THE Vatican has never accepted financial liability towards victims of clerical child sex abuse. Rome's policy is to devolve responsibility for compensation claims to individual priests, their diocesan bishops and religious orders, Martin Long, the head of the Irish Conference of Bishops said.
"Issues arising in relation to supporting victims of clerical abuse, including financial compensation, are dealt with by individual priests, the diocese or religious orders." Mr Long said.
"This responsibility is devolved by Rome to the local church," he added.
Mr Long said he did not know of any request from diocesan bishops of heads of religious orders to Pope Benedict XVI for the setting up by the Vatican of a special aid fund to top up payments to victims.
Many dioceses in the United States have gone bankrupt as a result of the heavy toll on their budgets from payouts to victims of paedophile priests.
Not only is the Pope the supreme spiritual leader of the worldwide Catholic communion, he is also the Head of the Vatican City State.
The Holy See acts as the Pope's foreign civil service through its embassies around the world credited to individual States.
Pope Benedict's representative in Ireland -- known as the Apostolic Nuncio -- is Archbishop Giuseppe Leanza. He ranks as the dean of the diplomatic corps accredited in Ireland.
As diplomats, papal nuncios enjoy immunity from prosecution in Irish courts.
An attempt by victims of abuse to seek legal redress against a previous Apostolic Nuncio was ruled inadmissible in court, an outcome that was accepted as normal protocol by the Department of Foreign Affairs.
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