ARCHBISHOP of Dublin Diarmuid Martin has broken his week-long silence following the controversial speech where he spoke of "strong forces" operating within the Church to state that "he stands by the affirmations in his original speech". He also denied he had any issue with Pope Benedict.
His press statement last evening follows newspaper allegations that he had ‘backed off’ from his claims made to the Knights of Columbanus last week that "strong forces" within the Catholic Church were trying to stop the truth about clerical sex abuse.
In this latest statement, the archbishop denied he had any issue with Pope Benedict’s handling of the ongoing clerical sex abuse scandals.
His spokeswoman said: "Archbishop Martin’s comments were in fact a reaffirmation of the urgent appeal of Pope Benedict, in his letter to Irish Catholics, on the need to address the problem of abuse that has occurred within the Irish Catholic community and to do so with courage and determination."
The archbishop said he fully supports the work of the National Board for Safeguarding Children but "notes the view" stated by its chairman, John Morgan, that "clearly a cultural correction is required in the Irish Church to deal with the problem of abuse".
In his statement, the archbishop said " child protection norms on their own are not enough" and that "anything less than a totally robust response will not be enough".
Meanwhile, the Primate of All Ireland Cardinal Sean Brady faced a barrage of criticism yesterday after refusing to resign as head of the Catholic Church over his handling of child abuse claims.
However, the 70-year-old was in defiant mood outside his residence at Armagh Cathedral earlier today, vowing to stay on and lead the Church’s efforts to improve child protection safeguards.
The cardinal has been under intense pressure since it emerged earlier this year he was at a meeting in the 1970s where two young victims of notorious paedophile priest Brendan Smyth signed vows of secrecy. The civil authorities were not informed.
Survivors of clerical abuse said the primate’s refusal to go was a clear sign the Church had not changed, while a number of priests broke rank to criticise their leader’s decision.
Marie Collins, who was abused as a child in Crumlin Children’s Hospital in Dublin said: "I think the Church needs new leadership and I’m disappointed that we’re not going to get it."
Co Antrim priest John Burns claimed Dr Brady had let self-interest take priority over what was right for the Church.
But Dr Brady insisted the majority of people he had spoken to over the last two months had urged him to stay and continue his work.