A RIFT has emerged in the Catholic Church in Ireland after 81-year-old Cardinal Desmond Connell initiated legal action to prevent documents handed over by his successor as Archbishop of Dublin, Diarmuid Martin, from being considered by a sex-abuse investigation.A government-appointed commission is investigating the handling by Connell and others of complaints of child abuse by clerics in the Dublin Archdiocese.The investigation is focusing on how church leaders handled complaints of abuse against a representative sample of 46 priests of a total of 102 found to fall within the commission's terms of reference.The inquiry has been delayed after Connell launched High Court proceedings last week claiming that 5,586 documents handed to the commission by Martin are either legally privileged or confidential.Judge Yvonne Murphy, who chairs the Commission of Investigation into Clerical Sexual Abuse in the Dublin Archdiocese, has undertaken not to examine the documents pending a full hearing of Connell's High Court action later this month.The documents form a little over 8% of a total of 66,583 files handed by Martin to the commission.Connell claims he has been treated unfairly by the commission -- a claim that the Commission denies.Although diplomatic in their use of language when discussing Connell's intervention, both Martin and Ireland's most senior churchman, Cardinal Sean Brady, have indicated their surprise at the move.Martin told reporters on Monday night that he hoped the matter would be dealt with "expeditiously" by the courts."I have put huge personal commitment into establishing the truth and to putting measures in place for the protection of children," he said."Truth is not served by polemics on any side. It must all be about people who are abused."Brady, although disinclined to be seen publicly as taking sides between Connell and Martin, gave a strong hint that he favored the approach of the current Dublin archbishop.Brady said it would be "imprudent" for him to comment on a matter still before the courts. But then he said the Irish Catholic Bishops were committed to "establishing the truth about what happened in the past." He added that he regretted all distractions in the pursuit of truth where clerical child sex abuse was concerned.Rank and file clergy were more outspoken. Father Martin Dolan, curate of St. Nicholas of Myra parish in Francis St., Dublin, said Connell's intervention at this stage of the investigation was "incomprehensible."Dolan told RTE, "Child abuse is wrong. There are never mitigating circumstances and we are to blame for what happened within our institution, and we're asking for forgiveness."He said Connell was perfectly entitled to feel he had rights surrounding the issue, but court action was not the right way for the Catholic Church to proceed. He added, "We are not a company. We operate out of the gospel and the gospel tells us we should put other people first, even if that means your personal reputation or your position is at risk."