Archbishop Diarmuid Martin: Report every clerical abuse claim to gardaí

Archbishop Diarmuid Martin has insisted that every allegation of clerical abuse must be reported to gardaí.

He was responding after groups representing the victims of paedophile priests reacted angrily to a Catholic Church edict to newly appointed bishops that they are “not necessarily” responsible for reporting allegations of child abuse to the police.

The instruction, in a new Vatican training manual advising senior clergy on how to respond to allegations of abuse, states that only victims or their families should decide whether to report to authorities, but bishops should be aware of local legal requirements.