The papal nuncio, Archbishop Giuseppe Leanza, has said there was no intention on the part of the Vatican not to co-operate with the commission investigating clerical child abuse in the Dublin Archdiocese.Speaking after a meeting with Minister for Foreign Affairs Micheál Martin at Iveagh House in Dublin today, Dr Leanza expressed his "shock and dismay" at the findings of the Murphy report into the Catholic Church's handling of complaints of abuse by paedophile priests.
"We feel ashamed about what happened, I feel really I must express again my shock, my dismay," he said. "I understand the anger of the people and the sufferings of those who have been abused. We totally condemn this."
The report revealed a catalogue of cover-ups and inaction by senior Church figures in face of serious allegations of abuse. It also revealed Vatican officials refused to deal directly with the commission's investigators, suggesting they should use official diplomatic channels instead.
Archbishop Leanza said: "If there was any mistake from our side, we also apologise for this. But certainly there was no intention not to co-operate with, not to give co-operation to the Commission."
The nuncio had been asked to visit the department to explain why there had been no response from the nunciature to correspondence from the commission. He held a 45-minute meeting with Mr Martin.
Mr Martin said he expressed to the nuncio the Irish public’s deep anger and outrage over the contents of the report during the meeting.
Mr Martin said he also asked for a commitment from the nuncio that there will be full co-operation with a separate inquiry into child sex abuse in the Diocese of Cloyne in Co Cork.
“My focus was very much on the need for a substantive response even now to the questions that have been raised by the Commission and also a very clear commitment that there would be a comprehensive response to any question that might be raised, or asked, in relation to Cloyne,” the minister said.
The minister said Dr Leanza had stressed to him there was no desire to cover anything up and the Vatican wanted to co-operate with all inquiries.
The report by the Commission of Investigation into child abuse in Dublin, unveiled last month, revealed two letters requesting information from the Papal Nuncio were not answered.
A similar request to the Vatican Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith led to a missive to the Department of Foreign Affairs that the commission was not going through the proper diplomatic procedures.
But Archbishop Leanza said he received one letter from the Commission along with extracts from the report, concerning the role of canon law, the structures of the Archdiocese of Dublin, framework of the Commission and a final one concerning a priest.
More than one Irish bishop may submit their resignation to the pope this week, as Vatican officials confirmed Cardinal Seán Brady and Archbishop Diarmuid Martin have been asked to a meeting with the pope on Friday to discuss "the painful situation" in the Catholic Church in Ireland.
The Vatican's senior spokesman, Fr Federico Lombardi announced yesterday the pope had invited Cardinal Brady and Archbishop Martin "to exchange information and evaluate the painful situation of the church in Ireland following the recent publication of the Murphy commission report. Senior Vatican Curia figures with specific competence in this area and the papal nuncio to Ireland will attend."
Vatican insiders yesterday suggested Bishop of Limerick Donal Murray will not be the only Irish bishop to offer his resignation.
They say Friday's meeting is a direct intervention from the Holy See, and has been called by an increasingly frustrated Pope Benedict XVI. The sources say the pope will argue the Irish clerical sex-abuse crisis has gone on far too long and will urge Irish church leaders to find a definitive exit from the crisis.
Vatican insiders say Bishop Murray may not be the only bishop to resign. Some Vatican sources have mentioned Dublin auxiliary Bishop Eamonn Walsh as another bishop who may go and they predict Bishop Murray may be the first in a series of resignations.
Asked if Bishop Walsh had travelled to Rome, as a Vatican source had suggested yesterday, a spokeswoman for the Dublin archdiocese said he was in Dublin. As of last night, there were no indications of any imminent resignations, the spokeswoman said.
Bishop Walsh has been an auxiliary bishop in the Dublin archdiocese since 1990 and was once seen as a likely successor to Diarmuid Martin as Archbishop of Dublin. Before becoming a bishop, he was secretary to the archbishop from 1985 and so would have held key positions in the archdiocese for much of the period covered by the Murphy commission report.
Bishop Murray is scheduled to attend a meeting with the Vatican's Congregation of Bishops, the Vatican body which oversees the appointment or resignation of bishops. Given that today is a public holiday in Italy, he is likely to have to wait until tomorrow before they meet the congregation.
Responding to Mr Martin's expression of "deep disappointment" at the lack of a response by the pope to the Dublin diocesan report, Holy See sources said until the Holy See received a formal complaint from the Government via its diplomatic mission in Rome, a Vatican response would be "inappropriate".
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