ALL but one chapter of a shocking report into sexual abuse by priests in the Dublin Archdiocese is expected to be released next week after the High Court yesterday cleared the way for its publication.The report of the Dublin Archdiocese Commission of Investigation will examine how senior bishops of the archdiocese handled allegations of abuse made against priests in Dublin between 1975 and 2004.
It will assess how the Catholic Church in Dublin investigated reports of abuse allegations made against a representative sample of 46 priests.
The report is expected to comment on how four archbishops and 15 bishops carried out inquiries into such complaints.
The Archbishop of Dublin, Diarmuid Martin, has already warned that the contents of the report, which runs to some 800 pages, will "shock us all".
Mr Justice Paul Gilligan yesterday ruled that Chapter 19 of the report and 21 other references to the subject of that chapter cannot be published until further direction by the same court.
It is understood that Chapter 19 relates to allegations against a former priest who is due to face a criminal prosecution next April.
Yesterday’s ruling followed a hearing conducted in private earlier this month in which lawyers for relevant parties outlined their views on what sections of the report could be published as it contains references to a number of priests who still face criminal trials in relation to allegations of sexually abusing children.
The report was referred to the High Court for consideration by Justice Minister Dermot Ahern following consultation with the Attorney General, Paul Gallagher SC, in July.
Mr Justice Gilligan said the High Court had a role to consider if publication of the report could prejudice any forthcoming criminal proceedings.
The judge said he had to balance in order of priority the paramount importance of an accused’s right to a fair trial with the right of the DPP to prosecute and the public interest in the publication of the report.
Mr Justice Gilligan ruled the issue of publication of Chapter 19 could be considered at another hearing on May 5, 2010.
In a statement last night, the minister said he would make arrangements for the early release of the report.
The commission, which was chaired by Circuit Court judge Yvonne Murphy, was established in March 2006.
It is believed about 400 people are known or suspected to have suffered child sexual abuse by Dublin diocesan priests since 1940. Allegations of sexual abuse are understood to have been made against at least 140 clerics, with suspicion raised against another 32 clerics.
Several priests who will be identified by name in the report, unlike the Ferns Report published in 2005, have already been convicted of sexual offences, while at least four are before the courts.
A victim of clerical sex abuse who campaigned for the establishment of the commission, Marie Collins, welcomed the court’s ruling but expressed disappointment that the report would not be published in full.
Victim support group, One in Four, said the decision to publish the majority of the report would come as a relief to people who were sexually abused as children by priests in Dublin.
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