IRELAND
Irish Examiner
Friday, February 12, 2016
Archbishop Diarmuid Martin has insisted that every allegation of clerical abuse must be reported to gardaí.
He was responding after groups representing the victims of paedophile priests reacted angrily to a Catholic Church edict to newly appointed bishops that they are “not necessarily” responsible for reporting allegations of child abuse to the police.
The instruction, in a new Vatican training manual advising senior clergy on how to respond to allegations of abuse, states that only victims or their families should decide whether to report to authorities, but bishops should be aware of local legal requirements.
“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,” states the training document.
Archbishop Martin said: “The norms in Ireland are very clear — all allegations must and are reported to the gardaí.
“Gardaí have the ability and the expertise to investigate matters that diocesan personnel would not.
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