Ferns Report - An appalling litany of abuse and cover-up

The damning report on sexual abuse of young people by priests in the diocese of Ferns is a scathing indictment of failure by the Catholic Church on both a national and international level to prevent the predatory activities of paedophile priests.

The findings of the landmark investigation into this scandal prove beyond doubt that the Church authorities covered up clerical sex abuse. Arguably, the Ferns case, involving a pattern of clerical sexual abuse spanning 40 years, is one of the worst scandals anywhere in the world. Looking back over four decades between 1962 and 2002, former Supreme Court Judge Frank Murphy identifies more than 100 allegations against 26 priests accused of child sexual abuse.

According to the report the varied response of church authorities reflected the personalities and management style of successive bishops and a growing sense of understanding among doctors and society of its consequences.