The Vatican, reeling from criticism over its handling of sexual abuse
cases in the Republic, has taken the unusual step of publishing its internal files about a priest accused of molesting youngsters in Ireland and the United States.
The files published on the website of Vatican
Radio are part of the documentation the Holy See plans to turn over to
US lawyers representing a man who says he was abused by the late Rev
Andrew Ronan.
The man, known in court papers as John V Doe, is seeking
to hold the Vatican liable for the abuse.
A federal judge in
Portland, Oregon, ordered the Vatican to respond to certain requests for
information from Mr Doe's lawyers by Friday, the first time the Holy
See has been forced to turn over documentation in a sex abuse case.
The
documentation includes the 1966 case file with Ronan's request to be
laicised, or removed from the clerical state, after his superiors
learned of accusations that he had molested youngsters in Ireland.
The
Vatican said that the documentation proved that it had only learned of
the accusations against Ronan in 1966, after the abuse against Mr Doe
occurred.
The Vatican's decision to publish a selection of the
discovery documentation on its website comes amid unprecedented
criticism of its handling of sex abuse cases in Ireland, and as it still
seeks to recover from the fallout over the abuse scandal that erupted
last year.
Thousands of people in Europe and elsewhere reported they
were raped and molested by priests as children while bishops covered up
the crimes and the Vatican turned a blind eye.
Last month, an
independent report into the Irish diocese of Cloyne accused the Vatican
of sabotaging efforts by Irish Catholic bishops to report clerical sex
abuse cases to police.
The accusations prompted Irish lawmakers to make
an unprecedented denunciation of the Holy See's influence in the
predominantly Catholic country, with heated words in particular from
Prime Minister Enda Kenny.
In a statement accompanying the
document release, Vatican lawyer Jeffrey Lena said it should help "calm
down those people who are too quick to make sensational and unfair
comments without taking the time to get an adequate understanding of the
facts" - an apparent reference to Kenny's denunciation.
The
Vatican recalled its ambassador to Ireland over the row to help prepare
an official response, which is expected in the coming weeks.