Tánaiste Eamon Gilmore said he recognised the Vatican had apologised
for the abuse scandals and expressed shame but said it still needed to
understand the Irish peoples' anger.
Taking issue with the
report's tone, Mr Gilmore said the document failed to reflect the unique
position that the Church had enjoyed in Irish society for decades.
"You've seen the terms in which it's expressed where they say that they are sorry and ashamed for what has happened," he told The Irish Times .
"I think that that has to be acknowledged that that is a response to the anger that is felt by the Irish people."
He
also acknowledged "various other indications" of the seriousness with
which the Vatican the "appalling" evidence of abuse in the Diocese of
Cloyne and elsewhere.
Asked if the report would improve Ireland's
relations with the Vatican, he said the level of anger felt at the
Church was such that more time was required to repair the damage caused
by its response.
"It moves things on a stage but it will take time," he said.
Mr
Gilmore, speaking at an EU foreign ministers' meeting in Poland, said
the public was more concerned about the welfare of children than the
status of Church documents.
He remained of the view that a 1997
letter from the then Papal Nuncio provided a pretext for some in the
Church to avoid full co-operation with the civil authorities in Ireland.
Issues
about the precise status of documents should not be allowed to obscure
the obligation
of people in a position of responsibility to deal
promptly with such abuse and report it, he said.
"I felt that
there were aspects of the statement that were highly technical, highly
legalistic, very much dancing on the head of a pin about the status of
documents when the issue that concerns the Government and I think the
public in Ireland is the welfare of children," he said.
"I think
that there is a need for the Vatican to understand that the feelings of
Irish people - and they were reflected and very clearly stated by the
Taoiseach - are first of all based on the abhorrence of child sex abuse,
just what a heinous crime it is."