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Vatican hits back at Irish Prime Minister over cover-up allegation

Says accusation they interfered with child abuse cases ‘unfounded’

By
JAMES O'SHEA,
IrishCentral.com Staff Writer
Published Saturday, September 3, 2011, 7:53 AM
Updated Saturday, September 3, 2011, 8:16 AM

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The Vatican


The Vatican has criticized Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny’s statements attacking their actions and his allegations of a cover up of child sex abuse as outlined in the Cloyne Report into pedophile priests in the County Cork diocese.

The statement from the Vatican released on Saturday stated it "has significant reservations that the speech made by Enda Kenny TD in the Dáil on the 20th of July, in particular, the accusation that the Holy See attempted to frustrate an inquiry in a sovereign democratic republic, is unfounded."

The statement strongly added that the Vatican in no way tried to interfere in any inquiry into child sex abuse in Ireland.

Kenny had attacked what what he termed "the dysfunction, disconnection and elitism" in the Vatican during a widely applauded speech in the Irish parliament in July.

But the Vatican now claims that there is no evidence in the Cloyne Report to back up Kenny’s claim that they interfered with the investigation of the 19 priests under scrutiny.

The Cloyne Report examined how both Church and State authorities mishandled  allegations of child sexual abuse made against the 19 priests working under Bishop John Magee in the Co Cork diocese between 1996 and 2009.

It found that Bishop Magee lied when told the government that all allegations of abuse were being handled correctly and that all allegations were being reported to the proper authorities.

Instead Magee had allowed abuser priests to continue serving in some cases. Magee a former secretary to three popes, fled Ireland before the abuse report came out and only returned recently. His actions have been widely criticized, including by several fellow clerics.

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102 Comments

15 - 102 | See all comments

JuneAnnette | Sep 09, 2011, 12:06 AM EDT
“Suffer the little children” . . a flagrant abuse of power The time is long overdue to tell the story of what has to be the most unreported news story of the century in the context of the Roman Catholic X files . . time to expose the brutal institutional abuse committed by RC clergy in Northern Ireland, of what can only be regarded as crimes against humanity, and which the so-called “princes of the church”of Rome are working tirelessly to consign to history and keep hidden from the public eye, in what amounts to the mother of Roman Catholic cover ups. The time is come to expose the depraved men of the cloth in the RCC who subjected vulnerable children to a life of terror and torment, whom they abused with impunity and intimidated into silence.The time is come to expose the monsters who stole their innocence and consigned them to a life of unrelenting misery, fear, & trauma, reducing them to nothing more than chattel to be passed among themselves as play things to satisfy the insatiable and depraved sexual appetites of their sadistic tormenters. Time to tell the world of the forgotten children, whose harrowing stories of degradation, humiliation, shame, pain, suffering and sorrow cry for justice.**CATHOLICABUSESURVIVORSNI.COM

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Tomassotucson | Sep 08, 2011, 01:20 PM EDT
OK, so they do

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Tomassotucson | Sep 08, 2011, 01:17 PM EDT
My comments still don't print out

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Tomassotucson | Sep 08, 2011, 01:14 PM EDT
something is wrong

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Tomassotucson | Sep 08, 2011, 01:08 PM EDT
How can you believe what an organization says that secretly move sex abusers from parish to parish, use billions of dollars of church funds without any accountability, forcing dioceses into bankruptcy, allow thousands of sex abusers to leave the ministry without having to register as sex offenders,and have a leader that is unable, for whatever reason,to get rid of them, and they are still in complete control of everything Catholic.

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Tomassotucson | Sep 08, 2011, 01:03 PM EDT
My comments don't print out

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seanomelbourne | Sep 06, 2011, 07:55 PM EDT
Enda was around Bernadett and like the rest of the politicians he turned a blind eye. At least he has the mettle to take on the church or maybe he decided to join the majority lest he looses his seat.

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Bernadett | Sep 06, 2011, 04:36 PM EDT
The Vatican,the Irish Clergy cover up one thing comes to mind Pontius Pilate.WELL DONE ENDA AND THANK YOU I JUST WISH YOU WERE AROUND FOR THE PAST 28 YEARS SINCE WE FIRST REPORTED OUR SONS ABUSE AND WE ARE STILL TRYING TO GET JUSTICE BUT AT LAST WE HAVE SOMEONE THAT IS WILLING TO STAND UP TO THEM.UP WITH ENDA DOWN WITH THE VATICAN.

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Bernadett | Sep 06, 2011, 04:23 PM EDT
The awful truth is the Vatican, The Irish clergy ie.Cardinals,Bishops,priests and those that worked for them by this i mean the staff because they also knew what was going on and they helped with the cover up so they must take some blame.The fact of the matter is they did,nt care what happened to the children .This is what the great Roman Catholic Church dose best cover up. As for morals they have none.

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seanomelbourne | Sep 05, 2011, 07:37 PM EDT
father elijah sounds like a character from a holy grail novel

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barneyjo | Sep 05, 2011, 03:22 PM EDT
I have read the Vatican response, and I have to say that it does nothing to convince me that the church is seeking a moral renewal in the wake of these revelations. You know why? Its not so much in what the report says, its more about what it doesnt say. For me, the line in the sand came when the actions of Father (later Cardinal) Sean Brady, in respect of his investigations (or inaction) in relation to Brendan Smyth became known. I HAVE THIS AWFUL IMAGE IN MY MIND OF THEN FATHER BRADY FORCING TWO CHILD VICTIMS OF ONE OF IRELANDS WORST CLERIAL PREDATORS TO SIGN AN INSTRUMENT OF NON-DISCLOSURE, FORCING THEM INTO MANDATORY SILENCE, OR RISK DAMNATION OF THEIR SOULS!!. I find myself wondering if Sean Brady had any siblings who went on to have children, making him an uncle. I wonder if he is even a Great-Uncle? I wonder if, when he visits with his family, does he ever reflect on what he did to those two children in 1975, or the consequences of his inaction against Brendan Smyth, allowing him to prey on children for almost two decades further. And I wonder, if in the solitude of his own thought has he ever asked himself the question "MY GOD, WHAT HAVE I DONE2!!

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JuneAnnette | Sep 05, 2011, 01:42 PM EDT
MEMO TO THE VATICAN . . IT'S ABOUT THE VICTIMS . . *** What the Victim of clergy abuse has had stolen from him cannot be recovered!***What the victims of clergy abuse have lost can never be regained, but some are able to find closure by holding their perpetrators accountable by pursuing justice. Victims are vindicated when the church takes responsibility for their failures and when the church is held accountable. Victims are vindicated when they see their abuser prosecuted and found guilty, when they see judgment pronounced and the penalty / sentence for their heinous crimes imposed upon them by the Judge carried out. Victims of abuse are vindicated when compensatory damages are rewarded for Pain and suffering; Mental anguish, and Costs associated with therapy. Though in truth, no amount of money could ever provide "fair" compensation to a person who has been sexually abused or assaulted, obtaining financial compensation through the civil justice system does two things. Number one, it helps bring about positive change within the institutions that harbor or enable sexual predators. And number two, it provides victims with the financial resources they need to move past the abuse and start living positively in the present.***In solidarity with the VICTIMS of ROMAN CATHOLIC CLERGY ABUSE, JuneAnnette

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JuneAnnette | Sep 05, 2011, 01:40 PM EDT
MEMO TO THE VATICAN . . IT'S ABOUT THE VICTIMS . . *** What the Victim of clergy abuse has had stolen from him cannot be recovered!***h he has been robbed of the joy of childhood, so he has no pleasant memories to reflect upon; his dignity has been violated, so he suffers from chronic low self-esteem; his innocence has been stolen, so he feels guilty; his virtue has been stolen, so he feels ashamed and humiliated, and in some cases loathes himself; his body has been exploited/violated, so he feels helpless and powerless. Many victims of clergy abuse are tormented by nightmares where they revisit the abuse and this invariably deprives them of any peace of mind. Some victims of clergy abuse turn to alcohol, drugs, or other self-destructive behaviors to cope with their emotional pain; some are plagued with panic attacks; many are utterly traumatized and in desperation commit suicide.Most of these victims are now adults, but they were once innocent children whose vulnerability was exploited by trusted members of their church.Their faith has been shattered, their spirits have been crushed, and their souls destroyed by those whose solemn charge it was to guard. Their wounds are deep, their pain and sorrow intense and the emotional scars that remain are painful reminders of the horrific memories of their childhood.

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JuneAnnette | Sep 05, 2011, 11:46 AM EDT
McNamara31, I think your assessment of Thomas Doyle is most accurate when you say: "Perhaps after “decades” of dealing with this filth and the constant denials from the church it has given Fr. Doyle a hardened exterior to protect him from all the church has thrown at him."***I don't for a moment believe he is in it for the "prestige". He truly has acted in accordance with his conscience and in concert with Christian principles in the lonely stand he has taken, which for the most part has been a solo run! I have read countless articles and essays written by him and am very familiar with the crusade he has conducted against the scourge of clergy abuse of children that continues to plague the Roman Catholic "church". Those like Doyle who are campaigning for justice for the victims are the heroes in this saga not the villians! I think of him as a modern day Luther and my fervent hope and prayer for him is that he too will be constrained in his conscience to separate from ROME!***"Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues." (Rev. 18:4)***In solidarity with the Victims of RC Clergy Abuse and those who advocate for them, JuneAnnette, a Christian by God's grace & former Roman Catholic

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fatherelijah | Sep 04, 2011, 11:06 PM EDT
McNamara31, Yes, I would not have said it otherwise.

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