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	Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'connor to Lead Vatican Paedophile Inquiry By David Sharrock The Times May 31, 2010 http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/faith/article7141414.ece The former leader of the Roman Catholic Church in England and Wales is to investigate the Irish paedophile priest scandal, the Vatican announced yesterday. Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor, the former Archbishop of Westminster, who stepped down last year, was criticised over his handling of clerical sexual abuse allegations. Victims' groups demanded his resignation in 2002 when Father Michael Hill was jailed for 17 years after the Cardinal appointed the priest to Gatwick airport despite warnings that he could be a danger to children. The Cardinal and churchmen from the US and Canada will investigate safeguarding procedures and protocols in the Catholic Church in Ireland after two reports last year that revealed decades of abuse and cover-ups by Church and state authorities. Cardinal Murphy-O'Connor said he hoped that the Apostolic Visitation will provide Pope Benedict XVI with a thorough analysis of protections in Ireland. "Putting the safeguarding of children and all vulnerable people at the heart of every aspect of the Church's life is essential," he said. The Dublin Archbishop, Diarmuid Martin, a campaigner for reform in the Church, said that the Visitation was an important element in the process put in place by Pope Benedict to help the renewal of the Catholic Church in Ireland. The Visitation will begin its work in the archdioceses of Armagh, Dublin, Cashel and Emly and Tuam before being extended to other dioceses. In a statement from Rome the Vatican said that it will begin in the autumn. "Through this Visitation, the Holy See intends to offer assistance to the bishops, clergy, religious and lay faithful as they seek to respond adequately to the situation caused by the tragic cases of abuse perpetrated by priests and religious upon minors," the Vatican said. "It is also intended to contribute to the desired spiritual and moral renewal that is already being vigorously pursued by the Church in Ireland." An Apostolic Visitation is a formal but personal process, initiated by the Holy See, to look into the welfare of a particular aspect of the Church. The Vatican appointed Cardinal Murphy-O'Connor to Armagh; Cardinal Sean Patrick O'Malley, Archbishop of Boston, to Dublin; the Archbishop of Toronto, Thomas Christopher Collins, for Cashel and Emly; and the Archbishop of Ottawa, Terrence Thomas Prendergast, for Tuam. Irish bishops said that they would co-operate with the plan. Separately, the Pope has accepted the resignation of Richard Anthony Burke, the Irish prelate Archbishop of Benin City, who is accused of molesting a teenage girl.
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