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	Vatican Promises Investigation into Pedophile Priest Scandal in Ireland Herald Sun May 31, 2010 http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/world/vatican-promises-investigation-into-paedophile-priest-scandal-in-ireland/story-e6frf7lf-1225873762144 THE Vatican says it will launch a promised probe this year into the pedophile priest scandal that has rocked the Irish Catholic Church. The Vatican's announcement came as the Pope accepted the resignation of Irish prelate Richard Anthony Burke, archbishop of the Nigerian diocese of Benin City, who is accused of molesting a teenage girl. Burke, in a statement to the weekly Irish Catholic, voiced "deepest sorrow for my inappropriate, irresponsible and repeatedly sinful conduct", but denied having abused a minor. Pope Benedict XVI named nine top prelates to carry out the investigation into the Irish Church. The Pope had pledged an investigation in his March letter to Ireland, as decades of cover-ups of abuse emerged. The Vatican said the investigation would monitor the effectiveness of procedures for preventing abuse and seek possible improvements. It will begin with metropolitan Archdioceses of Armagh, Dublin, Cashel and Emly and Tuam, and will then be extended to other dioceses. A complaint was made against Burke in December 2008 by Dolores Atwood alleging she had been sexually abused when she was 14, when he was a priest ministering in Warri Diocese, Nigeria. She claimed she had an ongoing relationship with him afterwards. Burke denied the allegation of child sex abuse but admitted having the affair when Atwood was over 18. Two ground-breaking inquiries last year into the once-powerful Church shocked the mainly Catholic Ireland. They found that abuse by Catholic clergy and members of religious orders had been widespread for decades and that there was a culture of secrecy and cover-up designed to protect the reputation and assets of the Church.
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