Ireland Online
November 24, 2009
http://breakingnews.iol.ie/news/ireland/clerical-sex-abuse-report-cleared-435651.html
The Government today cleared for publication an investigation exposing sickening child sex abuse by Catholic priests in the Dublin Archdiocese.
The 700-page report will be publicly released on Thursday although it will be censored in parts so as not to prejudice ongoing or potential criminal cases.
Justice Minister Dermot Ahern briefed Taoiseach Brian Cowen and his ministerial colleagues on the findings of the inquiry before it was signed off during a Cabinet meeting this morning.
 |
Any reference to a priest who is facing criminal charges were allowed to be removed, amid fears it may prejudice a case, after the report was referred to the High Court. Pseudonyms will be used to protect the identities of some.
Up to 450 people have made abuse allegations against former priests in the diocese since 1940.
The long-running Commission of Inquiry into the Dublin Archdiocese has examined allegations against a sample 46 priests.
It also looked at the handling of allegations by 19 clerics in the Catholic hierarchy, including Cardinal Desmond Connell who last year dropped a potentially embarrassing court challenge to stop the Dublin Commission getting access to 5,586 secret Church files.
As well as exposing the horrendous acts of paedophile priests, the report is expected to damage the reputations of several former Archbishops of Dublin who oversaw the Church cover-up.
It is also expected to be critical of the Garda and other State authorities over their handling of the allegations.
The report will be the second scandal to rock the Church in Ireland this year after the Ryan report laid bare the physically and psychologically abusive regimes operated by religious orders in church- and state-run institutions.
Any original material on these pages is copyright © BishopAccountability.org 2004. Reproduce freely with attribution.