It has sent victims into an emotional tailspin, finding themselves part relieved that their deplorable treatment at the hands of Bishop John Magee and the diocese has finally come to light and part horrified as they watch politicians and bishops outside Cloyne wriggle out of criticising that same bishop.

The saga also cast dark clouds over the head of Minister for Children Barry Andrews for saying he didn’t read the National Board for Safeguarding Children (NBSC) report, even though he had it on his desk last July. Mr Andrews refused to publish the report and instead passed the buck to the HSE.

Aside from the courageous victims, there is only one person who comes out of this sordid affair with any renewed credibility — Ian Elliott, the chief executive of the Catholic Church’s National Board for Safeguarding Children, a man who didn’t fail to pull any punches when revealing the depth of non-compliance in the Cloyne Diocese.

The report on Cloyne from the NBSC found the Co Cork diocese was “significantly deficient” in dealing with alleged child abuse cases and “failed to focus on the needs of the vulnerable child”.

It also said the diocese had no understanding of the effects of paedophilia, or of the high level of re-offending. Mr Elliott said after a victim approached the bishop and his child protection team with a complaint, actions taken were “minimal and were delayed”.

He also noted the complaints made to the bishop were credible and that more children were put at risk because of this failure to react appropriately.

“The diocese is vulnerable to being seen to be complicit in not taking action to remove these people from the priesthood,” Mr Elliott wrote in the report.

Before taking up his role with the NBSC in July 2007, Elliot was a director of the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) in Belfast. He was seconded to the Department of Social Services in the North in 2005, where he spearheaded major reforms in child protection services.

From Dublin, he attended school at St Andrew’s College before going to Trinity College, where he secured an economics and philosophy degree. In 1976, he completed a masters degree in applied social studies at the University of Ulster and an Open University MBA in 1995.

He became a social worker working for the Social Services Board and then the NSPCC while publishing a wide range of academic papers on child protection.

One of the victims yesterday praised Mr Elliott’s manner and commitment to justice. “He is just fantastic — Ian. I found him absolutely genuine, the most unassuming and mild-mannered man who was just genuinely concerned that justice would be done. I can’t speak highly enough of him. He was a burning light in the darkness for me.”

When Bishop Magee failed to co-operate with his investigation into Cloyne, he didn’t delay in informing the HSE. When the Minister for Children tried to deny the department had commissioned the report, he denied this.

Mr Elliott has been out of contact with journalists in recent weeks, believing he has said everything in his report. When taking up his new role, Ian Elliott said he saw the job as “helping the Church to move beyond apology”.

In the Cloyne report, he certainly did that.