Thursday, July 21, 2011

Archbishop speaks of shame of Irish child abuse cover-ups

For some time now, the most forthcoming Irish churchman has been Archbishop of Dublin Diarmuid Martin (who is being given a cold shoulder by Rome). He commented on the recent release of the report about the diocese of Cloyne and the Prime Minister's stinging rebuke of the Vatican.

(from The Telegraph July 21, 2011)
Close to tears, Archbishop Martin, later said told RTE he hoped the Taoiseach’s stinging criticism would teach his fellow churchmen a “lesson”.
"I find myself asking today, can I be proud of the Church that I'm a leader of?” he said.
“What I'm seeing – I have to be ashamed of this, and I have to be ashamed because of what was done to the victims and what was done to other people."
Described the leadership in Cloyne as a “cabal” which had deliberately ignored recent Vatican policy to combat child abuse, he said only invasive audits of all diocese was the only way to expose all abuse.
"Those who felt they were able to play tricks with norms, they have betrayed … good men and so many others in the Church who are working today, I am angry, ashamed and appalled by that,” he said.
He called on the Vatican to announce full support for the local church in Ireland on mandatory reporting of abuse allegations to the state authorities and ensure that internal reviews of the handling of complaints are published.

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