Commission: Confusion in Dublin regarding use of Canon Law in abuse cases

CONFUSION and chaos existed within the Dublin Archdiocese and the wider Church as to how Canon Law dealt with clerical abuse allegations, the Commission of Investigation report found.

It reveals the Church gave primacy to its own laws, Canon Law, and that even this was “used selectively when dealing with offending clergy, to the benefit of the cleric and the consequent disadvantage of the victims”.

The commission said it did not encounter one case where Canon Law was invoked as a means of doing justice to victims.