In pastoral letters read out in the archdioceses of Dublin and Armagh this morning, Cardinal Desmond Connell and Archbishop Sean Brady both expressed their regret for the inadequate manner in which the church has handled cases of child abuse.
In his pastoral letter, read out in all parishes across Dublin, Cardinal Connell paid tribute to those who had spoken up about the abuse they suffered and urged others who have suffered abuse to come forward.
He spoke of his regret that the Church has responded inadequately to the victims’ plight and pledged to face up to the present situation and to respond to it - whatever the cost.
"Only when we have full knowledge about what we are dealing with can we be sure that we have put in place all the necessary structures and procedures to respond as best we can now and prevent recurrence in the future," he said.
"Only those who have suffered this terrible outrage can fully understand what is involved in revisiting what was done to them and exposing the trauma over again in the glare of publicity," the letter continued.
"We are so much in their debt for the courage and perseverance they have shown in doing this. We must acknowledge that they have often had to do it in the face of quite inadequate responses on the part of the Church.
"At various moments in the past, we thought we were dealing appropriately with the problem, only to find that we had underestimated its nature and scale," the Cardinal said.
The letter follows the Cardinal’s apology yesterday to Mrs Marie Collins, who had accused the archdiocese of not co-operating with a 1996 Garda investigation into her complaints of child sexual abuse by Father Paul McGennis.
In his pastoral letter, Dr Brady said that much work was needed to restore people’s confidence in the Catholic Church and raise the morale of priests.
He echoed Cardinal Connell’s sentiments in paying tribute to the actions of victims who have come forward to highlight cases of child abuse, saying that in addition to seeking justice, they were motivated by their love for the Church.
Dr Brady restated his position that the Church would co-operate with any investigation that was carried out and said the Church needed to repent for its weaknesses and failures and ask for forgiveness.
