THE CATHOLIC Bishop of Cloyne has apologised to victims of clerical sex abuse after an independent report found his diocese had put children at risk of harm through an "inability" to respond appropriately to abuse allegations.
The report documents serious allegations in the Diocese of Cloyne against two priests, including one claim by a woman that she was raped by one of the priests at the age of 13.
One of the alleged victims of abuse is himself a priest.
The report was conducted by the National Board for Safeguarding Children in the Catholic Church in Ireland (NBSC), a body set up by, but independent of the Catholic Church.
Accepting the recommendations of the report, Bishop John Magee said "the safety of children is the priority for me and for the Diocese of Cloyne.
"Whilst the allegations referred to in this report are not proven and this report makes no determination as to that veracity, nevertheless my intention is to alleviate those who have suffered in any way that I can, and this sentiment underpins my actions today."
The report, prepared by Ian Elliott, chief executive of the NBSC, was completed on June 30th last. It followed his inquiry into how child abuse allegations against two priests of Cloyne diocese were handled.
He found that meetings in the diocese concerning both cases "apparently focused on the needs of the accused priest. There is no documentary evidence that the ongoing risk to vulnerable children was discussed or considered at any time by them,'' he said.
Child protection practice in the diocese was "significantly deficient in a number of respects.'' He continued "most alarmingly, it fails to focus on the needs of the vulnerable child and the requirement to take preventative actions quickly and effectively to secure their wellbeing''.
Actions "when taken, were inappropriately delayed and were minimal in content,'' he said.
Responsibility "to take action and to make decisions can not be delegated from the Bishop to other bodies, regardless of what level of expertise it is assumed they hold. This appears not to have been properly understood in both of these cases.''
Children had been "placed at risk of harm'' through an inability of the diocese "to respond appropriately to the information that came to it regarding child protection concerns involving the clergy". The diocese "failed to act effectively to limit the access to children by individuals against whom a credible complaint of child sexual abuse was made.''
He questioned the "competence of those involved in this area of work in the diocese.'' He said "put simply, the responses of the diocese could be described as ill-advised, and too little, too late.'' In each case the diocese had failed ''to eliminate preventable harm and suffering.''
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