IRELAND
Irish Times
The One in Four organisation has expressed shock at the implications of a new Vatican document on the reporting of claims of clerical abuse.
Maeve Lewis, executive director of One in Four, said she was shocked at the implication that bishops had discretion whether or not to report incidents of clerical abuse to the civil authorities.
She was speaking on the recently released the guidelines in a Vatican document for new bishops which states it is “not necessarily” their duty to report claims of clerical abuse in states where reporting was obligatory.
The guidelines did state that clergy must be aware of laws in the area they minister.
She told Newstalk Radio: “Given the history in this country we all know the dangers and what sort of culture that can create and the dangers to vulnerable children. It must be unbelievable to people like Bishop Diarmuid Martin who showed such leadership on this issue in this country.
Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.