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	Cardinal Meets with Sex Abuse Commission By John Cooney Irish Independent [Ireland] February 9, 2007 http://www.unison.ie/irish_independent/stories.php3?ca=9&si=1773595&issue_id=15238 Cardinal Desmond Connell has agreed to give evidence in private to the Government-appointed Commission of Investigation into clerical sexual abuse in the Dublin archdiocese. The Irish Independent has learned that the Cardinal (80), who is retired on Dublin's northside, is to be called in the next few weeks before the Commission headed by Circuit Court Judge Yvonne Murphy. Cardinal Connell, who stepped down as Archbishop of Dublin almost three years ago after public criticism of his handling of abuse cases and complaints, is due to give his evidence next month or in April. This will be the first time since the foundation of the State in 1921 that 'a Prince of the Church' has been brought before a Government body to account for his response to allegations of child abuse by priests when he was Archbishop of Dublin from 1988 to 2004. While the Cardinal has agreed to appear before the Commission, church and political sources predict that his co-operation may prove to be limited. These sources suggest that Cardinal Connell may argue that some of his decisions must remain confidential under the Catholic Church's code of canon law. Such a course of action could lead the Cardinal into conflict with Minister for Justice Michael McDowell, who has said that canon law merely has the status of a golf club's regulations. First promised by the Government in 2002 after a public outcry arising from an RTE Prime Time expose of the high level of priest rapes of children, the Commission began its examination only last year into a representative sample of complaints against priests from 1975 to 2004. The four-member Commission has been looking at how church authorities and State agencies such as the gardai and health boards dealt with allegations of child sex abuse. Last night the One in Four victims' support group expressed concern that many abused people had not come before the Commission to tell their stories. The group's Advocacy Director, Deirdre Fitzpatrick, urged anyone who has experienced sexual abuse perpetrated by priests in or attached to the Dublin Archdiocese to come forward, pledging their support and assistance.
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