The Archbishop Emeritus of Dublin, Cardinal Desmond Connell, has said that canon law "enjoys the status of foreign law" in this State. The status of canon law in Ireland became the subject of public debate in October 2002 following the RTÉ Cardinal Secrets programme, which investigated clerical child sex abuse in the Dublin archdiocese.
It was suggested that provisions in canon law might restrict church authorities from full co-operation with Garda investigations and State inquiries into the abuse.
On October 24th, 2002, the Minister for Justice, Mr McDowell, said on RTÉ Radio that canon law had "no particular status" under civil law in this State, and he was "surprised and disappointed" at suggestions to the contrary in Catholic writings.
"The fact is that we live in a republic. There is only one law to which all of us are subject, and even though canon lawyers have a huge expertise in their own area, the canon law of the Roman Catholic Church is viewed by the civil law of this State as equivalent to the laws of, say, the Presbyterian Church, or the internal rules of a sporting organisation," he told Pat Kenny.
Yesterday Cardinal Connell said: "I note that the idea has got around that in Ireland the law of the church has the standing of the rules of a private association. But as early as 1925 the Supreme Court decided that in our jurisdiction the canon law enjoys the status of foreign law. It is recognized, therefore, as law enacted by a sovereign independent authority. That sovereign authority resides in the Holy See."
The cardinal was speaking at a Mass in Dublin's RDS to mark 160 years of the St Vincent de Paul Society in Ireland. On the altar also was the Archbishop of Dublin, Dr Diarmuid Martin.
The cardinal told members of the society: "You must also retain pride in your title as Catholic. As a pastor, whose commitment to and work for ecumenism cannot be questioned, I am not here proposing a sectarian attitude.
"The fullest co-operation with Christians of other denominations is not only desirable but required by our Catholic commitment to ecumenism. But your identity, established by your origin, canonical status and tradition, is Catholic."