Paedophile priests were not prosecuted because senior police officers believed clerics were untouchable, a damning report into 30 years of child abuse in the Dublin Archdiocese revealed.
The document that looked into clerical child abuse uncovered inappropriate contacts between members of the Republic's An Garda Siochana and the Dublin Archdiocese.
It found the connivance of Gardai with the church effectively stifled one complaint, saw that there was no investigation into another and allowed a priest to leave the country.
The Commission said it would not have been aware of allegations made to gardai had it not been for information in Church files.
In particular, it criticised the handling of one case by former Garda Commissioner Daniel Costigan in the mid-1960s. He resigned in 1965.
It revealed he breached his duty by handing over details of a complaint against a priest known as Father Edmondus to Archbishop McQuaid without carrying out a thorough investigation.
A photography firm in the UK raised concerns over Fr Edmondus after receiving a roll of 26 images of girls aged 10 and 11 in sexual poses.
Scotland Yard was called in and told Garda Commissioner Daniel Costigan but there is no evidence of a garda investigation.
The cleric was finally jailed almost four decades later.
"A number of very senior members of the gardai, including the Commissioner in 1960, clearly regarded priests as being outside their remit," it stated.
The Commission said four Archbishops, including Cardinal Desmond Connell, did not report their knowledge of abuse throughout the 1960s, 1970s or 1980s.
Their obsession to keep allegations secret meant few complaints were brought to the attention of gardai until the mid-1990s.
Even when Cardinal Connell handed over 17 names to officers in 1995, the Commission later found there were 28 priests with allegations against them at that time.
But Gardai said they were happy with the co-operation they later received from the Cardinal.
As the damming findings were revealed Garda Commissioner Fachtna Murphy apologised for the force's past failures to protect victims.
'Cover-up'
In the three-year inquiry, the Commission uncovered a sickening tactic of "don't ask, don't tell" throughout the Church.
"The Commission has no doubt that clerical child sexual abuse was covered up by the Archdiocese of Dublin and other Church authorities," it said.
"The structures and rules of the Catholic Church facilitated that cover-up.
"The State authorities facilitated that cover-up by not fulfilling their responsibilities to ensure that the law was applied equally to all and allowing the Church institutions to be beyond the reach of the normal law enforcement processes."
Four archbishops - John Charles McQuaid who died in 1973, Dermot Ryan who died in 1984, Kevin McNamara who died in 1987, and retired Cardinal Desmond Connell - did not hand over information on abusers.
The primary loyalty of bishops and archbishops is to the Church, the report said.
Bishop James Kavanagh, Bishop Dermot O'Mahony, Bishop Laurence Forristal, Bishop Donal Murray and disgraced Bishop Brendan Comiskey, a reformed alcoholic who failed to control paedophile priests when in charge of the Ferns Diocese, all knew about child abuse for many years.
The inquiry, headed by Judge Yvonne Murphy, said the hierarchy cannot claim they did not know that child sex abuse was a crime.
Findings
Parts of the 700-page report have been censored to prevent pending or potential prosecutions of abusers being prejudiced with references to two priests, and one of the cleric's brothers, removed.
While the Dublin Archdiocese inquiry found no evidence of a paedophile ring, some of the most shocking findings included:
- One priest admitted sexually abusing more than 100 children;
- Another accepted he abused on a fortnightly basis during his 25-year ministry;
- One complaint was made against a priest who later admitted abusing at least six other children;
- It took gardai 20 years to decide on a prosecution of one priest.
The inquiry, which was looking at a sample of 46 priests dating back to 1975 but took its review back as far as the 1940s, outlined an insurance scheme for victims set up by the Archdiocese in 1987.
Church files show at the time Archbishops McNamara, Ryan and McQuaid had, between them, information on complaints against at least 17 priests.
The Commission said it proved the hierarchy knew the sex abuse scandals would cost the Church dearly.
The Archdiocese was pre-occupied until the mid-1990s with maintaining secrecy, avoiding scandal, protecting the reputation of the Church and preservation of assets.
All other concerns, including the damage done to young victims, came second, the report said.
© Press Association