WikiLeaks cables: Vatican refused to engage with child sex abuse inquiry

The Guardian ^ | December 11, 2010 | The Guardian

[James C. Bennett]

The Vatican refused to allow its officials to testify before an Irish commission investigating the clerical abuse of children and was angered when they were summoned from Rome, US embassy cables released by WikiLeaks reveal.

Requests for information from the 2009 Murphy commission into sexual and physical abuse by clergy "offended many in the Vatican" who felt that the Irish government had "failed to respect and protect Vatican sovereignty during the investigations", a cable says.

Despite the lack of co-operation from the Vatican, the commission was able to substantiate many of the claims and concluded that some bishops had tried to cover up abuse, putting the interests of the Catholic church ahead of those of the victims. Its report identified 320 people who complained of child sexual abuse between 1975 and 2004 in the Dublin archdiocese.

A cable entitled "Sex abuse scandal strains Irish-Vatican relations, shakes up Irish church, and poses challenges for the Holy See" claimed that Vatican officials also believed Irish opposition politicians were "making political hay" from the situation by publicly urging the government to demand a reply from the Vatican.

The Irish government wanted "to be seen as co-operating with the investigation" because its own education department was implicated, but politicians were reluctant to press Vatican officials to answer the investigators' queries.

According to Fahey's deputy, Helena Keleher, the government acceded to Vatican pressure and granted them immunity from testifying. Officials understood that "foreign ambassadors are not required or expected to appear before national commissions", but Keleher's opinion was that by ignoring the commission's requests the clergy had made the situation worse.

The cable reveals the behind-the-scenes diplomacy in which politicians in the Irish government attempted to persuade an imperious Vatican to engage with the investigation.

[SatinDoll]

Canon Law forbids the ordination of known homosexuals.

The RC hierarchy has been violating its own laws for quite some time. A friend of mine entered seminary 32 years ago, only to quit because of the flagrant homosexual activity he discovered there, and that it was tolerated by priests. He and his wife are still Catholic and have reared their children as Catholics, but the sexual scandals rocking the Church angers pious Catholics — of that there is no question.

It is time for a change within the the Roman Catholic Church.

[Puddleglum]

A friend of mine entered seminary 32 years ago, only to quit because of the flagrant homosexual activity he discovered there, and that it was tolerated by priests.

Ditto for me, but in my case my buddy left the seminary for the same reason some 25 years ago. It galls me to see the priests who were in charge of vocations back then.

[Benchim]

If you give money to “the church” to pay damages to children for child rape and sodomy by pedophile “priests” , is that “giving to God”? I read that in San Diego alone that parishioners coughed up over $150 million on damages inflicted by 44 pedophile “priests” and now this block buster from wikileaks (note the Vatican does not deny its “authenticity”. What you have, plain and simple ,is obstruction of justice and cover up by an entity that has absolutely no privilege to hide criminals or fail to give testimony about it’s employees.

[GCC Catholic]

The RC hierarchy has been violating its own laws for quite some time. A friend of mine entered seminary 32 years ago, only to quit because of the flagrant homosexual activity he discovered there, and that it was tolerated by priests. He and his wife are still Catholic and have reared their children as Catholics, but the sexual scandals rocking the Church angers pious Catholics — of that there is no question.

It is time for a change within the the Roman Catholic Church.

Much has changed in the course of thirty years, and the seminaries have seen a great deal of the reform that they have needed - especially forcing the issue of homosexuality in the seminary to the forefront. In general, they have gotten much better.

Sadly, the perverted priests who made it through during those years are still causing problems.

[livius]

That’s true, and Benedict has been trying to make them adhere both to canon law and to Catholic doctrine, and that’s why the liberals who took over after Vatican II hate him so. They’re a dying breed, but they’re still powerful, and most of them are really in with their respective leftist governments, so that’s why you’re seeing these attacks on Rome. Believe me, they don’t care a whit about the victims of either homosexuals or child molesters.

[Mrs. Frogjerk]

I agree with you. That’s stupid.