By Patsy McGarry
Irish Times
July 13, 2011
http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/breaking/2011/0713/breaking47.html?via=rel
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| Copies of the Cloyne Report seen in Government Buildings today. Photograph: Matt Kavanagh/The Irish Times |
Below are some of the main points from the Commission of Investigation report into the Catholic Diocese of Cloyne:
* The Vatican was "entirely unhelpful" to any bishop who wanted to implement procedures for dealing with allegations of child sexual abuse in the Irish church.
* The response of the Diocese of Cloyne was "inadequate and inappropriate".
* Primary responsibility for the failure to implement agreed child sexual abuse procedures lies with then-bishop of Cloyne John Magee.
* Bishop Magee "took little or no active interest" in the management of clerical child sexual abuse cases until 2008, 12 years after the framework document on child sexual abuse was agreed by the Irish Bishops' Conference.
* That some child sexual abuse allegations were not reported to gardaí was the diocese's "greatest failure".
* There were 15 cases between 1996 and 2005 which "very clearly" should have been reported by the diocese, of which nine were not.
* Given the diocese's knowledge of clerical sexual abuse and its effects on complainants it was wrong of the diocese not to put in place a proper support system for complainants.
* The response of health authorities was "adequate", but the commission adds it is not convinced the State's laws and guidelines are sufficiently strong and clear for child protection.
* The report is largely complimentary about the role of gardaí, although it does raise concerns about the force's approach in three cases.
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