21/07/2009

Damning Report To Reveal Further Clerical Abuse

The latest report into clerical abuse will "horrify and shock" according to the Archbishop Diarmuid Martin, as it awaits publication.

The report is believed to contain accounts from some 450 people, who alleged they were abused by Catholic priests in the Archdiocese of Dublin.

Although the document is being handed to Minister for Justice Dermot Ahern on Tuesday, it may take longer to reach the public.

Two priests identified in the report are currently facing charges over the allegations, and the Attorney General or the High Court may be asked to assess if publication will prejudice the ongoing prosecutions.

However, elements of the report that are unrelated to the ongoing legal action against the named priests may be released soon.

The report by the Government-appointed commission, headed by Judge Yvonne Murphy, investigated a sample of 46 priests who have had complaints against them spanning three decades since 1975.

The commission also investigated the controversial decision by Cardinal Desmond Connell to prevent access to Church files connected to the matter.

Archbishop Diarmuid Martin said their examination of church and State responses to complaints will "horrify and shock".

The commission investigated 19 bishops, seven are dead.

A decision on whether to publish is expected in the next few days.

The latest clerical scandal comes only weeks after the publication of the Ryan report, which detailed systematic abuse by clerical staff in the state's reformatories over a period of three decades.

(DW/KMcA)


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