The Catholic Archbishop of Dublin has given his strongest indication yet that the State’s inquiry into clerical child sex abuse in Ireland should be extended.
“Without accountability for the past there will no healing and no trust for the future,” Archbishop Diarmuid Martin said.
He was responding to the publication of Pope Benedict’s pastoral letter to the Catholics of Ireland, details of which were read at all Masses over the weekend. In it the pope apologised for the deep hurt caused to abuse victims and their families. “You have suffered grievously, and I am truly sorry,” he said.
Archbishop Martin described the letter as “part of a strategy of a renewal of the church”. Many people “felt it was much stronger than expected,” he said.
Taoiseach Brian Cowen today said there are “things to be welcomed” in Pope Benedict's pastoral letter to the Catholics of Ireland.
In his first public response to the letter published on Saturday, Mr Cowen referred to the “direct apology” from the Pope as well as the acknowledgement that there had been huge dismay felt by many at the way the issue of clerical child sex abuse had been handled.
“The Government will discharge its responsibility, and the Church has to see what way it can ensure its credibility and authority is respected by its own members,” he said.
Asked if the State's inquiry into clerical child sex abuse should be extended, Mr Cowen said Government was committed to ensuring independent investigations took place where issues arose, and “that where criminal proceedings are required to be pursued that will always happen”.
Mr Cowen was speaking at eBay headquarters in Blanchardstown, Dublin, where he announced the creation of 150 new jobs.
Reaction to the papal letter from abuse victims and their representative groups has been mixed, with some minor protests at weekend Masses, notably in Kerry and Dublin.
Asked by reporters why the pope did not make any reference to a Vatican role in the crisis in Ireland, Archbishop Martin said: “Responsibility was very much that of the Irish church. The Vatican had produced the norms of canon law and they weren’t respected in the management of these cases.”
Meanwhile the Health Service Executive (HSE) has said its audit of child protection practices in all Catholic dioceses in the State has been delayed because some bishops failed to meet a January 7th deadline to provide all the records and information it requested.
A small number of the dioceses have still not provided relevant information on their child protection policies, although this would not prevent it from completing its audit report, the HSE told The Irish Times .
The Catholic Communications Office said yesterday the deadline set by the HSE was “unrealistic”.
It is expected the audit will be completed by the end of April and given to Minister for Children Barry Andrews. He has said the Government may then decide to extend the Murphy commission’s remit.
In his letter the pope announced an Apostolic Visitation of “certain dioceses in Ireland, as well as seminaries and religious congregations”. It will be conducted by officials of the Roman Curia to see whether practices are in conflict with the Vatican. No details of when or where the visitation will be conducted were given.
Speaking to reporters at the Pro Cathedral, Archbishop Martin insisted, “there’s still the question of the past and I believe that until people are sure they know about the past it will be very hard to move forward in healing.”
He added: “If there are skeletons ... time bombs are designed to explode and they will explode when the right time comes. It’s much wiser to call in the army and dismantle them before the damage is done. I think that’s the answer.”
John Kelly, of Irish Survivors of Child Abuse, said the group was seeking an urgent meeting with Cardinal Seán Brady to clarify issues in the letter and to discuss their demand that the Holy See establish a commission to examine the misconduct of Catholic religious orders in Ireland.
The One in Four group, which also represents survivors, welcomed aspects of the letter but said it neglected to apportion any responsibility for clerical sex abuse to the Vatican.
Last night Bishop of Kerry Dr William Murphy said it was not surprising anger surfaced at a time like this: “Child sexual abuse by priests and religious has caused great hurt and pain. The way in which church authorities in Ireland have dealt with these issues contributes in no small measure to that anger.”
He added: “It is not easy to find the way forward, but the pope’s letter is an effort to express sorrow and shame for failure to act.”