Taoiseach Kenny eviscerates the Vatican!
Pardon the exclamation mark, as none of the above will come as any surprise to those of us who have been following reports of sexual child abuse in the church in County Cork, Ireland. No help has been forthcoming from the Vatican, and Irish bishops claim that they have been somewhat left out in the cold. What help they required above and beyond proper implementation of 1996 legislation "Child Sexual Abuse: Framework for a Church Response", however, is still in need of clarification.
The latest problem involves the Cloyne Report of July 13th. Findings detail the nefarious activities of Cloyne Bishop John Magee, former secretary to three popes. He paid scant attention to cases of sexual child abuse which landed on his desk as recently as 2008. The report states that in his lengthy communications with government officials, Magee claimed that his diocese was correctly reporting all allegations of clerical child sexual abuse to the civil authorities. In fact, he misled an inquiry team and his own advisors. Magee devised a plan to create two separate accounts, one for Vatican officials and another comprising diocesan files relating to his meeting with a friend priest suspected of abusing children, in order to delay an inquiry and "help" his friend.
Parliamentary debate and the ensuing judicial report, made public on July 20th, hinted that the Holy See hindered investigations only indirectly, as a result of extended administrative delays.
Whether or not any of this should concern visitors to the Vatican Museums on one of our Vatican tours is debatable, however, we are of the opinion that it is important to publish material which reminds tourists in Rome that all is not well behind the high walls of the Holy See.
The latest problem involves the Cloyne Report of July 13th. Findings detail the nefarious activities of Cloyne Bishop John Magee, former secretary to three popes. He paid scant attention to cases of sexual child abuse which landed on his desk as recently as 2008. The report states that in his lengthy communications with government officials, Magee claimed that his diocese was correctly reporting all allegations of clerical child sexual abuse to the civil authorities. In fact, he misled an inquiry team and his own advisors. Magee devised a plan to create two separate accounts, one for Vatican officials and another comprising diocesan files relating to his meeting with a friend priest suspected of abusing children, in order to delay an inquiry and "help" his friend.
Parliamentary debate and the ensuing judicial report, made public on July 20th, hinted that the Holy See hindered investigations only indirectly, as a result of extended administrative delays.
Whether or not any of this should concern visitors to the Vatican Museums on one of our Vatican tours is debatable, however, we are of the opinion that it is important to publish material which reminds tourists in Rome that all is not well behind the high walls of the Holy See.
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