“IN RESPONSE to Commission of Investigation Report into the Catholic Diocese of Cloyne: The
commission has found that the diocese did not fully implement the
procedures set out in church protocols for dealing with allegations of
child sexual abuse against clergy.
These failures were first brought to
light by the Report of the National Board for Safeguarding Children in
the Catholic Church, which was published by the diocese in 2008.
I again
sincerely apologise to all those who were abused by priests in the
Diocese of Cloyne for my failure to ensure that they were fully
supported and responded to in their time of need.
When the church
procedures were published in 1996, they were intended to be a new
beginning for the church in dealing with allegations and supporting
complainants.
While I was fully supportive of the procedures, I now
realise that I should have taken a much firmer role in ensuring their
implementation.
I accept in its entirety the commission’s view that the
primary responsibility for the failure to fully implement the church
procedures in the diocese lay with me.
Given my position of
responsibility, I am particularly saddened when I read the accounts of
the complainants describing the effects of the abuse, knowing that I
contributed to their distress.
I have met some of the complainants
personally and heard their stories.
The people, who were so terribly
abused by priests, found the courage to come forward to talk to me, or
to my delegate, Msgr O’Callaghan, who was representing me, and in many
cases, we failed them.
I am sorry that this happened and I unreservedly
apologise to all those who suffered additional hurt because of the
flawed implementation of the church procedures, for which I take full
responsibility.
I can only hope that the detailed work of the
commission and the national board can now provide the new beginning that
we all had hoped for in 1996.”