Minister for Justice Alan Shatter has said comments made by Vatican
spokesman Fr Federico Lombardi about the recently published Cloyne
report are "somewhat unfortunate and disingenuous".
Making his
first extended comments on the implications of the report, Fr Lombardi
said yesterday there was nothing in the advice given by the papal nuncio
to Irish bishops which could be interpreted as an invitation to cover
up abuse cases.
Fr Lombardi said a controversial letter from papal
nuncio Luciano Storero in 1997 was grossly misinterpreted following
publication of the report last week.
The letter delivered the
reaction of the Vatican's Congregation for the Clergy to the child
protection measures introduced by Irish bishops a year earlier.
The
Cloyne report, which was published last week, said the papal nuncio's
letter was “entirely unhelpful to any bishop who wanted to implement the
agreed procedures”.
Speaking on RTÉ's Morning Ireland ,
Mr Shatter said the Cloyne report made it clear that the letter "greatly
strengthened the position of those in Cloyne who did not approve of the
Church's framework document of the protection of children.
"The
letter sent by the papal nuncio quoting extracts from the congregation
for the clergy published, made it very clear that in the view of the
papal nuncio and the congregation (that) the framework document was a
mere study," said Mr Shatter.
In the letter, the Vatican
representative states: “In particular, the situation of ‘mandatory
reporting’ gives rise to serious reservations of both a moral and a
canonical nature”. This has been widely interpreted as an invitation to
implement a "cover-up" and not to report cases of clerical child abuse
to civil authorities.
However, Fr Lombardi said: “There is no good
reason to understand that letter as an invitation to cover up abuse
cases. In truth, it was pointed out that there was a risk that sanctions
might be taken which could later be judged invalid or questionable from
the canonical viewpoint, thus thwarting the very intentions . . . of
the Irish bishops . . . There is absolutely nothing in the letter which
could be seen as an invitation not to respect the laws of the land.”
Commenting
on Fr Lombardi's comments, Mr Shatter said he expected a "careful and
considered response to the very detailed report from Cloyne".
He
said he thought such a response should include "an absolute assurance
that in the future all instances of child abuse that come to the notice
of authorities within the church will be reported to An Garda Síochána".
Our
central concern is the protection of children. We must ensure that the
harm done to children in the past in so far as is possible isn't again
done in the future and where there are instances of child abuse they are
immediately made known to An Garda Síochána and to the Health Service
Executive (HSE)," Mr Shatter added.
The
motion “deplores the Vatican’s intervention which contributed to the
undermining of the child protection frameworks and guidelines of the
Irish State and the Irish bishops”.
It also expresses “dismay at
the disturbing findings of the report and at the inadequate and
inappropriate response, particularly of the church authorities in
Cloyne, to complaints and allegations of child sexual abuse”.