METRO FREE Friday, November 27, 2009 Garda and clerics damned in shocking child sex report By ed carty They did nothing to stop the evil abusers retired: cardinal desmond connell died in 1973: archbishop McQuaid died in 1987: archbishop McNamara died in 1984: archbishop ryan PAEDOPHILE priests got away with decades of horrific child sex abuse because the Catholic hierarchy was granted Garda immunity, a dev- astating report revealed yesterday. Four Archbishops of Dublin, obsessed with secrecy and avoiding scandal, protected abus- ers and reputations at all costs and in some cases with the blessing of senior law enforcers. Hundreds of crimes against defenceless chil- dren from the 1960s to the 1990s were not re- ported, while police treated clergy as though they were above the law. A three-year investigation headed by Judge Yvonne Murphy, uncovered a sickening and devious policy of dont ask, dont tell in the Dublin Archdiocese at the time. The primary loyalty of bishops and archbish- ops, who moved abusive priests from parish to parish, was to the Church, the report said. Four archbishops John Charles McQuaid, who died in 1973, Dermot Ryan, who died in 1984, Kevin McNamara, who died in 1987, and retired Cardinal Desmond Connell did not hand over information on abusers. The first files were only revealed by Cardinal Connell in 1995, but even then he had records of complaints against at least 28 priests. The report led to angry demands for negligent authorities and senior clerics to be prosecuted. Maeve Lewis, of support group One In Four, said: People like Archbishop Connell are as guilty as the priest who actually sexually abused the children. Andrew Madden, one of the first abuse survi- vors to publicly rip apart the Churchs veil of secrecy, said: Those who turn a blind eye to these offences are as much a part of the prob- lem as those who actually commit them. Justice Minister Dermot Ahern vowed to bring paedophile priests to justice, branding their reign of terror a systemic, calculated per- version of power and trust. They must come to know that there is no hiding place, he said. Cardinal Connell whom the report did credit with having two abusers defrocked and now aged 83, apologised yesterday. I wish to express without reservation my bitter regret that failures on my part contributed to the suf- fering of victims in any form, he said. It is the second time this year that the country has been rocked by such a damning report. In May, the Ryan Report detailed decades of abuse of thousands of children in schools, bor- stals and reformatories run by religious orders. The Murphy report was partially censored, to protect victims and avoid prejudicing ongoing proseuctions. It concluded: The Dublin Arch- dioceses preoccupation in dealing with cases of child sex abuse, at least until the mid-1990s, were the maintenance of secrecy, the avoidance of scandal, the protection of the reputation of the Church, and the preservation of its assets. All other considerations, including the wel- fare of children and justice for victims, were subordinated. The Archdiocese did not implement its own canon law rules and did its best to avoid any application of the law of the State. However, there was no evidence of a paedo- phile ring, the Murphy inquiry found. But it uncovered what it called worrying con- nections, such as links between two priests who abused the same boys. Prosecute those who turned a blind eye: Pages 2 & 3 index.html2.html3.html4.html5.html6.html7.html8.html9.html10.html11.html12.html13.html14.html15.html16.html17.html18.html19.html20.html21.html22.html23.html24.html25.html26.html27.html28.html29.html30.html31.html32.html33.html34.html35.html