ABC News
July 25, 2011
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2011-07-25/vatican-recalls-envoy-to-ireland-after-child-abuse-report/2809906
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The Vatican says it is recalling its representative in Ireland following a damning report on the Catholic Church's handling of cases of child abuse by priests that sparked widespread anger.
The publication of the Cloyne Report earlier this month triggered a blistering attack on the Vatican by Irish prime minister Enda Kenny that was widely hailed.
"Apostolic Nuncio Giuseppe Leanza has been recalled for consultations" after the publication of the judicial report into the abuses in the diocese of Cloyne "and in particular due to the reactions to it," the Vatican said in a statement.
In a debate in the lower house of parliament in predominantly Catholic Ireland, Mr Kenny said the Church's inability to deal with the cases showed a culture of "dysfunction, disconnection, elitism and narcissism" at the Vatican.
He also slammed the Catholic Church's behaviour as "absolutely disgraceful".
Irish foreign minister Eamon Gilmore, who summoned the Vatican's envoy to urgent talks earlier this month, said the recall was "a matter for the Holy See", but said Dublin was still awaiting the Vatican's response to the report.
The report condemned the Church's handling of abuse claims against 19 clerics in Cloyne in southern Ireland between 1996 and 2009, saying it was "inadequate and inappropriate".
The Vatican said last week that it would respond to the report at "an appropriate moment" and appealed for "objectivity".
On Monday, a Vatican official said there had been "some excessive reactions".
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