The Vatican's Measured Response to Ireland, by Gerard O'Connell, Vatican Insider, September 5, 2011

The Vatican's Measured Response to Ireland

By Gerard O'Connell
Vatican Insider
September 5, 2011

http://vaticaninsider.lastampa.it/en/homepage/the-vatican/detail/articolo/7704/

JOHN KELLY, AN ABUSE VICTIM, READS A COPY OF THE \'COMMISSION TO INQUIRE INTO CHILD ABUSE\' ( 2009)

It is the most reasoned response the Vatican has given to the accusations made against it over these years in the field of clerical abuse of children, and will surely be welcomed by many in the Catholic Church in Ireland

In its response to the Irish Government, the Vatican categorically denied accusations by the country's highest authorities that it had "undermined" the efforts of the Irish Church and State in dealing with the sexual abuse of children by priests, and that it had obstructed the course of justice in the Republic of Ireland.

The lengthy -20 page, detailed response, was released by the Vatican at midday, September 3. It firmly rejected these accusations, arguing that they are 'without foundation', and suggested that they could be based on misunderstandings which it sought to clarify.

At the same time, the Response communicated the Holy See's profound desire to cooperate fully with the Irish State for the protection and well being of children and young people.

Ireland's Foreign Minister, Eamon Gilmore, had requested a comprehensive response from the Vatican to the concerns and accusations leveled against it by Prime Minister, Enda Kenny, and the Irish Parliament during a parliamentary debate, July 20, a week after the publication of the Commission of Inquiry Report into the abuse of 40 children by 19 priests in the southern diocese of Cloyne between 1996 and 2009 ('The Cloyne Report).

Monsignor Ettore Balestrero, under-Secretary for Relations with States (the Vatican's deputy Foreign Minister), handed over the Holy See's Response to Ms. Helena Kelleher, the Charges d'Affaires of Ireland's Embassy to the Holy See, at a meeting in the Vatican, Saturday morning, September 3.

The Response, the result of over a month's work by Vatican officials from different Roman Curia offices, addresses in a factual, detailed way the specific charges made against the Vatican by the Cloyne Report and various Irish authorities. It does so in a measured, respectful, diplomatic tone, that avoids any trace of polemic or irritation, but is nonetheless firm.

In many ways, it is the most reasoned response the Vatican has given to the accusations made against over these years it in the field of clerical abuse of children, and will surely be welcomed by many in the Catholic Church in Ireland. It says it welcomes criticism, but also shows that it is willing and able to firmly reject false accusations.

It expresses sorrow and shame at "the terrible sufferings" caused to the children and their families in the Cloyne diocese by clergy, and laments the "grave failures" and "mishandling" of allegations of abuse by Bishop Magee (though it does not name him) and others in positions of responsibility there. It recognizes "the understandable anger, disappointment and sense of betrayal" of the victims and their families at these "vile and deplorable" criminal acts, but hopes that reconciliation and healing may be possible over time.

The Cloyne Report accused the Vatican's Congregation of Clergy for not supporting the Irish Bishops when they agreed a Framework Document of guidelines and procedures for dealing with cases of abuse of children by priests. The guidelines included 'mandatory reporting".

The Vatican, in its response, seeks to clarify and explain the Congregation's position, which was communicated to the Irish Bishops by Archbishop Storero, the nuncio, in 1997. It said the Congregation "did not reject" the Bishops'document, rather it wanted to ensure that the measures the bishops might take to penalize abusers would be able to stand up against appeal in a Vatican court.

Rather than weakening the Bishops' efforts to combat such crimes, the Vatican revealed that in 1996 it actually issued a special provision in Canon Law for Ireland, to enable the Irish Bishops deal more effectively with cases of abuse, just at it had done for the US Bishops in 1994.

It acknowledged that the Congregation had expressed "reservations" about the mandatory reporting of cases of abuse but argued that "It did not forbid the Irish Bishops from reporting accusations of child abuse nor did it encourage them to flout the Irish law".

On the question of 'mandatory reporting", the Vatican noted that the Irish state actually decided not to introduce this obligation into civil law in 1996. For this reason, it said, the letter of Archbishop Storero cannot be interpreted "as having somehow subverted Irish law or undermined the Irish State" in its efforts to deal with abuse cases.

In a similar factual way, the Vatican responded to Prime Minister, Enda Kenny, who, in the July 20 parliamentary debate on the Cloyne Report, accused the Holy See of attempting "to frustrate an Inquiry in a sovereign democratic republic" three years earlier. It rejected his accusation as "unfounded", adding that the four official reports into child abuse conducted in recent years provide "no evidence that the Holy See meddled in the internal affairs of the Irish state, or was involved in the day-to-day management of the Irish dioceses or religious congregations with respect to sexual abuse issues".

The Vatican insisted that it had "in no way hampered or sought to interfere in any inquiry into cases of child abuse in the diocese of Cloyne". Indeed, it said, "at no stage did the Holy See seek to interfere with Irish civil law, or impede the civil authority in the exercise of its duties".

It went on to categorically reject the implication of the Irish Prime Minister, in his speech on July 20, that the Vatican is "somehow indifferent to the plight of those who suffered abuse in Ireland" and outlined the considerable attention it had given to the Irish situation in these years.

Significantly too, in its response, the Holy See flatly rejected the motion passed unanimously by the Lower House of the Irish parliament ('the Dail') on July 20, which deplored "the Vatican's intervention which contributed to the undermining of the child protection framework and guidelines of the Irish State and the Irish Bishops".

Regarding this accusation, the Vatican insisted that "at no stage did it make any comment about the Irish State's protection measures, let alone seek to undermine them".

It went onto to assure the Irish authorities that the Church in Ireland would fully abide by the laws of the land, and do all in its power to protect children.

Having dismissed the central accusations against it as 'unfounded', and having sought to clarify the misunderstandings that could have led to such charges, the Vatican concluded by expressing its profound desire to get beyond the polemics, tensions and misunderstandings and reaffirmed its commitment "to constructive dialogue and cooperation with the Irish Government" so that all institutions of Church and State may work together for the protection and welfare of children and young people in Ireland.

The Vatican clearly hopes the Irish Government will read the report in the same calm spirit in which it was written. It hopes too that the Irish media will present its response in an honest and fair way, and that the Irish people, whether Catholic or not, will listen to what it has to say. It knows that it faces an uphill struggle to get its message across, but it is clear from this Response that it has a good story to tell, one that has not been told so well up to now. The Irish Foreign Minister was attending a European Union meeting in Poland when the Vatican handed over its response. He is expected to comment later on Saturday. His remarks will be carefully scrutinized in Rome.