IRELAND
Irish Times
Patsy McGarry
All allegations of clerical child sexual abuse on the island of Ireland must be reported to civil authorities, said Catholic Church representatives.
Maynooth-based director of safeguarding for the church Teresa Devlin said it was mandatory within the Catholic Church in Ireland to report allegations of child abuse and that has not changed.
“The national board delivers training to bishops and provincials which sets this out clearly following their appointment,” she said.
Ms Devlin was responding to reports of a Vatican training document for new bishops which said that, though bishops must be aware of local laws, their only duty was to address allegations internally.
“According to the state of civil laws of each country where reporting is obligatory, it is not necessarily the duty of the bishop to report suspects to authorities, the police or state prosecutors in the moment when they are made aware of crimes or sinful deeds,” the document states.
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