Cloyne report fallout - Archbishop right to urge publication

Ireland has always punched above its weight in diplomatic terms.

The country undoubtedly owed some of its prominence to its influence within the Roman Catholic Church, because members of the Irish Diaspora were prominent in the Catholic circles, especially in Australia, Britain, Canada and the US.

Although the Vatican’s representative in this country has traditionally been accorded the title of “Dean of the Diplomatic Corps”, diplomatic relations with the Vatican have tended to be strained over a number of years. Relations are currently plumbing an all-time low, especially in the wake of the Cloyne report, which raised serious doubts about Vatican officials suggesting that the Catholic Church was a law unto itself when it came to the matter of clerical paedophilia.