The State must become directly involved in the investigation and prosecution of paedophile priests if public confidence in our system of justice is to be protected and vindicated.
The revelation by RTE's Prime Time programme that the Archdiocese of Dublin is currently facing a great many civil legal actions, as a result of allegations of clerical child sexual abuse, has shocked and angered the public. More than that, the manner in which the Catholic Church responded to complaints and allegations made against eight identified members of the clergy has become a source of deep dismay to a great many of its members. Cardinal Connell acknowledges this in last night's statement. He also promises full co-operation with the Hussey Commission set up by the bishops last June.
There is a sense of dèja vu here. Last April, he also expressed regret that, too often, the Church had responded inadequately to the plight of victims. But he appeared to excuse earlier shortcomings when he said: "only when we have full knowledge of what we are dealing with can we be sure that we put in place all the necessary structures and procedures to respond as best we can now and prevent recurrence in the future". Last week, in obvious anticipation of the RTE programme, the Cardinal again apologised to churchgoers for past failures. His latest statement is unlikely to be not enough to satisfy his critics. The Cardinals's resignation has been sought by Irish Survivors of Child Abuse. That organisation also called on the Minister of Justice to initiate a Garda investigation and Mr McDowell has undertaken to reflect on the matter.
The Catholic Church in Ireland has been aware, for many years, of the cancer growing in its midst. Bishops chose to ignore the criminal acts of a small minority of priests, or to respond to them by way of administrative transfers, until the victims, their families and the laity would tolerate it no longer. It now appears that the 1996 guidelines - introduced to deal with complaints- were totally inadequate in the case of the late Fr Noel Reynolds. He was appointed as chaplain to the National Rehabilitation Hospital by the Cardinal in 1997, after parents in County Wicklow had twice complained about his behaviour. Actions in other cases were also disturbing. Cardinal Connell faced serious constraints in dealing with these issues. Those complained about were entitled to due process. Offences were considered under Canon Law. And there was a long tradition of denial and secrecy. But that does not excuse what happened.
Given the public response, the Cardinal is, no doubt, giving thought to these issues and to his own position. In the meantime, the Government must insist that we cannot have parallel systems of justice operating in this State. When breaches of the criminal law occur, they must be dealt with transparently and through the courts.