THE ARCHBISHOP of Dublin, Dr Diarmuid Martin, last night rallied to the defence of his predecessor, Cardinal Desmond Connell, after he was criticised in the report into child sex abuse. Dr Martin urged people to "give people credit for the good things they did".
But he also called on those priests and church leaders identified in the Murphy report to examine their consciences to see if they were protecting children.
The report found that the now-retired Cardinal Connell "was slow to recognise the seriousness of the situation" when he took office in 1988 and had initially tried to keep clerical sex abuse secret.
Cardinal Connell yesterday issued an apology for his "failures" which contributed to the suffering of the victims of abuse.
Speaking at the Archbishop's House in Drumcondra yesterday evening, Archbishop Martin said: "He's a man who struggled with his own personal make-up, with his own conscience and he came out very clearly -- and earlier than most bishops -- on the right side."
While admitting that the Cardinal had come under pressure before deciding to hand over secret diocesan files to gardai, Dr Martin insisted that he was "ahead of many bishops in this county", adding that he took the right decisions and set up a child protection service.
Dr Martin also defended his predecessor's decision last year to seek an injunction preventing the Commission of Investigation from examining all of the 66,583 files.
A disc containing the documentation had been handed over to Judge Yvonne Murphy by Archbishop Martin less than two months previously.
Cardinal Connell acknowledged the "shameful picture of the pattern of sexual abuse of children" and the fact that the report was severely critical of the diocesan response, particularly during his earlier years as archbishop.
"The abuse of children is an unspeakable crime," he said in a statement issued through the diocese. "Perpetrated by priests, it becomes something even more gravely reprehensible, involving as it does so grievous a betrayal of innocence and trust. I wish to express without reservation my bitter regret that failures on my part contributed to the suffering of victims in any form."
Archbishop Martin said those priests and church leaders criticised in the report should now examine their consciences to see if they ought to stand down.
"I would appeal to each of these people named in the Commission (report) as having acted in a way which put children in peril, to assess how their behaviour in the past, and their behaviour today, how they are witnessing effectively the desire towards safeguarding children."
Cardinal Sean Brady, primate of All Ireland, said he was "shocked and ashamed" by the abuse described in the report and apologised to victims.
"I also want to apologise to all the people of Ireland that this abuse was covered up and that the reputation of the Church was put before the safety and well-being of children," he said.
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