Ireland’s justice minister, Dermot Ahern, received a report Wednesday on sexual abuse by priests in the Cloyne diocese.
The report,
which could be made public early next year, is likely to re-ignite
criticism of the Irish Catholic hierarchy.
The Irish Church is still reeling from the effects of the “Murphy
report,” released last November, detailing the failure of Church leaders
to restrain abusive priests.
But the Murphy report covered only the
Dublin archdiocese.
The Cloyne diocese is the subject of a separate
investigation, which covers a more recent time period: from 1996 to
2009.
In March, Bishop John Magee of Cloyne resigned his post, apparently at
the request of the Holy See.
Bishop Magee—who had served at the Vatican,
as personal secretary to three Pontiffs—had been severely criticized
for failing to enact new standards for reporting and disciplining
priests accused of sexual abuse.
The new report from the Murphy
commission will examine the charges against priests in Cloyne during
Bishop Magee’s tenure there.
Upon receiving the commission’s report, the justice minister is expected
to refer the document to prosecutors, who may weigh the possibility of
criminal charges.
The minister may then seek court permission to make
the report public.
The Cloyne diocese is currently under the supervision of an apostolic
administrator, Archbishop Dermot Clifford of Cashel, who was given this
temporary added assignment when Bishop Magee resigned.
The Vatican has
not yet appointed a permanent replacement.
SIC: CC/INT'L