Monday, December 19, 2011

Court allows publication of full Cloyne report

The High Court has ruled that the report into clerical sex abuse in the Diocese of Cloyne can be published in full.

Last July, when most of it was being published, the High Court ordered that sections dealing with allegations against an unnamed priest be blacked out because of the risk of prejudicing what were then ongoing criminal proceedings.

Last Friday that order was lifted. Plans to publish the full report on the day were abandoned.

A Department of Justice spokesman explained that the notice from the High Court was too short to allow counselling services to be put in place on time for people distressed by the publication.

He said that Minister for Justice Alan Shatter is conscious that there should not be any undue delay with the publication.

The report was compiled by the statutory Commission of Investigation, chaired by Judge Yvonne Murphy, on the handling by the Catholic Church and the State of allegations and concerns about clerical sexual abuse in the Co Cork diocese between 1975 and 2004.

The commission found that Bishop John Magee was responsible for his diocese's failure to tell the gardaí and health authorities about nine out of 15 complaints made against priests, which, in the report's words "very clearly should have been reported".