Vatican missed the point on abuse anger, says Gilmore

THE Vatican has missed the point over why there is so much anger about its handling of clerical child abuse in Ireland, Eamon Gilmore said last night.

Hitting back at demands by Dublin Archbishop Diarmuid Martin for “specifics” regarding Government assertions that the Church deliberately frustrated investigations into child rape as recently as three years ago, the Tánaiste said Rome should focus on rooting out paedophilia.

“The specifics, let’s be clear about the specifics: children were abused — that’s specific. Let’s not be distracted, let’s not miss the point. No loose charges were made,” he said.