Churchmen share abuse anger – Irish Archbishop

Ireland’s priests and bishops share the public’s anger at the Catholic Church’s mishandling of child sex abuse by clerics, a leading churchman said yesterday.

Archbishop of Tuam Michael Neary was speaking to thousands of pilgrims who made the gruelling annual climb to the top of Croagh Patrick mountain in County Mayo, where St Patrick, Ireland’s patron saint, reputedly fasted in 441 AD.

The Archbishop said the church in mainly Catholic Ireland was “shaken by wrongdoing” and was facing enormous difficulties, “chiefly in the number of innocent people who have suffered through the wrongdoing of some priests”.

“It is understandable that many good and faithful Catholics experience distress and discouragement after the revelations of the mis-handling of abuse cases,” the Archbishop said.

“Many are angered and appalled by what they have learnt.

“Indeed, these feelings are shared by priests, religious and, yes, bishops too.”

Ireland has been rocked by shocking findings of sex abuse by priests and church cover-ups in a series of judicial investigations, and Archbishop Neary said a woman asked him last week when it would all end.

“The honest answer is that it will not end until every survivor has told their story and until every victim is facilitated in embarking on their journey to real healing, where true dignity is accorded,” he said. The latest judicial report criticising the Church’s handling of abuse claims against 19 clerics in the diocese of Cloyne between 1996 and 2009 provoked a major row with Rome.

Prime Minister Enda Kenny said it showed a culture of “dysfunction, disconnection, elitism and narcissism” at the Vatican, and the papal envoy was last week re-called for consultations about the report.

About 100,000 people climb the 764-metre Croagh Patrick mountain throughout the year.

St Patrick, who is credited with converting Ireland to Christianity, reputedly fasted on the summit for 40 days and 40 nights.