THE drip-feeding of disclosures needs to stop and a national inquiry launched, campaigners said last night after another Irish bishop apologised for failing to deal properly with abuse allegations against a priest.In the latest in a series of revelations about senior clergy inadequately handling complaints, Bishop of Waterford and Lismore Dr William Lee admitted he waited two years before telling gardaí about claims from two people in the mid-1990s.
Irish Survivors of Child Abuse co-ordinator John Kelly welcomed the bishop’s two-page statement, but questioned why he had not come forward sooner.
"I get the impression that the hierarchy in the Church know the truth is going to have to come out at some stage," he said. "It’s in their own best interest to have a national inquiry to prove who is guilty and vindicate those who are innocent.
"Without that, people will not have confidence."
Campaigner Colm O’Gorman called for more details of the bishop’s handling of the claims.
Mr O’Gorman said simply singling out individual bishops for their shortcomings missed the point: "This is a systematic issue – it has been from day one. Now we’re learning of dioceses we’ve never heard of problems in before."
Bishop Lee revealed he initiated a full reassessment of the accused priest’s case in 1995 after receiving guidance from the Bishops’ Advisory Committee on child sexual abuse.
"I sincerely apologise and am deeply sorry for the inadequacies of my earlier actions in this case." he added.
Meanwhile, four out of ten people believe the latest revelations about clerical cover-ups of child abuse have turned them off the Catholic Church.
Registered irishhealth.com readers were asked how they thought the Church had dealt with the issue of sexual abuse.
Half of those who voted believed the Church had dealt with the issue of sexual abuse very badly.
Just 1% believed the Church had coped very well while 9% felt they it did the best it could.
But 40% of the 400 people who voted went further and said the issue had turned them off the Church.
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