Vaticans Approach Not Helpful, The Argus, July 13, 2011

Vatican's Approach "Not Helpful"

The Argus
July 13, 2011

http://www.argus.ie/breaking-news/national-news/vaticans-approach-not-helpful-2821028.html

The Vatican's attitude to the Church's efforts to introduce child protection measures in Ireland was not helpful, Cardinal Sean Brady admitted

The Vatican's attitude to the Church's efforts to introduce child protection measures in Ireland was not helpful, Cardinal Sean Brady has admitted.

The country's most senior Catholic cleric acknowledged criticism levelled at the authorities in Rome by the damning Cloyne report.

The inquiry lambasted the Vatican for referring to mandatory guidelines for reporting abuse, drawn up in the mid-1990s, as merely a study document.

It said this approach was "entirely unhelpful" and had effectively given Bishop John Magee carte blanche to ignore the new protection framework in Cloyne.

Cardinal Brady said he agreed with this assessment of the Vatican's stance in 1996, but insisted it was now very different, pointing to the recent letter written by Pope Benedict to congregations across Ireland.

"The Vatican's attitude then was not helpful," he said.

"But since then we have had the pastoral letter from the Holy Father last year which urges us to co-operate with the civil authorities, with our National Board, and that's the line we are following very much at the moment."

Meanwhile, Tanaiste Eamon Gilmore has come under pressure from Cabinet colleagues to summon the Pope's Irish ambassador over Rome's role in the Cloyne scandal.

Justice Minister Alan Shatter said the intervention by the then Papal Nuncio - who he described as an ambassador from a foreign state - was unfortunate and unacceptable when the country was given assurances the church had implemented new child protection guidelines.

Describing it as a matter of some seriousness, Mr Shatter said it was a matter for the Tanaiste and Foreign Affairs Minister Mr Gilmore to "have a conversation" with the Papal Nuncio.