Archbishop welcomes Vatican report as hopeful and positive

By JACQUELINE HOGGE ARCHBISHOP Michael Neary has welcomed the Vatican's report on child abuse in Ireland and said it offers hope for the future of the Church in Ireland. The report is the outcome of an apostolic visitation to the country's four archdioceses, Tuam, Dublin, Armagh, and Cashel-Emly over a six-month period last year. Speaking in Maynooth this week following the publication of the report, Archbishop Neary said he acknowledged that this was not the end of the road but that there were a lot of positives in the report, which found that the current guidelines on child protection were being followed. [private] It was part of measures outlined in a pastoral letter from Pope Benedict XVI to Catholics in Ireland in the aftermath of the Murphy Report into clerical sexual abuse in 2010. The visitation to the Tuam Archdiocese took place in late 2010 and early 2001 when Archbishop of Ottawa Terence Prendergast and Rev Professor James Conn, Professor of Canon Law at Gregorian College Rome and Boston College, met with victims of clerical abuse as well as members of the clergy throughout the archdiocese. 'This report is the result of so much concern about the way child sexual abuse was mishandled in some quarters that led the Holy Father to instigate visitations throughout the country's four archdiocese,' said Dr Neary. 'There were three separate visits to the Tuam Archdiocese by Archbishop Prendergast and Fr Conn during which time they met with victims, clergy and those involved in child safeguarding within the church. 'One's thoughts must go to the victims and survivors of clerical sex abuse as reports like this one bring to the surface some of the pain they have already endured. This also reminds the rest of us of the shame involved in the abuse of innocent children by members of the clergy so it is a difficult time for us all.' Work vindicated Dr Neary said he believed the report vindicated the work already done by the National Board of Safeguarding Children and said the Tuam Archdiocese had already completed an audit, as has been proposed in the Vatican's findings. 'The report acknowledges that all of us have a responsibility in this centrally important area of child safeguarding and I regard it as hopeful that lessons, however painful, have been learnt,' added Dr Neary. 'Previously we made the mistake of not involving lay people and seeking their advice in how to deal with this issue but now we have trained lay people as parish representatives, many of whom are parents, and the mothers concerned are pivotal in bringing their antenna to bear in this area.' A statement issued by the Irish bishops conference said the report offered a helpful snapshot of a key moment on the ongoing journey of renewal, and a signpost to future priorities and directions. The report proposes more consistent admission criteria for seminaries and in-depth formation on child protection for priests as part of their academic programme as well as the recommendation that seminary buildings should be exclusively for seminarians and those preparing them for the priesthood. On the religious congregations, the report found that all religious institutes should perform an audit of their personnel files, if such an audit has not yet been carried out. Sr Marianne O'Connor, Director General of Conference of Religious of Ireland (CORI) said:' All religious congregations will now be taking time to review these findings with a view to ensuring that the work already undertaken in regard to child safeguarding, the support of survivors and the renewal of religious congregational life continues.' [/private]