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An apologetic Vatican acknowledged “grave failures” in its handling of child sex abuse in the Cloyne diocese, however has rejected claims that it in any way hampered a clerical child abuse inquiry, and said the accusation against it was unfounded.
In a long-awaited 24 page report the Vatican expressed deep concern at the findings and “abhorrence” at the crimes committed.
“The Holy See is deeply concerned at the findings of the commission of inquiry concerning grave failures in the ecclesiastical governance of the diocese of Cloyne.”
In particular, the Vatican took strong issue with Prime Minister Enda Kenny’s remarks that the Vatican attempted to frustrate an enquiry in sovereign republic.
”In particular, the accusation that the Holy See attempted ‘to frustrate an Inquiry in a sovereign, democratic republic as little as three years ago, not three decades ago’, which Mr Kenny made no attempt to substantiate, is unfounded,” the Vatican said.
Simply put, the Vatican’s view is not so much that guidelines were not not in place, rather it was that they were not followed in the Cloyne diocese.
“It is particularly disturbing that these failures occurred despite the undertaking given by the bishops and religious superiors to apply the guidelines developed by the Church in Ireland to help ensure child protection and despite the Holy See’s own norms and procedures relating to cases of sexual abuse.”
“In the light of the findings of the Cloyne Report, the basic difficulty with regard to child protection in that diocese seems to have arisen not from the lack of recognition for the guidelines of the framework document but from the fact that, while the diocese claimed to follow the guidelines, in reality it did not,” the Vatican said.
Dublin Archbishop Diarmuid Martin who has clashed both with the Vatican and his fellow bishops said Kenny’s unsubstantiated claim that the Vatican attempted to frustrate the processes in a a sovereign state “merits explanation.”
In return, Irish Deputy Prime Minister Eamon Gilmore acknowledged the Vatican’s statement, but expressed reservations saying the response was ‘technical and legalistic.’
“I acknowledge the declaration by the Holy See that it is ‘sorry and ashamed’ for the terrible suffering of victims of child abuse in Ireland and their families,” Gilmore said in a statement.
“However some of the argumentation advanced by the Holy See in its response is very technical and legalistic. The government’s concerns were never about the status of church documents but rather about the welfare of children.”
Furthermore, having read the Vatican statement, Gilmore said he wasn’t fully persuaded.
“I remain of the view that the 1997 letter from the then-nuncio provided a pretext for some to avoid full cooperation with Irish civil authorities,” he said.
Sources
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