Bishop of Limerick says he responded 'promptly' to allegations
IN his initial response to the Murphy report, the Bishop of Limerick, Dr Donal Murray, said that the report made for "very disturbing reading".
He said that it established and acknowledged the shocking truth of child sexual abuse by priests in the archdiocese, which he apologised for and deeply regretted.
"Any abuse of children is deplorable and I condemn it unreservedly. Today my thoughts and prayers are with the survivors of abuse and their families.
"The commission identifies failures of communication in the archdiocese and is critical of my role in a number of cases. At no time did I as an auxiliary bishop of Dublin, receive an allegation of sexual abuse and fail to act; when an allegation of sexual abuse of children by a priest was brought to my attention, I responded promptly and conscientiously and in each case notified the archbishop and diocesan authorities and co-operated fully with them.
"I wish to state that I never deliberately or knowingly sought to cover up or withhold information brought to my attention. There were, as the report notes, occasions when roles / responsibilities were not clear or where I did not have full information concerning cases in which I was asked to become involved.
"As I indicated in 2002 in response to one particular case, if I had succeeded in deriving more information, it might have been possible to prevent some of the dreadful suffering of child abuse in that instance. I very much wish that I had been able to do so. It is a matter of the greatest regret to me if any action or omission of mine contributed to the suffering of children who were abused. I sincerely apologise and humbly ask their forgiveness.
"Since I became a bishop 27 years ago I have learned a great deal. Many of those lessons have been strongly reinforced by the report of the commission.
"One of the most important lessons we have learned from the grave mistakes of the past is that a very particular expertise is required when dealing with complaints of sexual abuse.
"The fact that this expertise did not exist or was not available exacerbated the problem and resulted in serious inadequacies in how complaints were dealt with.
"That expertise is now available and many people have been trained to carry out the provisions of the State's child protection guidelines, Children First.
"Now, when people approach the diocese with allegations, they are immediately put in touch with a designated lay person with particular expertise and experience. The Garda and HSE are automatically notified.
"I could not repeat often enough that our first concern as a community must be for those who suffered the horror of child sexual abuse, whether in Dublin or elsewhere, whether by priests or by others. We should try to express our own readiness to be healers and to awaken that readiness in our whole community. Those who suffer should always find a ready ear and a practical, caring response. Those who take the difficult step of disclosing the fact that they were abused should never be met with disbelief."They should be able to be confident that they will find an apologetic and supportive hand. For my part I offer that with all my heart and to the very best of my ability,
"Today is a challenge to bishops and priests and to the whole Church community to ensure that best practice in safeguarding children is consistently adhered to."It is vital that we should be for children what we are called to be – signs of the unlimited love of God made visible in Jesus Christ," he said.
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Tuesday 22 May 2012
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