Ireland Reports a Catholic Cover-Up

The Roman Catholic Church in Ireland covered up the sexual abuse of young people by priests over several decades in one diocese, a state investigation concluded.

A 270-page report, which stems from an inquiry begun in 2002, was published Tuesday and details the church’s handling of 100 allegations of abuse against 21 priests in the diocese of Ferns in County Wexford dating back to the mid-1960s.

The allegations include rape. “The revelations make for very uncomfortable reading. The pages retelling the pain experienced by those who have suffered are especially heartbreaking,” the head of the Roman Catholic Church in Ireland, Sean Brady, said in a statement.

“I apologize to all those people who have suffered lasting hurt at the hands of abusers in the church.... The betrayal of trust is horrendous. Today the church is ashamed of its past failings regarding child protection.”

The investigation found that for 20 years a bishop in charge of the rural diocese in Ireland’s southeast did not expel priests against whom abuse allegations were made but simply transferred them to a different post or diocese temporarily.

The report criticized the bishop’s decision to ordain “clearly unsuitable men into the priesthood” when he knew or ought to have known they might abuse children.

Brian Lenihan, a minister of state at the Department of Health and Children, said in a statement that the government was studying recommendations for stricter child abuse laws. Tuesday’s report has been passed to the director of public prosecutions.

The report said that of the 11 accused priests still alive, three had been excluded from the priesthood by the Vatican and seven of the remaining eight had stood aside temporarily from active service. The eighth is retired.

The findings are likely to reignite public anger in mostly Catholic Ireland after a string of clerical sex abuse scandals.

John Kelly, founder of the Survivors of Child Abuse support group, said the inquiry had not been given enough power and said the accused must be prosecuted. “This is a bit of a whitewash,” he said. “No one’s named, no one’s shamed. No one’s likely to face any justice.”