5 Yrs’ Jail If You Hide Perv Priests

By Myles Mcentee
Irish Sun
April 26, 2012

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/irishsun/irishsunnews/4279424/5-yrs-jail-if-you-hide-perv-priests.html

ANYONE found guilty of staying silent about sex crimes against a child will face five years behind bars under tough new measures unveiled yesterday.

The crackdown came as Dublin Archbishop Diarmuid Martin insisted it had become more difficult for clerics to share sensitive information with anybody other than gardai or health officials.

Justice Minister Alan Shatter told how the latest legislation he was pushing through would close a loophole and make it a criminal offence to withhold information about abuse of children or vulnerable people.

Meanwhile, a second law will make it mandatory for organisations, including churches and named professionals, to report abuse or neglect.

Shatter said previous legislation outlawed withholding information in offences such as assault, abduction, manslaughter or murder, and this was being extended to sexual crimes.

He added: “It is not acceptable that there can be a cloak of secrecy surrounding such offences or offences against other vulnerable persons in our society.” And he played down controversy over how the law would apply to clerics who had details of an offence told to them in the confession box.

However Minister for Children Frances Fitzgerald stressed: “We haven’t made any exclusions or any exemptions, everybody is under an obligation to report.”

Meanwhile, Archbishop Martin told of his regret at the resignation of a child safety officer in the capital when she discovered a priest accused of abuse was still on limited duties.

He said: “There’s a real need to update our legislation which respects the rights of individuals but also covers the need to share information with those who have responsibility.”

Contact: myles.mcentee@the-sun.ie