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	Official Response to Abuse Report Slammed By Niall Hunter Irish Health November 30, 2009 http://www.irishhealth.com/article.html?id=16520 The support group One in Four has expressed deep concern about the official response to date to the Murphy report on the handling of clerical child abuse in the Dublin Diocese. It says leaders from both Church and State have failed to grasp the fundamental finding of the report that there was a deliberate policy of concealment of the activities of sex offenders and that children were sexually abused as a result. "This is not about failings or learning curves. This about the reckless endangerment of children in a calculated, purposeful strategy to protect the institutional Church," One in Four said. Its Executive Director Maeve Lewis said the response to the report by Dublin Archbishop Diarmiud Martin and Taoiseach Brian Cowen made her heart sink. "We have been told that there is no room in the Church for those who endanger children. However, their refusal to insist that senior Churchmen who were shown by the (Murphy) Commission to have been complicit with the abuse of children are unfit for office leads me to believe that nothing has changed. It is business as usual. The Church continues to protect its own, supported by the State." One in Four wants: *Brian Cowen and the Catholic Hierarchy to demand that any churchman who colluded with the sexual abuse of children to reisgn from office and have their ecclesiastical titles taken from them. This would include Cardinal Connell (ex-Dublin Archbishop) and Bishop Murray (currently of Limerick). *The Murphy Commission probe be extended to all Catholic dioceses. *The Minister for Foreign Affairs to call in the Papal Nuncio to account for his failure to cooperate with the Murphy Commission probe. *The Minister for Justice to put in place a review committee to oversee the investigation by Gardai into the Murphy Commission's evidence with a view to criminal proceedings. Maeve Lewis added that nothing will change until the entire structure and decision-making processes of the Catholic Church are reformed. "Mindless obedience to authority, deference and secrecy are the conditions under which child sexual abuse will prevail. The ordinary priests and devout Catholics of Ireland must assert their authority and make their feelings known to the hierarchy." She said their silence to date has bee astounding. "They must take responsibility for what has been done in their name. Only then will children be safe." Meanwhile, the HSE has said its counselling servive has seen a 300% increase in the volume of calls to its help desk since the publication of the Murphy report last Thursday. Its help desk is available at 1800 670 670. Other helplines include: Faoiseamh - 1800 331 234; Connect - 1800 477 477; Dublin Rape Crisis- 1800 778 888, One in Four - 01 6624070; The Samaritans - 1850 609 090.
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