'Robo-Bishops' trying to right wrongs of clerical abuse

The Church is using ‘Robo-bishops’ to take a tough stance on child abuse to win back the respect of the public, an Oireachtas Committee heard today.

One in Four director Colm O’Gorman claimed that senior clergy who covered up clerical sex abuse in the past were now preaching from pulpits and being seen to take decisive action.

The Oireachtas Education Committee was discussing the recommendations of last year’s damning Ferns Report which probed systematic abuse in the Co Wexford diocese over several decades.

Mr O’Gorman said today: “There is almost a Robo-bishop style of dealing with it now.

“After doing everything so appallingly in the past, there is an eagerness to sweep in and pronounce from the pulpit that they are acting decisively.

“Child protection is about child protection. Is it not possible to allow a priest who is stepping aside – making an appropriate decision with integrity and courage – to publicly announce that decision himself.

“Allow people the dignity and not simply have a situation where a bishop can be seen to be decisive – completely in contrast to how they’ve acted in the past.”

Mr O’Gorman told the Oireachtas Education Committee that the Government and members of the public must take responsibility for child protection in order to remove taboos about clerical child sex abuse.

“We’re scapegoating clerics and the Church but the responsibility must rest with citizens and the Oireachtas,” he said.

He remarked that it was unacceptable that the state seems to evade responsibility in the management of schools.

“There is no responsibility for the welfare or safety of children on behalf of the state in a school situation.

“It is an insane situation at this stage in our history. We just need to grow up a little bit.”

The activist said everybody had been profoundly shocked by the detail contained in the Ferns Report.

The HSE must have powers of intervention in cases where a non-family member is abusing a child,” he said.

Fine Gael TD Olwyn Enright said: “We can’t have any loopholes in terms of who is vetted. Any loophole out there is going to be exploited.”

Ms Enright remarked that much of the abuse detailed in the Ferns Report occurred as recently as 1995. “I wouldn’t be satisfied that we have moved on in any degree,” she said.

Labour TD Jan O’Sullivan agreed with Mr O’Gorman that the national ’Stay Safe’ programme should be made compulsory.

Mr O’Gorman said that politicians had no interest in child protection issues because it didn’t matter to voters.

Referring to abuse in the Ferns diocese, he said: “No politician had queried what was happening. There is no political will on child abuse. It is not a sexy political issue.”

One in Four activist Deirdre Fitzpatrick claimed that co-operation between the Health Service Executive and local gardai remained ad-hoc and differed from district to district.

Government TD Barry Andrews called for more early education on child abuse to remove its stigma in society.

He recalled a recent visit to Uganda where children as young as six years old were being taught about the risks of HIV and AIDS to diminish the social taboo of the diseases.