The Bishop of Killaloe, Dr Willie Walsh, has said confidentiality in the relationship between priest and bishop, though protected by canon law, does not take precedence over civil law.
There was "no clear answer" on the matter, he continued, "but I think that where there is a conflict between the law of the land and canon law [the law of the Church\] you have to obey the law of the land as far as I am concerned."
He also said that, where the new independent audit into how the Catholic Church in Ireland has handled complaints of clerical child sex abuse was concerned, it would be up to members of the commission conducting the audit to decide in relevant instances whether the confidentiality aspect of a bishop/ priest relationship should be respected. That would not be decided by the bishop, he said, as it would compromise the independence of the commission.
Addressing delegates at the annual general meeting of the National Conference of Priests of Ireland in Maynooth yesterday, Bishop Walsh said the Irish bishops had been operating in "bunker-like conditions" since last April, when Bishop Brendan Comiskey resigned.
They had been under "awful pressure" and had been responding more to the press rather than pastoral needs - how would the press interpret what they said and did, and "above all, how victims would interpret it . . . will they say we are only trying to get off the hook?"
"We should be guided by doing what is right," he said, but, like most people, Irish bishops wondered how what they did or said would be seen by the public.
He said: "In the long run, I feel we as bishops and journalists will be judged harshly in the way we have dealt with this issue.
"If you ask any Irish bishop today what has caused him most grief during his time as bishop, I would be amazed if he didn't reply without hesitation that it is child sexual abuse," he said. It "has been and still is a nightmare".
It was "heartbreaking to listen to a grown and even elderly man tell how his life has been blighted by abuse suffered at the hands of a priest 20, 30, 40, 50 years ago", he said. He felt that "sitting down with someone who has been sexually abused does change you".
It was "heartbreaking to ask a colleague with whom you have worked for many years to stand aside from ministry because an allegation has been made against him. It is not easy to be reminded on a regular basis how you have failed the victims of abuse. It is not easy to be accused of putting power and money and your own personal reputation above the needs of victims. It is not easy to hold your tongue when a reporter asks you whether or not you are in favour of (and I quote) 'putting glass doors in confessionals in order to prevent paedophile priests from abusing children'."
He had a sense that "many priests are angry with us bishops for failing in the past to take decisive action in removing priests from ministry who were guilty of abuse. I equally have a sense that many of the same priests are angry with us for not adequately protecting priests from possible false allegations . . . I do have a sense that a lot of priests feel that we as bishops have not served you well on this issue."
Each bishop needed to give his priests "the fullest information possible in regard to the situation within their diocese - acknowledging, of course, certain restrictions imposed by confidentiality".
He felt the whole child sex abuse issue was "much more complex than many of our journalists or indeed judges realise.We have a long way to go in our understanding of it. I fear we will have to continue to struggle with the issue for many years ahead."