Cardinal under fire after Prime Time revelations

Irish survivors of child abuse have called for a garda investigation into allegations that senior members of the Catholic Church helped cover up child sex abuse.

The call follows an RTE Prime Time documentary last night which detailed abuses committed by eight priests over a 40-year period in Dublin. Contributors to the programme accused Cardinal Desmond Connell of failing to pass information on to the gardai, despite the fact that he was allegedly aware of the abuse.

He was also accused of writing a clean reference for a priest suspected of child sex abuse. The programme has led to calls for the Cardinal's resignation.

John Kelly, a spokesman for the Survivors of Child Abuse, said many children could have been saved from abuse if the church authorities had made a real attempt to tackle the problem.

Speaking this morning, he called on Justice Minister Michael McDowell to intervene and order a full investigation into the church's actions. He said the police should be given the power to seize documents from the church because it now appears that senior clergymen broke the law by covering up for their colleagues.

Mr Kelly also said Cardinal Connell's position is untenable following last night's documentary.