The recent news that the Vatican actually discouraged a full and accurate reporting of the Catholic priest abuse scandal in Ireland has drawn the condemnation of the Irish government and led to the Irish papal representative to be recalled to Rome. This is unprecedented in a country where Catholicism is a fixture of Irish culture and heritage.
This news really isn’t new. In 1997, the bishops of Ireland were told not to move forward with their implementation of an abuse reporting system by the Vatican. Now, the Vatican’s behavior threatens the very foundation of Catholicism on the small European island nation.
According to NCR, “The Cloyne Report, which examined how the Diocese of Cloyne handled accusations of clerical sexual abuse, said the bishop paid “little or no attention” to child safeguarding as recently as 2008 and that he falsely told the government his diocese was reporting all allegations of abuse to the civil authorities.
The report also accused the Vatican of being “entirely unhelpful” to Irish bishops who wanted to implement stronger norms for dealing with accusations and protecting children.
Addressing parliament July 20, Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny said the Cloyne Report “exposes an attempt by the Holy See to frustrate an inquiry in a sovereign, democratic republic as little as three years ago.”
“And in doing so, the Cloyne Report excavates the dysfunction, disconnection, elitism and the narcissism that dominate the culture of the Vatican to this day,” the prime minister said.