The Cloyne report is a “terrible indictment” of the inertia that was present in the Cloyne diocese towards child protection, the chief executive of the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre said today.
“Here is another report which makes for unbelievable reading in relation to how the Catholic Church dealt with allegations of child sexual abuse by clerics in the diocese of Cloyne,” Ellen O’Malley-Dunlop said.
“There is no excuse of being on a ‘learning curve’ this time. The Church’s own child protection guidelines were in place from 1996, yet the report tells us time and time again, that the implementation of the policies and procedures was inadequate and inappropriate," she said. "It was not until 2008 that the diocese began to follow proper procedures.
“The publication of this report will again reopen the wounds of the victims involved and other victims around the country who had similar experiences. It may also trigger people’s memories for the first time,” she added.
Cari chief executive Mary Flaherty said the report was another example of the Catholic Church "putting its reputation and financial well being ahead of children and their families."
She also said she was very concerned by the failure of gardaí to act on some reports.
“The report underlines how vulnerable children are when faced with powerful institutions. The least a civilised society can do is to give them the strongest possible statutory protection."
"As the Minister identifies, action is now needed and children’s charities and advocacy groups like Cari have been waiting for the Vetting Bill, the placing of child protection guidelines on a statutory basis and an amendment to the Constitution for far too long.”
Executive director of Amnesty International in Ireland Colm O’Gorman said the State had relied on assurances from the church instead of living up to its responsibility to protect children.
"The failure of past governments to fulfil their obligations to protect children and ensure justice for victims of abuse is once again made abundantly clear in this report," he said.
“We need to see today’s strong words from the Government backed up with action. Despite all the reports on the failures by the State to stop the abuse of children progress on ensuring it never happens again has been painfully slow."
“The approval by cabinet to put the Children First guidelines for the protection of children on a statutory basis, recommended two years ago by the Ryan Report, is welcome. So is the proposal for stronger oversight of
the HSE’s child protection services."
Director of advocacy with Barnardos Norah Gibbons also called for the Children First guidelines to be put on a statutory basis.
"Only when these have been cemented in Irish law will we be assured that there is no hiding place for institutions or individuals who fail to properly implement and abide by the laws of the State in relation to child protection,” she said.
“Now is the time to get to work on getting the systems right in child welfare and protection.”
An American watchdog group BishopAccountability.org said the handling of clerical abuse cases in Cloyne is “eerily similar” to a US grand jury report released earlier this year, which found church leaders showed a “brazen disregard” for both civil law and the church’s own internal policies.
“The Cloyne report is disheartening confirmation that even today, despite the church's knowledge of the profound anguish of thousands of victims, its reform policies are public relations ploys, not true child protection programs,” the group said.
The Boston-based organisation asked: "how many second chances will Irish church officials get before they are criminally charged for enabling the molestation of children?"