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	Irish Bishop: Priest Wrong to Defend Abuse Coverup The Oklahoman March 18, 2010 http://www.newsok.com/irish-bishop-priest-wrong-to-defend-abuse-coverup/article/feed/142873 DUBLIN (AP) — A Catholic bishop in Ireland has ordered a priest to remain silent over his views that church officials should not tell police about pedophiles within the priesthood. Bishop Dermot Clifford said Thursday that Monsignor Maurice Dooley, an expert in Catholic canon law, has been told he must not speak publicly again about his understanding of the church's rules on confidentiality. Dooley, former professor of theology and canon law at a seminary that closed in 2002, says his first duty as a priest is to protect any information given to him on condition of confidentiality. He says that means he would not tell the police, or anyone, if a priest told him he was abusing a child. Since 1996 the Irish church's official policy has been to report all abuse cases to police.
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