The Taoiseach last night elaborated on his strong defence of the Catholic Church's relationship with the State.
A spokesman for Mr Ahern said that while the Taoiseach was accurately quoted in the media yesterday as praising the church's role in education and in Irish society, Mr Ahern had also wanted to acknowledge the deep sense of "betrayal" felt by many people arising from the church's response to clerical sex abuse.
Mr Ahern told reporters earlier yesterday that he was annoyed his reference to feeling betrayed had not been reported.
However, his spokesman said last night that the Taoiseach had not in fact used the word "betrayal" despite the fact that it had been included in his speaking notes prepared for the occasion. His criticisms of the media yesterday for not reporting the remarks he thought he had made were "due to a genuine misunderstanding", the spokesman said.
Meanwhile, Archbishop of Dublin Diarmuid Martin disputed claims by Liz O'Donnell of the Progressive Democrats in the Dáil earlier this week that there was a cosy relationship between church and State.
He said an example of this was that the first he knew of the terms of reference for an inquiry into the Dublin archdiocese was from media reports rather than from the Government.
Dr Martin said he had "a working relationship, sometimes a critical one" with the leaders of all political parties. Ireland was changing and he hoped for "a mature relationship between church and State". Asked if he was angry with the PDs, he replied: "I am not angry with the PDs. I am angry at the people who abused children."
Repeating "it was vitally important that the truth of what happened regarding abuse of children by priests" be brought to light, he hoped the Dublin inquiry would be a step in that process. As to whether other dioceses should be similarly investigated, he said that was "a matter for the State". But he would not accept "blanket criticism of all priests. It is extremely unfair".
The church would continue to provide Catholic schools "for those who want Catholic schools". They did "extraordinary good work" and made "a tremendous contribution", Dr Martin said. There was "clear evidence people wanted Catholic schools".
Meanwhile, Tánaiste Mary Harney expressed strong support for Ms O'Donnell's criticism of the "deferential" Government and public attitude to the Catholic Church.
"I strongly support many of the sentiments expressed by Liz O'Donnell. I share her views," Ms Harney said yesterday.
Asked about Ms O'Donnell's remark that the church could not be believed or trusted to regulate, she said: "I think that was a feature of the past."
Asked if she thought it was still the case, she said: "To be honest with you we have to see. That's why we are having an inquiry into Dublin and an audit of the rest of the country. We honestly don't know."
Speaking on RTÉ, she said: "What emerged in the Ferns inquiry was a litany of young vulnerable children being abused by people they were entitled to trust. The important aspect for me in relation to this is to ensure that it's not continuing and if it were, that children can come forward, that they will be believed and that they will be helped."
Ms Harney also said that despite the church's strongly expressed views on stem cell research, the stance ultimately adopted by the Government at EU level had not been in line with that of the Catholic Church.
Minister for Enterprise Micheál Martin said yesterday he hadn't experienced "any undue deference to the Catholic Church", and didn't believe the Government had been afraid to tackle church-related issues.
He said it was this Government that had established both the Laffoy commission and the Ferns inquiry.
