THE CATHOLIC Church must respond fully to the findings of the Dublin diocesan report if it wishes to rebuild its moral authority, Taoiseach Brian Cowen has said.
Speaking in Brussels shortly before a statement from Pope Benedict in Rome, Mr Cowen said: “I have been very clear about this from the outset. I would expect that the church will be responding both in Rome, and in Ireland.
“People have to reflect on the position and ensure that the moral authority of the church – in so far as it wishes to do that as to its members – and as a church in Ireland needs to be reinforced and re-established. For me as Taoiseach, I see my job as leader of the State to say the State’s point of view. Everybody is amenable before the law. Everybody has to face the law, no matter who they are – institutions similarly and that the institutions who have issues to address will have to address them. That is the way I see it.”
Asked how the church could re-establish its moral authority, Mr Cowen said: “That is a matter for the church. That is their interest. The State’s interest is to ensure that we have modern child-protection practices in our country, that they are applied by everybody who has dealings with children, and that they are applied and properly monitored and that we get on with learning that lesson. It is an appalling vista that has been shown to us.
“These things happened. They are appalling things that happened. In no way would I ever be ambiguous in any respect about my feelings in relation to these matters, both as a parent and as a citizen.
“One of the great tragedies of all of this, of course, is that clerical child abuse outlined in the report is only a part of a child abuse problem in society. And it shows the huge responsibility that we all have as parents and people in authority to ensure that we have an environment for our children growing up that nurtures, rather than destroys.”