RTE News
February 17, 2010
http://www.rte.ie/news/2010/0217/abuse.html
[with audio]
IRELAND -- he Archbishop of Dublin has said the meeting between the Pope and Irish bishops in the Vatican in recent days was part of a process.
Speaking after an Ash Wednesday Mass at UCD, Dr Diarmuid Martin said the meeting will be followed by a pastoral letter and other things will happen, but not everything could happen right away.
He said the letters received from survivors were presented to the Pope, and they will be looked at.
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| Archbishop Martin
Not - everything will happen 'right away' |
Dr Martin said there was no turning back or denial of the Murphy report, which was one of the requests made by survivors.
He said the question of the Pope meeting with survivors was not excluded, adding that the Pope has met with survivors in a number of countries and these meetings have been announced afterwards to avoid the fact that it could become a media event.
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| Cardinal Sean Brady - Abuse not just an Irish problem |
Asked why the Pope had not issued an apology to Irish victims, Dr Martin said the tone of the meeting clearly stressed that this was a moment of great concern.
He added that 'there comes a time when repeating the word apology may even be empty'.
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| Vatican - Statement issued after two-day meeting |
Dr Martin said the Pope was distressed at what had happened here in Ireland, particularly in the diocese of Dublin, and at what was recorded in the Murphy Report.
He said the meeting had been called to begin a process of seeing where do we address the problems that were there, why did it happen and where are we going to go in the future?
Dr Martin said he would not agree that the meetings were a wasted opportunity.
He said if victims feel dismayed, they have a right to feel dismayed. But he said he will listen to their dismay.
Dr Martin added that the hierarchy has 'begun something', and expressed he hope that now that dialogue has begun with survivors groups, that they don't lose heart.
Asked about why there was no discussions about resignations at the meeting, Dr Martin said it was said in advance of the meeting that that wouldn't happen.
He said that was a matter between those who present their resignations and the Pope.
He said standing down and resigning is a personal decision, involves people assuming accountability and responsibility, otherwise it is not resignation.
Survivors of abuse near 'despair'
The Rape Crisis Network has said victims of clerical sex abuse are in a 'state of almost despair' today following the outcome of the meeting between Pope Benedict and the Irish bishops.
Read the Vatican statement
Executive Director Fiona Neary said victims she had been speaking to this morning were deeply disappointed that the Pope had not accepted the responsibility, which she said the Vatican had in relation to child sex abuse in Ireland.
Bishop of Galway Dr Martin Drennan, who has been under continuous pressure from victims of clerical child abuse to resign, has made no statement on the outcome of his meeting with Pope Benedict.
A spokesman said he understood that Bishop Drennan would be returning to Galway later today.
Irish Survivors of Child Abuse welcomed that the Pope finally acknowledged that paedophilia within the church is a 'heinous crime'.
However, it accused the Pope of failing to show strong leadership in tackling this crisis.
Clerical abuse survivor Andrew Madden has called for an urgent meeting with Dublin Archbishop Diarmuid Martin to find out why issues raised by victims were not addressed by the Pope.
Abuse helpline numbers
The Pope is preparing a pastoral letter to the Catholics of Ireland, taking into account the comments of the Irish bishops, which will be issued before Easter.
After yesterday's meeting with the Pope, the Primate of All Ireland Cardinal Sean Brady told a news conference that the abuse of children by priests and religious was not just an Irish problem or a problem of the English-speaking world.
He said the Pope emphasised the need for the Bishops to be united in the face of the abuse crisis.
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