IT is now without question that an inquiry needs to be held into how allegations of clerical child sex abuse were handled by the Diocese of Kerry, as elsewhere, to set the public mind at ease.The revelations surrounding Cardinal Seán Brady have brought the Catholic Church in Ireland to a point of deep crisis.
It is clear the patience of the faithful and the wider public, let alone that of sex abuse victims, is at breaking point.
In a clear gauge of the mood in Kerry almost all respondents to a brief poll by The Kerryman on Tuesday said they felt an inquiry should be held.
Bishop Bill Murphy has said he does not think an inquiry in this diocese into how allegations were handled is needed, but said he would welcome and co-operate fully with one.
Given the scale of the problem now, it is clear he needs to go further and take a more pro-active approach by insisting one be held.
The Bishop has given assurances that all information on record within the diocese has been given to the civil authorities since his appointment.
This is to be respected and trusted, of course, but given the evidence and scale of how entrenched, systemic and historic the problem has been in other jurisdictions, it is clear that nothing less than a forensic examination of the handling of complaints in this diocese stretching back far before Bishop Murphy's time is required.
To date, only one priest of the Kerry diocese has ever been convicted of sex abuse. But allegations of child sex abuse have been made against 11 — of the 310 priests who have ministered in the Kerry diocese since 1955.
Four are now dead, two were laicised at their own request, two were dismissed by the Pope and three are no longer in the priesthood.
The Brady revelations again emphasise the systemic nature of Church self-protection, but in an alarming way.
Given this there is no reason for anybody to feel confident the Diocese of Kerry has always acted in the interests of society at large.
Catholic adherents in Kerry deserve no less than an inquiry and it certainly isn't fair on Bishop Murphy and the priests of his diocese to have this continual doubt hanging over them.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Disclaimer
No responsibility or liability shall attach itself to us or to the blogspot ‘Clerical Whispers’ for any or all of the articles placed here.
The placing of an article hereupon does not necessarily imply that we agree or accept the contents of the article as being necessarily factual in theology, dogma or otherwise.
SIC: TK