Cardinal Desmond Connell has begun High Court proceedings challenging the production of allegedly legally privileged documents from diocesan files to the Dublin Diocesan Commission of Investigation into the handling by the Cardinal and others of complaints of child abuse against Catholic clergy. The cardinal claims the documents in question are legally privileged and his lawyers today secured an interim High Court injunction restraining the Commission from examining the documents to decide whether they attract legal privilege and/or a duty of confidentiality.
The proceedings arise from an order by the Commission last December compelling Archbishop Diarmuid Martin, as the current Archbishop of Dublin, to produce to the Commission all documents listed by him in an affidavit of discovery of June 2006. That affidavit listed documents dating from 1975 to 2004 relating to claims of child abuse against a representative sample of 46 priests in the Dublin Archdiocese.
Archbishop Martin delivered the documents in disc format on January 15th last and the Commission had indicated it intended to begin examining the documents from Monday last to decide whether they are, as Cardinal Connell claims, legally privileged or subject to a duty of confidentiality.
The Commission has refused a request from Cardinal Connell's solicitor not to begin that examination process pending the outcome of the Cardinal's legal action, Mr Roddy Horan SC, for Cardinal Connell, told the High Court.
Counsel secured leave from Mr Justice Iarfhlaith O'Neill to bring a judicial review challenge to the Commission's handling of the discovery issue.
The proceedings have been brought by Cardinal Connell, said to be abroad and not due to return to Ireland until Saturday against the members of the Dublin Archdiocese Commission of Investigation - Judge Yvonne Muprhy (chairperson), Ms Ita Mangan and Mr Hugh O'Neill.
The Commission was established on March 28th 2006.
In the action, the cardinal claims the Commission's actions on the documents are outside its terms of reference and breach his constitutional rights and fair procedures.
In a statement, Archbishop Diarmuid Martin said he had learned of the proceedings initiated this morning at the High Court on behalf of Cardinal Desmond Connell, by the legal team which has from the outset represented the Cardinal in all his dealings with the Commission of Investigation.
"Since its inception, the Archdiocese has refrained from making any comment on the work of the Commission. That policy remains unchanged," the statement said.
"Archbishop Martin hopes that the legal matters which have now arisen will be dealt with expeditiously for all concerned so that the commission can conclude its work.
"The overarching aim of all must be that of attaining a more accurate understanding of the truth concerning sexual abuse of children by clergy."
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
No responsibility or liability shall attach itself to either myself or to the blogspot ‘Clerical Whispers’ for any or all of the articles placed here.
The placing of an article hereupon does not necessarily imply that I agree or accept the contents of the article as being necessarily factual in theology, dogma or otherwise.
Sotto Voce