Cover-up a symptom of ‘deeper malaise in Church’

ONE of Ireland’s highest ranking Catholics has denounced the Church for becoming self-centred and arrogant — on the same day as a senior minister denied claims the Government backed away from demanding child abuse information from the Vatican.

Speaking during a homily at the Church of Assumption in Ballyfermot, Archbishop of Dublin Diarmuid Martin said the cover-up of paedophile priests was a symptom of a “deeper malaise” in the Church.

The senior official, who is below only Cardinal Seán Brady in the Irish Church hierarchy, used the appearance to “unreservedly apologise” for the actions of disgraced former parish priest Tony Walsh who was jailed last week for sexually abusing three boys.

However, he added that the situation was partially the result of the Church drifting into a position where “its role in society had grown beyond what is legitimate”.

“It acted as a world apart,” he told Mass-goers. “It had often become self-centred and arrogant. It felt that it could be forgiving of abusers in a simplistic manner and rarely empathised with the hurt of children.”

Archbishop Martin added that the Church had to honestly acknowledge “with no buts and no conditionality” the gravity and the extent of what happened, if it is to recover. However, his belief that evidence of the scandal was “hushed-up” appeared to contradict the Government’s reaction to documents released by WikiLeaks alleging cabinet failed fully to press the Vatican on information about the scandal.

The leaked US diplomatic cables claimed the Papal Nuncio in Ireland, Giuseppe Leanza, refused to answer questions to the independent Murphy Inquiry in the belief that foreign diplomats were not expected to answer to national commissions or tribunals. The cables outlined the scale of the diplomatic issue which led to the Papal Nuncio being asked to meet with Minister for Foreign Affairs Micheál Martin.

However, despite the evidence, Minister for Children Barry Andrews yesterday denied the Government had backed away from demanding information from the Pope’s representative.

Speaking on RTÉ Radio’s This Week programme, he said the issue of who asked the Vatican for information was “a sideshow”. “The issue was ‘can we get this information’, and the wider issue was ‘are the Vatican cooperating with the inquiry taking place’.”

The minister denied the Government had backed off over the issue, claiming the cable was “an opinion” set out by a junior official in the US Embassy in Rome. Cabinet could not be accused of not making every effort through the Murphy Commission and the Ryan Report to ensure information was made available.

“We have done everything we can to lift the lid on the failures of the past.”

The Murphy Commission launched its report in November last year and earlier this year the Vatican announced its own investigations into clerical child sex abuse in Ireland.