The (Roman Catholic) Bishop of Meath, Dr Michael Smith, has hit out at Taoiseach Enda Kenny for his "discourtesy" in taking a sentence from a document by the now-pope, and quoting it out of context in his recent Dáil speech criticising the Vatican.
He has also accused the government of failing to substantiate the criticisms levelled at the Vatican by the taoiseach, and defended the Holy See's commitment to the protection of children.
Bishop Smith's comments came during Mass at St Paul's in Mullingar on Sunday, where he told the congregation that the Vatican response (now uploaded to mullingar.com) was "a reasoned, measured and well-sourced document that merits careful reading".
Referring to Taoiseach Kenny's comments in Dáil Éireann, the bishop said the taoiseach stated the Cloyne Report "exposes an attempt by the Holy See to frustrate an inquiry in a sovereign democratic republic as little as three years ago, not three decades ago".
"When invited to substantiate this serious allegation, government representatives were unable to do so," the bishop stated, adding that the response from the Holy See had addressed this allegation "in considerable detail", and clearly showed the claim to be both untrue and without foundation.
"Further on in his speech Mr Kenny takes a sentence from a document signed by the then Cardinal Ratzinger in May 1990 on the 'Ecclesial Vocation of the Theologian' totally out of context and applies it to child abuse," Bishop Smith continued.
"This document affirmed the age-old teaching of the church that it does not take its teaching from the state or from popular opinion but from the teaching of Jesus Christ. It is regrettable that the taoiseach should show such discourtesy to Pope Benedict by taking a sentence from a long paragraph and applying it to a specific topic that this document in question was not addressing."
Bishop Smith said that the difficulty in grappling with the evil of the abuse of children by adults is highlighted by the difficulty successive Irish governments have had in framing legislation, and drafting a constitutional amendment to deal with the issue.
He said that the Holy See statement referred to unsuccessful efforts made by the Irish government in 1997 in this regard, a year after the Irish bishops published their first document on the handling of allegations of abuse.
That document from the bishops, "obliged bishops and religious superiors to cooperate fully with the civil authorities and to report all allegations to the gardaí and the HSE, even though civil law does not yet impose such an obligation," he stated.
"Both the Cloyne Report and various comments surrounding its publication spoke about the lack of recognitio from the Holy See to this 1996 document," the bishop continued.
"There was no doubt in our minds as bishops at that time that this was not a study document but a set of procedures which all were expected to observe"
"Bishops never sought a recognitio from the Holy See as that would set the procedures in stone, and could prevent them from later amendment and development in the light of experience. In fact, since then, there have been two major revisions of this original document. The Holy See response notes that some of the comments indicate a lack of understanding of the procedures governing the church's own internal law."
Bishop Smith said that the Holy See response "makes clear the church's commitment to the protection of children by cooperating with the civil authorities and ensuring that our own internal best practice is maintained".
He concluded: "I take this opportunity to thank those in our parishes who help us to make the church a safe and welcoming place for children to be involved today. I ask you to join with me in praying for all who have been hurt and betrayed in their childhood that they may one day experience healing and peace."