Bishop Bill Murphy of Kerry has said that for Irish Catholics "the year 2002 will probably be remembered as "the annus horribilis par excellence".
In a Christmas message he said that "at Easter there was the BBC documentary Suing the Pope and then more recently the RTÉ Cardinal Secrets". Both "were devastating but the BBC documentary was more objective and accurate and therefore had the greater impact".
He repeated that "there is no priest in active ministry in this diocese regarding whom there is knowledge or suspicion of abuse." But he appealed "to anyone who was abused by a priest or has knowledge of such abuse to come to talk to me, and I assure them of a sympathetic hearing".
He referred to recent research by the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland. "The findings suggest that the Irish public significantly overestimate the prevalence of clergy and fathers who are abusers of children," he said, while it was found that "3.2 per cent of abuse is perpetuated by clergy (including religious teachers) and 2.5 per cent by fathers".
Bishop Leo O'Reilly of Kilmore said the two TV programmes had "caused a wave of anger and dismay among Catholic people the length and breadth of the country". There was "anger and bewilderment at how Church authorities dealt with the priests who were responsible."
"We are dismayed that children who were entitled to be protected by clergy were in some cases brutally exploited and betrayed," he said.
But "the actions of a minority of clergy should not blind us to the fact that the vast majority of priests are doing a great job in very difficult times.
Bishop John Fleming of Killala said that "in recent years and especially in recent months the sins of Church and State, of institutions of all kinds, have been paraded before our eyes".
It was easy "to focus on the winter of despair rather than on the spring of hope, on the season of darkness rather than on that of light".
In a joint Christmas message Bishop Donal Murray and Bishop Michael Mayes, Catholic and Church of Ireland Bishops of Limerick respectively, asked "is it only three years since we welcomed a new millennium with such high hopes?
"In the meantime, we have seen scandals and disillusionment; we have experienced an economic slowdown; the threat of war looms in Iraq; violence continues unabated in the Holy Land; famines and disasters have blighted many lives, and we have seen a day - September 11th - that will be forever remembered with horror. It is darker world than our millennial optimism anticipated."
