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	Fitzgerald Says Findings of Report Warrant "Urgent" Vatican Response By Cian Nihill Irish Times July 23, 2011 http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2011/0723/1224301203002.html A RESPONSE from the Vatican to the Cloyne report is “urgently needed” according to Minister for Children Frances Fitzgerald. Ms Fitzgerald said that the Government’s position was very clear in that it wanted a response from the Vatican on the findings in the Cloyne report. “What is important is that there is clarity – we are asking for a response to the findings in Cloyne and we want to get that response. We see it as urgently needed.” Ms Fitzgerald called the report’s findings – that the Vatican was unhelpful to those who wanted to implement a proper child protection framework – to be a “serious statement”, one which warranted a response. As Minister for the Department of Children and Youth Affairs, Ms Fitzgerald said the Government intended to make it a legal obligation for people to report, to the appropriate authority, reasonable concerns about the abuse or neglect of a child. “We want clarity, that people know what they have to do to protect children, that they act decisively. “Everybody has a responsibility and they must act on that responsibility, share the information and work together if we really want to protect children,” she said. Ms Fitzgerald pointed to last week’s launch of the National Guidance for the Protection and Welfare of Children, which she maintained would provide a clearer course of action for organisations to keep children safe. “In all of these reports and in the discussion about the Vatican, the critical issue is keeping child protection at the centre and people acting to protect children,” she said.
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