Archbishop of Dublin Dr Diarmuid Martin has said there is no way in which the Catholic Church can put definitively behind it the scandals of the sexual abuse of vulnerable children.Speaking at the MacGill Sumer School, Dr Martin said that despite many investigations he believes there should be adequate reflection on the deeper roots of the abuse crisis and the response to it by the church.
Dr Martin also said he believes that there are some instances where the public interest would be served by public investigation.
He suggested that new forms of research-based investigation might better address such issues as the Magdalene Laundries or the quality of care in some mother and baby homes and other institutions.
This, he said, might be less adversarial and somewhat on the level of investigative social history through which the truth could emerge.
He said if abuse did take place it was owed to the victims and to the Church itself to bring it to light.
Seeking the truth would also help put aside any false or exaggerated or unsubstantiated allegations against the church, he said.