The Government has sent a strong message to the Catholic Church that priests will face the full rigours of the law in relation to clerical sex abuse and will not be allowed to hide behind their status or position.
In an unusually direct intervention by the State in Church matters, the Taoiseach told the Dáil yesterday that "the law of the land applies to all - irrespective of what status they hold".
Announcing that a decision on an inquiry into clerical sex abuse in the Dublin Archdiocese would be taken in days, Mr Ahern described child sexual abuse as "abhorrent". He added: "This is doubly so when those who perpetrate it are abusing a position of trust, which is why revulsion at clerical sex abuse runs so deep in the community."
The Cabinet agreed at its meeting yesterday to the establishment of a non-statutory inquiry into the handling of child sex abuse in the Diocese of Ferns.
Ministers also discussed the RTÉ Prime Time revelations into abuse in the Dublin Archdiocese and the Taoiseach said that a decision on a Dublin inquiry would be made "after further discussions on the gravity of the situation".
These discussions in the coming days would involve the Attorney General and the Minister for Justice, Mr Ahern said. He hinted that an inquiry might even extend beyond Dublin. "We will move forward on the Ferns inquiry and will come back shortly on the matter of Dublin and other locations."
The Minister for Health, Mr Martin, also sent a strong message to the Church last night, warning that it could not hide behind canon law on the child sex abuse issue. He said that a statement from Cardinal Desmond Connell on the matter would be welcome.
Mr Ahern appealed twice during his Dáil contribution to anyone with information relating to clerical sex abuse to make this available to the Garda. He said: "The gardaí have a duty to investigate in full any allegations of criminal wrongdoing, and they are entitled to expect the full co-operation within the law of all citizens, regardless of where they come from."
Mr Martin said on RTÉ that it was wrong for canon lawyers to say yesterday that documents would have to be "filtered" before being released for an inquiry.
"I think we would welcome a statement from the Cardinal on the issue and indeed from the Church . . . Clearly, there are issues that have caused grave concern and upset among the community across the country as a result of that [Prime Time] programme. In my view, no one is above the law, and criminal and civil law takes precedence over canon law."
Mr Martin said that the Ferns inquiry would be conducted by a three-person panel chaired by a former Supreme Court judge, Mr Justice Frank Murphy.
The Minister will be meeting representatives of victims' groups today before finalising the terms of reference of the inquiry.
Bishop Eamonn Walsh, who was appointed diocesan administrator after Dr Brendan Comiskey stepped down as Bishop of Ferns, yesterday welcomed the announcement of the inquiry and said that Mr Justice Frank Murphy and his panel would have his "full co-operation".
Mr Martin said that Mr George Birmingham SC, who reported to the Government on the situation in the Diocese of Ferns, had produced a comprehensive report after receiving access to Church documents and to the relevant health board. He had also consulted widely with the victims.
The Minister said that Mr Birmingham put forward suggested terms of reference for the inquiry which he [Mr Martin\] would be putting to victims' groups for consideration today.
Earlier yesterday, the Fine Gael leader, Mr Enda Kenny, told the Dáil that he had been "shocked and appalled" by the Prime Time revelations into clerical abuse in the Dublin Archdiocese. "The rape and abuse of children is reprehensible and a brutal destruction of childhood with consequences that last a lifetime", he said.