Shatter condemns Vatican effort to deflect blame

THE Vatican’s effort to deflect blame for the cover-up of child abuse in Cloyne has been dismissed by Justice Minister Alan Shatter.

He told the Dáil the views expressed by the Holy See to the Irish bishops in 1997 inhibited both the Irish Church’s child protection measures and the state’s.

“The Vatican’s intervention and the letter sent by the Papal Nuncio not only undermined the obligation of dioceses to comply with the Church’s own Framework Document, it also undermined application of the state’s Childcare Guidelines,” he said.