Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Independent)

I was angry on reading the Cloyne report, mainly because it shows that the culture has not changed for many senior figures in the Roman Catholic Church in Ireland. It takes great courage to come forward to give testimony and I applaud those who did so. For years they were not believed, fobbed off and treated as though they were in a confessional, which was wrong. The law of the State, it appears, was subverted in favour of the Vatican. For too long in this country we have outsourced sexual morality to the Roman Catholic Church. It was an institution that was placed in a privileged position. What is really horrific about the report is that even after all the revelations there were people within the church who still did not get it. The culture of protection is still alive in the church, and many are still in denial.

I am not religious myself, however, I have watched the way Archbishop Dermot Martin has been sidelined on the issue. He is one of the few who have given me any confidence that the protection of children is an absolute and there must be no ifs, buts or maybes. That is the approach he has taken. His obvious alienation sends out the most appalling message, namely, that those who question his approach are more likely to take the approach of Monsignor O'Callaghan, who said "Why should we take it on ourselves to report when the complainant does not want it done". I do not know how he could have failed to understand that the requirement was there to protect other children. He seems to have been completely trusted by Bishop Magee, who on page 6 of the report said he was shocked to discover in 2008 that the framework document was not being implemented. After all that has been revealed in recent years, how could Bishop Magee detach himself in that way?

On page 24 of the report we are told that Bishop Magee sent out a circular in 2003 which heralded a series of meetings to be held for all priests of the diocese to discuss the persistent crisis in the church in regard to child sexual abuse. It is even more outrageous that he did not supervise those he appointed to act on his behalf when complaints were made.

I welcome the announcement that a statutory reporting requirement will include a legal duty on State agencies to share relevant information and co-operate in the best interests of the child. After all, it is the responsibility of the State to ensure systems are in place that are capable of handling complaints in a comprehensive manner. I am not at all confident the system is sufficiently robust. Social workers have complained that they are being blamed although there are not enough of them in place to deal with matters that arise. I am also appalled by the complaints being made about how people are being treated in the lower courts. I hope the issue will be addressed in the context of the Cloyne report.

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