Church guilty of "cover up" in Dublin archdiocese

Archbishops and bishops were guilty of a "catalogue of secrecy, cover up and inaction" relating to the sexual abuse of children by priests in the Dublin archdiocese between 1975 and 2004, according to the Dublin Archdiocese Commission of Investigation report published today. The report says there is "no doubt" that Church authorities were involved in a cover up and that "little or no concern [was shown] for the welfare of the abused."

The report is a damning indictment of the Church authorities and the archdiocese and highlights the consistent failure of the institutions involved to deal with the allegations made against clergymen. It criticises the culture of secrecy which "protected the instiution at the expense of children" and is also critical of a succession of archbishops and bishops who failed to acknowledge or deal with the serious problem of child sexual abuse in the archdiocese.

Certain abusers, such as Father 'Ioannes' and Father Boland, are suspected by the Commission to have colluded in repeated abuse of the same children. "When Father 'Ioannes' was being investigated for the abuse of a young boy, Father Boland, who was not a priest in the diocese at the time, turned up at the young boy's home offering comfort and took the opportunity to abuse the young boy himself. There is nothing in the evidence available to the Commission to show how Father Boland became aware of this young boy," the report says. State authorities are accused of facilitating the cover up by "not fulfilling their responsibilities to ensure the law was applied equally to all."

Senior members of the Gardaí were found to have "inappropriate" relationships with the Church authorities and allegations of abuse were often referred to the archdiocese by Gardaí without being investigated. The report concludes that it "is the responsibility of the State to ensure that no similar institutional immunity is ever allowed to occur again. This can be ensured only if all institutions are open to scrutiny and not accorded an exempted status by any organs of the State".

The Dublin Archdiocese Commission of Investigation completed its report on 21 July 2009 after approximately three years of research. However, the publication of the report was delayed because of fears it may influence proceedings against two men who are currently facing allegations of abuse. Support organisations for the victims of abuse also called for the publication of the report to be delayed because support services were overwhelmed after the horrific revelations of endemic child abuse details in the Ryan report published earlier this year.

The Dublin Archdiocese report was finally cleared for publication last Thursday following edits. The Commission investigated allegations against 46 of the 102 priests accused of abuse within the relevant period. In total, 320 complaints were made against these 46 priests. While the report does state that the "majority of priests... carry out their...roles properly" it will nevertheless comes as another significant blow to Church authorities following the Ryan report.

Following that report, the Christian Brothers committed to pay out €161m in compensation yesterday. However, that move was criticised by victim support groups as only €34m of that comprises cash; the remaining €127m comprises property. It remains to be seen whether the victims of abuse in the Dublin archdiocese will be compensated by the church.