During his twenty years on the teaching staff of the Pontifical Theological Faculty of the Carmelites in Rome, Boyce taught spirituality and dogmatic theology, and for many years was engaged in the work of formation of students preparing for the priesthood or doing postgraduate studies.
In August 2011, after the release of the report on the sexual abuse scandal in Cloyne diocese, Bishop Boyce said that the Church was experiencing a testing time, having been rocked by a "secular and godless culture" on the outside and the "sins and crimes of priests" within. Boyce, who promised to publish a report into clerical abuse in his diocese, urged Catholics not to lose confidence in their faith and to act with hope and patience during the current difficult times for the church. He added that "The moment of history we live through in Ireland at present is certainly a testing one for the church and for all of us,” he said. "Attacked from the outside by the arrows of a secular and godless culture, rocked from the inside by the sins and crimes of priests and consecrated people, we all feel the temptation to lose confidence."[3]
On 25 January 2015, Bishop Boyce reached the mandatory age of retirement for a bishop which is 75 years. In a statement released by the Raphoe Diocese, Bishop Boyce duly submitted his resignation to Pope Francis. The Pope accepted his resignation, but asked him to continue until the current bishop, Alan McGuckian, was appointed.
Child protection
A review, published on 30 November 2011, by the National Board for Safeguarding Children into the handling of clerical child sex abuse allegations in the Diocese of Raphoe concluded that "significant errors of judgment" were made by successive bishops in responding to the allegations. Boyce said he fully accepted the recommendations contained in the review, which was undertaken by the National Board for Safeguarding Children in the Catholic Church. In a statement, he admitted that during the past decades there had been "very poor judgments and mistakes made ... There were horrific acts of abuse of children by individual priests, that should never have happened, and if suspected should have been dealt with immediately in the appropriate manner," he said.
Boyce said he was "truly sorry for the terrible deeds that have been inflicted on so many by a small minority of priests. "We offer our humble apologies once more and seek their forgiveness for the dreadful harm that has been done to them, their families and friends."
Three heads of Raphoe diocese, including Boyce, were criticised for their handling of clerical child sex abuse allegations in the report on child protection practices, which was published this morning. Former Bishop Séamus Hegarty, and his predecessor, Bishop Anthony McFeely, also came under fire for their response to accusations of clerical child sex abuse. The Raphoe review said that in dealing with allegations, too much emphasis was placed on the situation of the accused priest and too little on the needs of their complainants. "Judgements were clouded, due to the presenting problem being for example, alcohol abuse and an inability to hear the concerns about abuse of children, through that presenting problem," it said. "More attention should have been given to ensuring that preventative actions were taken quickly when concerns came to light," the report added.[4]
^Doyle, Louise (1 October 2020). "The Way We Were – 25 Years Ago: September 30, 1995 – Vatican prelate to ordain bishop". Donegal News. p. 18. Preparations for the ceremony have been underway for the last two months and by 4pm on Sunday St Eunan's Cathedral will be filled to capacity to witness the 55-year-old Downings man becoming the latest in a long line of Bishops of Raphoe. Monsignor Boyce will be ordained by Archbishop Jorge M. Mejia[sic], the Argentinean Secretary of the Congregation of Bishops in the Vatican, which is the body responsible for the appointment of Bishops. He will be assisted by the Papal Nuncio to Ireland, Dr Emmanuel[sic] Gerada and the Bishop of Derry and former Bishop of Raphoe, Most Rev Dr Seamus Hegarty.