THE VATICAN had, at its worst, shielded paedophiles, Independent TD John Halligan claimed.
Mr
Halligan, who represents Waterford, said the Government should break
off diplomatic relations with the Vatican, expel the papal nuncio, strip
his office of the title of Dean of the Diplomatic Corps and recall the
Irish Ambassador.
“If any foreign government conspired with Irish
citizens to break the law here the ambassador of the country in question
would be expelled. In this case, the Vatican, a sovereign state, has
refused to co-operate with the investigation into a criminal conspiracy
against children here.”
Regina Doherty (FG) said she believed in
heaven and an afterlife and that someday everybody had to stand before
God and be judged.
“It gives me solace that all of those who
perpetrated these crimes against children and young adults in the past
must stand before their maker at some stage one day.”
Richard Boyd
Barrett (Ind) said the papal nuncio should be expelled until the church
issued a clear statement giving precedence to civil law in Ireland.
Michael
McCarthy (Labour) said it was “immoral, illegal and disgusting” that
more spin, language and questions had emanated from people at the centre
of the report.
“I refer, in particular, to Msgr Denis
O’Callaghan, who is a former chairman of Cork VEC. He served on boards
of management and was involved in an authority that educates young
children in Cork. There was zero accountability from that man this week
and, when it was put to him by a reporter that he had failed the victims
of this abuse, he had the temerity and cheek to ask in what way. That
is damned brazen, to say the least.”
Mr McCarthy said one aspect
of “this abhorrent case” was that Msgr O’Callaghan referred to survivors
of abuse as “accusers”, almost as though their claims were spurious and
without foundation.
“That man, who was the delegate of Bishop
Magee, has contributed singularly to the hurt and pain of the survivors
of this abuse.”
Mr McCarthy said there was no account of Bishop
Magee’s whereabouts.
“Allegedly he could be in Rome or in America. Is
one honestly expected to believe that people involved in that
organisation do not know where he is?”