Archbishop Clifford on Cloyne: We Must Cherish the Survivors, Vatican Radio, July 14, 2011

Archbishop Clifford on Cloyne: We Must Cherish the Survivors

Vatican Radio
July 14, 2011

http://www.oecumene.radiovaticana.org/en1/Articolo.asp?c=504557

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The Apostolic Nuncio to Ireland Archbishop Giuseppe Leanza has reaffirmed “the total commitment of the Holy See for its part in taking all the necessary measures to ensure the protection of children.”

He was speaking in Dublin following a meeting with Irish Foreign Minister Eamonn Gilmore during which Archbishop Leanza was presented with a copy of the Cloyne Report into the handling of allegations of abuse in the diocese between 1996 and 2008.

Justice Minister Alan Shatter has pledged to pass a new law making it an imprisonable crime to withhold knowledge of suspected child abuse.

Archbishop Dermot Clifford of Cashel and Emly, was appointed Apostolic Administrator of the Diocese of Cloyne following Bishop John Magee’s resignation in 2009. He spoke to Emer McCarthy about the measures now in place and said that the Church in Ireland needs to learn to cherish the survivors of abuse: “Every diocese has people out there good, honest people, who are trained and re-trained to and it would be very hard now for a paedophile to get access to children. That is the reality now”.

He adds “There is a perception that 19 priest abused children between 1996 and 2008. That is absolutely incorrect. 19 priests abused, it is alleged, back in the 1960’s, ‘70’s and ‘80’s, but the allegations were made by adult people in the 1996-2008 period. But I am confident because of our current system that goes as far as is humanly possible to guarantee the safety of children”.

Regarding the draft legislation currently being discussed by the Irish Government, the Archbishop notes that “We brought in mandatory reporting in 1996. The confessional was mentioned, I would want to see the draft before I comment on it. But the argument that state law supersedes the seal of confession would be a problem to me”.

Repentance, renewal, healing have become ‘catch phrases’ within the Church in Ireland, but in order for any real change to take place one of the biggest challenges is eradicating a culture of concealment and making a leap of faith from words to action.

Archbishop Clifford notes “we had the Visitation of the diocese of Cashel and Emly recently [mandated by Pope Benedict XVI in 2010, Toronto's Archbishop Thomas Christopher Collins was sent to Cashel– ed] with a very moving ceremony organised by the survivors. There was a proposal yesterday at the press conference. A lot of survivors would like to confront the people who abused them, in a facilitated fashion, to give them a sense of closure. That’s going to be pioneered here before the beginning of next year. And the Eucharistic Congress in 2012. Preparation for that also gives us the perfect opportunity to make ourselves a more humble church, a church that cherishes victims and survivors”.