One in Four report - Bishops kept abuse scandal under wraps

AS a shocked public continues to reel under the growing barrage of evidence of widespread sexual abuse of children by priests, the annual report of the One in Four charity underlines the fact that the Ferns scandal was only the tip of an iceberg.

The nationwide extent of abuse now emerging illustrates the hypocrisy of bishops who for years had swept allegations against clerics under the carpet while at the same time laying down swingeing moral precepts governing the sexual behaviour of lay people.

While the vast majority of priests eschewed the appalling behaviour of depraved colleagues, the bishops kept the issue under wraps.

This is because they regarded child abuse as a moral dilemma rather than a crime.

Conveniently cloaked by codes of Canon Law handed down by Rome, the offenders were moved from parish to parish, effectively putting more victims into their clutches.

It is not good enough for apologists to gloss over this scandal by pleading times were different.

No matter whether it was in the 1950s, ’60s, ’70s, ’80s, or ’90s, the sexual abuse of a child was as heinous a crime then as it is today.

In the face of clearcut evidence, there can be no excusing the blind-eyed stance adopted by the institutions of both Church and State.

But despite the outrageous findings of the Ferns report, no one will go to jail. Too late, the bishops are finally admitting what went on under the gaze of the hierarchy.

Arguably, if the law of reckless endangerment recommended by former Supreme Court judge Frank Murphy had been in force, several bishops would have been prosecuted for knowingly exposing children to danger. Some might even have ended up behind bars.

The human suffering inflicted by paedophile priests has been graphically evidenced since the long-awaited Ferns report was released.

Significantly, there has been a dramatic increase in enquiries received by the One in Four charity which helps people who have been abused.

Overnight, according to director Colm O’Gorman, the number of direct contacts has soared by 70% while visits to its website jumped by 250%.

The tide of damning statistics continues to rise as more bishops come clean about the level of abuse by priests in their dioceses.

Looking back over the past year, yesterday’s annual report reflects a significant increase in the amount of support and psychotherapy services being provided for abuse victims.

As more people came forward, one-to-one psychotherapy sessions increased by 51%, while group sessions soared by 151% and 3.4 million hits were recorded on its website over a 12-month period.

An embattled Church is struggling to come to terms with the worst crisis it has encountered in this country.

As more allegations against priests come to light, the level of public disillusionment over the Church’s failure to resolve a scandal of its own making continues to deepen.

Aware that people’s faith in the Church has been shattered by the appalling extent of this outrage, the hierarchy has embarked on a damage limitation exercise.

In a forlorn bid to reassure a jaundiced public, episcopal letters commenting on the situation will be read out at Masses this weekend to convince the laity measures are being put in place to ensure that rogue priests can never again betray the trust placed in them to care for innocent children.

The probe into clerical abuse in Dublin promised by junior minister Brian Lenihan must be fully independent. Internal audits by the hierarchy will be viewed with scepticism.

The Church’s appalling failure to resolve the scandal of clerical sex abuse does not inspire confidence.