It is time to end the Ireland’s confessional wars, public debate about mandatory reporting of sexual abuse and focus on real issue, the protection of children says Gary O’Sullivan in the Irish Catholic. “A Church/State conflict over the confesional seal will not serve either party,” argues O’Sullivan. So far Cardinal Sean Brady and Ireland’s Minister for Children, Read more
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” Read more
“An object lesson in what not to do” is how Association of Catholic Priests founder, Fr Brendan Hoban described last weeks interview and the statement issued by former Cloyne bishop, John Magee. The media events were Magee’s first comments in five weeks on the Murphy Report into the handling of sexual abuse in the Cloyne Read more
A priest in Londonderry has said he would be prepared to go to jail rather than break the seal of confession.
Father Paddy O’Kane was responding to the Irish justice minister, Alan Shatter, who said that forthcoming child protection measures, will “apply regardless of any internal rules of any religious grouping”.
A priest could be convicted of a criminal offence if they were told of a sexual abuse case and failed to report it to the civil authorities, under the new legislation.
Read the article...County Donegal in Ireland is about to have its bucolic image shattered by a report into how paedophiles, both clergy and laity, abused children for decades, and how the Police were complicit in the cover-up.
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“Inadequate” is how the Irish Association for Catholic Priests (ACP) has labelled Bishop John Magee’s first interview since the publication of the report. ACP spokesman, Fr Tony Flannery said five minutes on the doorstep was not adequate given the questions raised by the Murphy report. “While we welcome his interview we don’t feel it’s enough. Read more
A second diocese in Ireland, the Diocese of Cloyne, is also under extreme financial pressure. In a statement the diocese said it has sold property and used its cash reserves but these options are almost exhausted. “Ultimately the diocese and each parish depend on the generosity of the faithful in the weekly collections and other Read more
The ‘partial release’ of internal files held by the Vatican, on a priest accused of sexually abusing boys in Ireland and the US, was not an indication of a changing church, abuse victims have said.
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Elitist and narcissist is how Irish Prime Minister, Enda Kenny has described the Vatican’s handling of the sexual abuse scandal in Ireland. Kenny said after three government reports on clerical abuse and cover-ups rocked one of Europe’s most devout societies, the church needs to be “truly and deeply penitent for the horrors it perpetrated, hid and Read more
The Dublin Archdiocese could be on the verge of financial collapse as it tries to manage the child abuse payouts. Declining numbers of Catholics attending Mass and fewer donations are also significant contributing factors. The Irish Catholic reports that reserves built up by the diocese have been spent. A senior administrator for the archdiocese said Read more