A LONG-awaited report into clerical child abuse in the diocese of Cloyne could be published as early as next week.
Justice Minister Alan Shatter said the Murphy
Commission report into claims of abuse against 19 clerics between 1996
and 2009 is expected to be brought to cabinet tomorrow and will be made
public "very shortly" afterwards.
The statutory inquiry was ordered in January 2009 after a damning report by the Catholic Church’s abuse watchdog found that the then Bishop of Cloyne, John Magee, took minimal action over child abuse allegations against two of his priests.
Following an investigation, headed by judge Yvonne Murphy, the report was handed to the Department of Justice at the end of last year and it had been hoped that it would be published before Easter. However, it was delayed because of fears it would prejudice the criminal trial of an alleged paedophile priest.
Mr Shatter said he had hoped the report would have been published by now. "It’s been a long, drawn-out process of consultations involving lawyers who had an interest in the matter and it’s been more long drawn out than I anticipated."
The statutory inquiry was ordered in January 2009 after a damning report by the Catholic Church’s abuse watchdog found that the then Bishop of Cloyne, John Magee, took minimal action over child abuse allegations against two of his priests.
Following an investigation, headed by judge Yvonne Murphy, the report was handed to the Department of Justice at the end of last year and it had been hoped that it would be published before Easter. However, it was delayed because of fears it would prejudice the criminal trial of an alleged paedophile priest.
Mr Shatter said he had hoped the report would have been published by now. "It’s been a long, drawn-out process of consultations involving lawyers who had an interest in the matter and it’s been more long drawn out than I anticipated."