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  Irish Bishops Return from Rome

BBC News
February 17, 2010

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8519654.stm

IRELAND -- Irish Roman Catholic bishops have returned home having spent two days in the Vatican discussing the handling of clerical child abuse in Ireland.

On Tuesday, Pope Benedict XVI condemned the abuse as a "heinous crime". In 2009 the Irish church admitted covering up abuse for decades.

Irish Survivors of Child Abuse welcomed the acknowledgement of the abuse.

The Pope summoned the bishops for two days of meetings

However, it accused the Pope of failing to show strong leadership in tackling the crisis.

"We are entitled to expect that the Pope makes those who committed crimes or covered up crimes, including bishops, accountable," said the group's founder John Kelly.

"The words coming out at the moment seem to be positive. Whether they will act upon them and whether they will go far enough is another matter. We need to see the words turned into action," he told the AFP news agency.

'Missed opportunity'

The Rape Crisis Network in Ireland said it is deeply disappointed at the tone of the meeting between the Irish bishops and the Pope.

Executive director Fiona Neary said Pope Benedict had missed an opportunity to recognise the failures of his office which "repeatedly failed to put child protection above protecting the good name of alleged abusers".

In a statement the Pope reprimanded the bishops for a "failure... for years to act effectively".

Two state-ordered reports revealed how abuse was rife in many Catholic-run children's institutions in Ireland, and how priests who were accused of abuse were moved by bishops to new parishes, with no other action taken.

Investigators found that church officials compiled confidential files on more than 100 parish priests accused of sexual abuse, but that the files were kept secret.

Victims of abuse have accused the church of putting its own reputation ahead of concern for abused children.

'Honesty and courage'

Following three meetings with the bishops over two days, the Vatican released a statement saying: "All those present recognised that this grave crisis has led to a breakdown in trust in the church's leadership."

The Pope had faulted "the failure of the Irish church authorities for years to act effectively over cases of sexual abuse against young people", the statement said.

"For his part, the Holy Father observed that the sexual abuse of children and young people is not only a heinous crime, but also a grave sin which offends God and wounds the dignity of the human person created in his image."

The Vatican also said that the Irish bishops promised to co-operate with civil authorities, "to guarantee that the church's standards, policies and procedures represent best practice in this area".

Victims of abuse by Irish priests have written a letter to the Pope calling for the resignation of bishops "who engaged in this culture of cover-up".

"The lives of thousands of Irish people have been devastated by sexual abuse by priests," the letter said.

Four bishops have already offered their resignations - though only one has been formally accepted.

A spokesman said the issue of resignation was not discussed at the Pope's meetings with the bishops.

 
 

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