Scottish Catholic Observer

THE official Vatican report into the problem of clerical abuse in Ireland expresses a ‘great sense of pain and shame’ and calls on the Church there to continue to listen to and help victims of abuse.

The summary of the report, published on Tuesday, the result of last year’s Vatican ordered Apostolic visitations to Ireland, also praises steps made to prevent abuse in the future while urging Irish Catholics to cleave more closely to the Church’s teachings as laid out by the Vatican.

Visitations

The Apostolic visitation, led by the Archbishop of New York, now Cardinal Timothy Dolan, and including Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’Connor, Archbishop Emeritus of Westminster, went to Ireland in early 2011 to investigate the implications of child abuse in each of the four archdioceses.

The group said the scandals have ‘opened wounds’ and led people to lose trust in their pastors and found that ‘innocent young people were abused by clerics and religious to whose care they had been entrusted, while those who should have exercised vigilance often failed to do so effectively.’

However the report also found that the Church in Ireland is making ‘excellent’ progress in efforts to implement norms to protect children from now on.

Faith

The report summary also found that ‘this time of trial’ has also ‘brought to light the continuing vitality of the Irish people’s Faith.’

“The visitators have noted the exemplary way in which many bishops, priests and religious live out their vocation,” it says. “The human and spiritual bonds among the Faithful at a time of crisis, the deep faith of many men and women, a remarkable level of lay involvement in the structures of child protection, and the heartfelt commitment shown by bishops and religious superiors in their task of serving the Christian community.”

Reaction

Cardinal Sean Brady (above), president of the Irish Bishops’ Conference, said he ‘welcomed’ the findings of the report and the Bishops of Ireland accepted mistakes had been made.

“As bishops we wish to associate ourselves with the ‘great sense of pain and shame’ expressed in the visitation findings that, within the Christian community, ‘innocent young people were abused by clerics and religious to whose care they had been entrusted,’” he said.

Cardinal Brady also said he believed the Church in Ireland could emerge stronger from this crisis.

However, One in Four, a group that supports victims of abuse, claimed the report failed to acknowledge that the Vatican had encouraged Church leaders to protect the Church at the expense of the safety of children.

Future

Among the key recommendations of the report are a new focus on the role of laity, the suggestion that the bishops consider ‘adapting’ diocesan structures to meet current needs and the great need for the Irish Church to establish a ‘proper relationship’ with media. However, the strongest emphasis of the report has been placed on formation and communion.

The report warns that many in Ireland do not display sufficient fidelity to Vatican teachings.

To address this the, report proposes a re-evaluation of the pastoral program, the reinforcement of structures of Episcopal governance over the seminaries and the introduction of more consistent admission criteria to seminary. It also suggests that Irish Catholic trainee priests should attend child protection classes.

For summary of findings, click here.

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