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	Report: Vatican Did Not Tell Bishops to Cover up Sexual Abuse Cases Fox News January 19, 2011 http://www.foxnews.com/world/2011/01/19/report-vatican-did-tell-bishops-cover-sexual-abuse-cases/ A Vatican official reportedly downplayed a 1997 letter to Irish bishops about handling cases of clerical sex abuse, saying the letter did not explicitly tell bishops to keep the cases from authorities. Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi, a Vatican spokesman, said the letter sought to ensure the bishops complied with church law for handling accusations in order to avoid a situation in which an abusive priest could return to the ministry on a technicality, the Catholic News Service reports. The letter, which was published by The Associated Press, was written by Archbishop Luciano Storeno, then-nuncio to Ireland. It summarized the concerns of the Congregation for Clergy regarding proposed Irish methods for handling sex abuse allegations. According to the congregation, the "situation of 'mandatory reporting' gives rises to serious reservations of both a moral and a canonical nature," Storero said. Lombardi told the Catholic News Service on Wednesday that the Vatican "does not have a universal, specific position" on mandatory reporting due to differing laws in countries. The Vatican, however, has made it clear to bishops that in their policies for dealing with abuse accusations and in concrete situations "they must respect the laws of their country," including when those laws require the church to report accusations to police or the courts, Lombardi said.
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