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	Irish Church Child Abuse Was Covered Up, Report Says (Update 2) By Colm Heatley and Ian Guider Bloomberg November 26, 2009 http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aty3mF74mxf4&pos=9 Nov. 26 (Bloomberg) -- Irish Roman Catholic Church authorities routinely covered-up sexual abuse of children by priests in Dublin to avoid scandals and protect their assets, according to an investigation. The "pre-occupation" was the "maintenance of secrecy, the avoidance of scandal, the protection of the reputation of the Church," Dublin Archdiocese Commission of Investigation said in the report published in Dublin today. "All other considerations, including the welfare of children and justice for victims, were subordinated." The report, described by Irish Justice Minister Dermot Ahern as a catalogue of "evil after evil," is a further blow to the Catholic Church, which has been rocked in recent years by sexual abuse scandals in countries including Ireland and the U.S. The report, the second this year to document abuse of children by clerics in Ireland, said senior clergy moved priests when told of abuse allegations. The 700-page report examined how the Church handled allegations of sex abuse against a sample of 46 priests in the Dublin diocese between 1975 and 2004. Separately, the Ryan Report, released in May, said child abuse was "endemic" in Irish institutions run by religious orders since the 1930s. "I was 12 when I was abused by a priest," Marie Collins, 62, said in an interview. "It destroyed about 30 years of my life, all my self worth went." Collins said when she reported the abuse to her local priest in 1985 he told her "that I must have tempted the man." 'Deeply Sorry' The report also said the state "facilitated the cover-up" of abuse by not applying the law equally to the church. Ahern said any police officer who obstructed any investigation after complaints were made should be prosecuted and pledged there would be "no hiding place" for pedophile priests. "These persons who committed these dreadful crimes, no matter when they took place, will continue to be pursued," Ahern told a press conference in Dublin. "Justice, even where it may have been delayed, will not be denied." One priest told the commission he sexually abused more than 100 children, while another said he abused children every two weeks for 25 years, today's report said. The commission received complaints from 320 children about 46 priests. A total of 11 of the priests pleaded guilty or were convicted of sexual assaults, the commission's report said. Reputation "The American phrase, 'don't ask, don't tell' is appropriate to describe the attitude of the Dublin Archdiocese to clerical sex abuse for most of the period covered," today's report said. "The highest priority was the protection of the reputation of the institutions and the reputation of priests." Diarmuid Martin, the Archbishop of Dublin, said he felt "shame" at the report and that measures to safeguard children must be "rigorously" observed. "No words of apology will ever be sufficient," Martin, blinking away tears, told a press conference in Dublin. "Excuses, denials and minimizations were taken from abusers. Decisions were taken that resulted in more children being abused. As archbishop of Dublin, and as Diarmuid Martin a person, I offer to each and every survivor my apology, my sorrow and shame for what happened." Irish police commissioner Fachtna Murphy said he was "deeply sorry" that officers failed to protect victims. 'Misguided' "These contacts occurred at a time when a misguided or undue deference was often shown to religious institutions and figures by many in our society," he said in a statement. "Such deference can have no place in a criminal investigation." The handling of complaints by Cardinal Desmond Connell, who retired as Archbishop of Dublin in 2004, "often added to the hurt and grief of victims," the commission's report said. "The challenge for everybody involved now must be to ensure that," structures now in place to protect children from abuse "continue to function fully," Ireland's President, Mary McAleese, said in a statement today. "No one, but no one, is above the law of the land," McAleese said. Ireland's Christian Brothers religious order yesterday said it will pay 161 million euros ($242 million) to the government to help compensate the victims identified through the Ryan Report, which detailed decades of beatings and rapes. Prime Minister Brian Cowen said the abuse revealed in the Ryan Report was a "searing indictment" of both the orders and the state and called on the orders to reopen a 2002 deal that capped their compensation to victims at 127 million euros. His predecessor Bertie Ahern in 1999 apologized to victims on behalf of the state for a "collective failure to intervene, to detect their pain, to come to their rescue." "It's clear that the church cannot be allowed to police itself anymore," said Marie Collins. "That is what I want the report's impact to be. How many more reports will it take?" To contact the reporter on this story: Colm Heatley in Belfast at cheatley@bloomberg.net
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