The Cloyne report is a “terrible indictment” of the inertia that was
present in the Cloyne diocese towards child protection, the chief
executive of the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre said today.
“Here is
another report which makes for unbelievable reading in relation to how
the Catholic Church dealt with allegations of child sexual abuse by
clerics in the diocese of Cloyne,” Ellen O’Malley-Dunlop said.
“There
is no excuse of being on a ‘learning curve’ this time. The Church’s own
child protection guidelines were in place from 1996, yet the report
tells us time and time again, that the implementation of the policies
and procedures was inadequate and inappropriate," she said.
"It was not
until 2008 that the diocese began to follow proper procedures.
“The
publication of this report will again reopen the wounds of the victims
involved and other victims around the country who had similar
experiences. It may also trigger people’s memories for the first time,”
she added.
Cari chief executive Mary Flaherty said the report was
another example of the Catholic Church "putting its reputation and
financial well being ahead of children and their families."
She also said she was very concerned by the failure of gardaí to act on some reports.
“The
report underlines how vulnerable children are when faced with powerful
institutions. The least a civilised society can do is to give them the
strongest possible statutory protection."
"As the Minister
identifies, action is now needed and children’s charities and advocacy
groups like Cari have been waiting for the Vetting Bill, the placing of
child protection guidelines on a statutory basis and an amendment to the
Constitution for far too long.”
Executive director of Amnesty
International in Ireland Colm O’Gorman said the State had relied on
assurances from the church instead of living up to its responsibility to
protect children.
"The failure of past governments to fulfil
their obligations to protect children and ensure justice for victims of
abuse is once again made abundantly clear in this report," he said.
“We
need to see today’s strong words from the Government backed up with
action. Despite all the reports on the failures by the State to stop the
abuse of children progress on ensuring it never happens again has been
painfully slow."
“The approval by cabinet to put the Children
First guidelines for the protection of children on a statutory basis,
recommended two years ago by the Ryan Report, is welcome. So is the
proposal for stronger oversight of the HSE’s child protection services."
Director of advocacy with Barnardos Norah Gibbons also called for the Children First guidelines to be put on a statutory basis.
"Only
when these have been cemented in Irish law will we be assured that
there is no hiding place for institutions or individuals who fail to
properly implement and abide by the laws of the State in relation to
child protection,” she said.
“Now is the time to get to work on getting the systems right in child welfare and protection.”
An
American watchdog group BishopAccountability.org said the handling of
clerical abuse cases in Cloyne is “eerily similar” to a US grand jury
report released earlier this year, which found church leaders showed a
“brazen disregard” for both civil law and the church’s own internal
policies.
“The Cloyne report is disheartening confirmation that
even today, despite the church's knowledge of the profound anguish of
thousands of victims, its reform policies are public relations ploys,
not true child protection programs,” the group said.
The
Boston-based organisation asked: "how many second chances will Irish
church officials get before they are criminally charged for enabling the
molestation of children?"