'Priests won't escape justice' - Minister
Irish Justice Minister Dermot Ahern has pledged to bring priests who carried out child abuse to court, as a long-running Commission detailed the extent of cover-ups by Catholic hierarchy.
Thursday, 26 November 2009
The Irish Government apologised on Thursday, insisting dark days of abuse and secrecy were gone for good.
"On a human level - as a father and as a member of this community - I felt a growing sense of revulsion and anger," he said.
"Revulsion at the horrible evil acts committed against children. Anger at how those children were then dealt with and how often abusers were left free to abuse.
"The persons who committed these dreadful crimes - no matter when they happened - will continue to be pursued.
"They must come to know that there is no hiding place. That justice - even where it may have been delayed - will not be denied."
Mr Ahern praised the courage of victims who gave evidence to the Commission.
Survivors have demanded that senior clergy and gardai who allowed known paedophile priests to prey on defenceless children be brought to justice.
Andrew Madden, who first spoke out 10 years ago after he suffered at the hands of notorious paedophile priest Father Ivan Payne, said the publication was a shocking indictment on the Catholic Church in Dublin.
"Those who turn a blind eye to these offences are as much a part of the problem as those who actually commit them," said Mr Madden.
"Looking the other way causes more children to be sexually abused."
Maeve Lewis, of support group One In Four, called for a criminal investigation into the religious figures, gardai and civil servants who shielded clerics.
"I would consider people, like Archbishop Connell, is as guilty as the priest who actually sexually abused the children," she said.
"A criminal investigation should be launched against all of these people.
"People's lives have been devastated by their childhood experiences."
John Kelly, from Irish Survivors of Child Abuse (SOCA), demanded Pope Benedict XVI apologise to the Irish people.
It is the second time this year the Irish Government and the Catholic Church has been rocked by the extent of child abuse and the cover-up in the clergy and state institutions.
In May the Ryan Report detailed decades of abuse in schools, borstals and reformatories run by Religious Orders. Thousands of children were affected.
Mr Ahern said: "There is no escaping the cruel irony that the Church, partly motivated by a desire to avoid scandal, in fact created a scandal on an astonishing scale.
"In many cases, the welfare of children counted for nothing and abusers were left free to abuse - to visit evil on the innocent."
Irish President Mary McAleese said she was dismayed at the cover-up of clerical abuse.
"This failure to prioritise the protection and welfare of children has left a legacy of great hurt for those abused and their families and our first thoughts are with them on this very difficult day," said Ms McAleese.
"No-one, but no-one, is above the law of the land," she added.
The Garda Inspectorate has been called in to review how officers deal with allegations of child sex abuse.
Children's Minister Barry Andrews will examine the Commission's report to establish what actions are necessary in addition to 99 action points from the Ryan report.
© Press Association