IRELAND'S CATHOLIC bishops have been asked to comment on the fact that, while they took out insurance against liability for clerical child abuse in 1987, no child protection measures were put in place by them until 1996.
They have also been asked to explain why none of them have yet commented on a conclusion of the 2005 Ferns report that "bishops placed the interest of the church ahead of children . . ."
In an open letter to the Irish Bishops' Conference, signed by 19 people including clerical child sex abuse victims and members of the Voice of the Faithful Ireland group, the bishops have been asked to comment, particularly in the light of knowledge that as far back as AD 309, church authorities knew about clerical sexual abuse of children.
The conference will gather for its spring meeting in Maynooth next week. The letter was sent to Bishop William Lee, secretary to the conference.
Titled "Betrayal", the lengthy letter continued that in 1051 St Peter Damian warned the papacy of the damage caused to children by clerical sexual abuse.
It pointed out that, in 1994, Ireland learned of the phenomenon through the secular media but it was not until 1995/96 that the Irish church began to act to protect children.
"To have any hope of stemming the loss of trust and confidence that is now racking the church, the conference must not ignore this sequence. To do so would be to raise further strong suspicions about the ongoing strength of denial - the enemy of truth, justice and healing - among the appointed leaders of the church," the letter continued.
It said that "while warmly welcoming the transparency offered by Bishop Eamonn Walsh to the Ferns inquiry, and that granted by Archbishop Diarmuid Martin to the Dublin inquiry, we are deeply disappointed that so far there has been no general recognition by bishops of the danger posed by church secrecy to children and families, or any promise of a diminishment or an end to it".
Signatories to the letter are Carol Brady, Fr Patrick McCafferty, Patricia O'Conaill, Pat Callan, Connolly McLaughlin, Seán O'Connor, Siobhán Carroll, Teresa Mee, Martin Ridge, Marie Collins, Bryan Maguire, Seán Walsh, Marie Crowley, Gerry Mulligan, Bernadette Wyer, Kevin Kelly, Irene O'Byrne-Maguire, Margaret Kennedy and Seán O'Conaill.
