Irish Catholic leaders apologise for child abuse

by Jenna Lyle
Friday, November 27, 2009

The head of the Catholic Church in Ireland has said he is deeply sorry and ashamed for decades of child abuse by priests.

A government-commissioned report published on Thursday concluded that the Church had covered up the systematic abuse of children within the Archdiocese of Dublin. It looked specifically at the period from 1975 to 2004 and noted a failure on the part of Church authorities to report the abuse to police, as priests were simply moved to new areas where they were able to abuse more children.

The report said the cover-up was motivated primarily by the Church’s desire to save its own reputation.

“All other considerations, including the welfare of children and justice for victims, were subordinated to these priorities,” it said. the rest