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	Priest Steps Aside in Child Probe Shocked Congregation Told Move in Line with Standards on Safeguarding Children By Jason O'Brien and John Cooney Irish Independent May 11, 2009 http://www.independent.ie/national-news/priest-steps-aside-in-child-probe-1734844.html ONE of the country's most affluent neighbourhoods was in shock yesterday after parishioners were told from the pulpit that a priest had stepped aside amid child safety concerns. The curate, who is in a parish on Dublin's south side, is understood to have stepped aside late last week. The congregation was informed of the move after Mass yesterday when a statement from Archbishop Diarmuid Martin was read out. "This is in accordance with the Church's standards and guidance document on safeguarding children," they heard. "Standing aside is important to allow all appropriate investigations by statutory and Church authorities to proceed and does not denote innocence or guilt." Efforts to contact the priest were unsuccessful last night. Parishioners said that they were "stunned" by the decision, while adding that news of it had leaked out on Saturday. "Archbishop Diarmuid Martin said it is a matter of regret and concern that one Sunday newspaper chose to publish details of a priest standing aside," a spokeswoman for the diocese said yesterday. "He said he hoped that this decision would not in any way compromise a process which has the safety of children at its core." The priest voluntarily stood aside after information came to light raising child protection concerns. However, garda sources said that reports of a pending investigation into sexual abuse claims were erroneous. "I certainly wouldn't say that there is such an investigation," the source said. The Government is currently bracing itself for an angry public reaction to the imminent release of two major investigations into child sex abuse by Catholic priests and members of religious orders. Completed Last night the Irish Independent learned that the Commission of Investigation into the Archdiocese of Dublin by Circuit Court Judge Yvonne Murphy has completed its inquiries and will finish its report by the end of this month. This timetable means that the report, which Archbishop Martin has warned will be "shocking", will be given privately to Government only days ahead of crucial elections. Opinion in political circles was divided last night as to whether Taoiseach Brian Cowen will order the findings to be published in full straight away or whether he will order its contents to be referred to the Attorney General for legal scrutiny and thus delay its publication until late June or early July. But last night the Irish Independent also learned that the countrywide Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse by priests and nuns in industrial schools and reformatories will be published by Judge Sean Ryan on May 20. The Ryan Report is expected to contain criticisms not only of the Christian Brothers but also of the Departments of Education and Health for "systemic" management failures and neglect to protect children from physical and sexual abuse in the Church-run institutions.
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