A meeting yesterday between Catholic bishops and Minister for Children Brian Lenihan was described as "very constructive" by the Catholic primate, Archbishop Seán Brady.
The meeting in Dublin, which was at the bishops' request, was to brief the Minister and his officials on the church's response to the Ferns report's recommendations and the timescale for introducing its child protection guidelines, Our Children, Our Church.
The Minister briefed the bishops on plans by the HSE to establish inter-agency review groups in each diocese in the State. The groups aim to provide greater protection for children and will include representatives of the Health Service Executive, the Garda and the church. They will be convened by the HSE.
Archbishop Brady attended the meeting with Bishop Colm O'Reilly of Ardagh and Clonmacnoise; Bishop Eamonn Walsh,apostolic administrator in Ferns; Fr Timothy Bartlett, assistant to the bishops; Sr Colette Stevenson and Ms Kay Hyden of the bishops' Child Protection Office.
Meanwhile, it has emerged that the Ferns diocese has made settlements totalling €3.8 million with 23 people abused by its priests. A further 13 civil actions against priests of the diocese have yet to be completed.
Of the money paid in settlements to date, €2.46 million came from the Catholic bishops' stewardship trust, some from bequests and donations to Ferns diocese itself, and some from perpetrators of the abuse. Since April 2002 the diocese had also spent €267,467 on the treatment of offenders.
Speaking in Dublin yesterday following the meeting with Mr Lenihan, Bishop Eamonn Walsh said an audit was under way into the diocese's assets but that recent reports of the sale of Bishop's House in Wexford were "speculation". The audit was necessary to establish what could be disposed of should the need arise, as much diocesan property was held in trust and had been made available for specific purposes, he explained. Regardless, he said, assets would not get in the way of making reparation.
The fixed assets being looked at, as he disclosed at the agm of the Ferns diocesan finance committee on Tuesday, were non-parish fixed assets including the St Peter's College seminary buildings and lands in Wexford, St Peter's College lands at Coolcotts, Bishop's House in Wexford and St Peter's College agricultural lands (around 15 acres).
The diocese is in negotiations with the Department of Education about the sale of seminary buildings.
The Body of Christ, a newly formed group of lay people angry at the ill-treatment of priests who tried to prevent clerical child sex abuse, is to stage a demonstration outside Archbishop Brady's house in Armagh next Saturday at 12. 30pm. Sarah Anne McGivney of the group said they were "appalled by the continued inaction of primate Archbishop Brady and outraged at the condescending attitude of the church" to such priests.