Father Brian D'Arcy is one of Ireland's best known priests and amongst its most controversial.
In this candid interview he talks about having been sexually abused as a child; the impact of the abuse scandals on the church and his devastation at having been censured by the Vatican.
For more than 40 years he has written a weekly column for the tabloid Sunday World. He has his own BBC radio show, appears regularly on television, and has so many contacts through his love of music that he was regarded as the country's show business chaplain. He receives thousands of letters a year from listeners and readers, not least because he's outspoken on issues facing the Roman Catholic Church - priestly celibacy; the place of women, the handling of sexual abuse scandals, and much more. He has the rare and unwelcome distinction of having been censured by the Vatican. That happened in 2010 and at times both before and since he has battled with doubt and despair, and struggled to stay a priest in a church in crisis. But he's still there, and this year enters his 50th year in the ministry. For five years he presented Sunday Half Hour for BBC Radio 2, and he contributes regularly to Pause for Thought on the Chris Evans programme; and before that he was a favourite of his compatriot the late Sir Terry Wogan. Show less