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	Cloyne Report "Unbelievable Reading" - Drcc By Deborah Condon Irish Health July 13, 2011 http://www.irishhealth.com/article.html?id=19481 The Dublin Rape Crisis Centre has described the Cloyne Report into clerical child sex abuse as 'another report which makes for unbelievable reading'. The report focused specifically on how the Catholic Church and the State handled allegations of abuse in the Cork diocese of Cloyne between January 1996 and February 2009. It states that the Commission of Investigation received 'complaints, suspicions, concerns or knowledge of child sexual abuse' in relation to 32 named clerics and one unnamed cleric. The Commission concluded that 19 of these clerics were within the remit of its investigation, including the unnamed cleric. The Commission said it is aware of 'some 40 people' who may have been affected by clerical child sexual abuse. It severely criticised former Bishop John Magee for his handling of the scandal and said that he falsely informed both the Government and HSE that his diocese was reporting all allegations of clerical child abuse to the authorities. The bishop had deliberately sought to mislead people about the situation and took little interest in dealing with this issue until 2008, the Commission stated. According to the DRCC, the report is a 'terrible indictment of the inertia that was present in the Cloyne diocese towards child protection'. “Here is another report which makes for unbelievable reading in relation to how the Catholic Church dealt with allegations of child sexual abuse by clerics in the diocese of Cloyne. There is no excuse of being on a ‘learning curve’ this time. The Church’s own Child Protection Guidelines were in place from 1996, yet the report tells us time and time again that the implementation of the policies and procedures was inadequate and inappropriate. It was not until 2008 that the diocese began to follow proper procedures," noted DRCC chief executive, Ellen O'Malley-Dunlop. She added that the publication of this report would 'again reopen the wounds of the victims involved and other victims around the country who had similar experiences' and may also trigger people’s memories for the first time. The HSE is providing a special helpline for anyone affected. The number is 1 800 742 800 and the line will be open daily from 8am to midnight. Meanwhile in response to the report, Justice Minister Alan Shatter has published proposed legislation to make it a criminal offence to withhold information relating to the commission of offences against a child or a vulnerable adult.
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