Ciarán Cuffe (Dún Laoghaire, Green Party)

We are going through a crisis of seismic importance. We must view it as a moment of history when, in many respects, the authority of the Catholic church has collapsed in Ireland. It has collapsed because of the crimes that occurred on an appalling scale and extended over many decades with the tacit collusion of the State. We all have a significant responsibility to ensure that we read, learn from and make changes arising from the report. I have not read it in full, only extracts, but even those comprise an astounding exposé of how an institution operated for many years.

The way in which Monsignor John Dolan dealt with a particular inquiry was incredible. He made it clear that, during the inquiry, one should reveal nothing to the person giving evidence. That reveals part of the huge challenge. As an institution, responsibility has to extend far beyond the Papal Nuncio - it has to go to the top. The Pope should comment on this matter and set out the changes that will arise from the horrendous evidence contained in these volumes.

The church has to engage in a significant amount of reflection on many of its core tenets. Its views on sexuality, chastity and celibacy have to change. It cannot continue to give women an inferior status. The church's approach to such issues set the seeds for much of what went horribly wrong. The hierarchical nature of the church as an institution is a more fundamental issue. As Deputy Rabbitte pointed out, the church's emphasis on fidelity and obedience made it very difficult for those who saw injustice to raise such matters and ensure appropriate action was taken.

The management of the church has to change. It was incredibly revealing to learn that when area bishops were appointed, there was no discussion and no document or mandate was given to them. There were significant gaps and flaws at managerial level. There would have been substantial criticisms of such practices if they had happened in the corporate or political worlds. Apparently, the auxiliary bishops work in accordance with the mind of the archbishop. That, in itself, makes the operation of the institution more difficult. The oath of fidelity to the holy apostolic Roman church leads to blind faith and thereby creates enormous challenges.

I would like to speak about the issue of secrecy in the church. In the early years of the period covered by the Murphy report, accusers were required to take an oath of secrecy. The penalty for the breach of that oath could extend to excommunication. It was difficult for people to tell their stories with such a significant cloud hanging over them. It made the hairs on the back of my neck stand to learn that under Canon Law, paedophilia may be an actual defence to a claim of child sexual abuse, just as insanity would be under the law of the State. That is a taste of the earth-shattering evidence that is in the report before the House.

It came to my attention recently that the Archbishop of Dublin is the chair of the Board of Governors of the National Maternity Hospital. It is time to move on from that because it is not appropriate for a representative of the church to chair such a hospital or many other State institutions. We have to examine carefully the possibility of putting in place an alternative mechanism for these institutions. We need to learn from the Murphy report's earth-shattering evidence and conclusions and act quickly to implement its recommendations.

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