IRELAND
The Journal
ARCHBISHOP EAMON MARTIN has revealed that in the past year he has come across a number of situations where there were concerns that somebody vulnerable may have been abused by a priest.
Speaking to Eamonn Mallie on Irish TV, the leader of Ireland’s Catholics said, “Every single time that I come across anything now that potentially could be a criminal offence, it may not be a criminal offence, but potentially- we now have a system, we have a dedicated person”.
“With regard to my own life and my own work as archbishop,” Martin continued, “I would say yes, even since last September [2014] there have been a number of cases, not of child abuse, but cases where we’ve been worried that somebody who is vulnerable may have been abused by a priest.
We immediately seek the advice of the civil authorities.
“We have a very close link with the statutory authorities and we refer everything, if we have any suggestion at all that somebody might be at risk or that there might be a danger to a child, it’s referred.
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