacks, the Daily Telegraph reports. The bombers had allegedly tried to make warning calls but telephone lines were down from earlier bomb damage.
Fr. James Chesney, reported to be an IRA sympathizer, was suspected of planning the attack. He was later transferred to a parish in the Republic of Ireland outside of the United Kingdom’s jurisdiction.