Probe targets gardaí and clergy

GARDAÍ and clergy who helped protect paedophile priests in the diocese of Dublin are to be targeted in a top-level criminal investigation.

Garda Commissioner Fachtna Murphy has tasked Assistant Commissioner John O’Mahony to examine the shocking report of the Commission of Investigation into the Catholic Archdiocese of Dublin and recommend where criminal charges can be pursued.

Comm Murphy said this would look specifically at how Church and state authorities handled reports of child abuse and see if their “failings amounted to criminal behaviour”.