THE CLOYNE report may have to go back to the High Court as lawyers strongly disagree in their interpretations of Mr Justice Nicholas Kearns’s decision on what parts of the report may not be published at this stage.
As the courts do not sit again until May 3rd, this would mean the report cannot be published before then.
In his decision, President of the High Court Mr Justice Kearns ruled that publication of a portion of chapter nine of the report, relating to one priest, should be delayed until July 15th, when the matter is to come back before him for review.
He said he was making the ruling so nothing would be done that might prejudice the priest’s trial, due to take place shortly. Mr Justice Kearns emphasised he was not saying none of chapter nine should be published but only those sections relating to the individual priest. He wanted to ensure any prosecution did not run the risk of being derailed, he said.
He also gave liberty to all parties, including the priest who was represented by counsel in court on April 8th last, to apply to the court again should anything happen to alter the circumstances.
A commission of investigation, set up by the Minister for Justice, prepared the report into the handling by Catholic Church and State authorities of allegations of child sexual abuse against clergy operating in the diocese of Cloyne, which covers most of Co Cork, between January 1st, 1996, and February 1st, 2009. The report, which consists of 26 chapters and relates to 19 clergy againstwhom complaints were made, was presented to then minister for justice Dermot Ahern on December 23rd last. It followed a two-year investigation by the commission, headed by Judge Yvonne Murphy, which had also investigated the handling of clerical child sex abuse in the Dublin archdiocese and which published its findings on what occurred there in November 2009.
It had been widely expected that the report would be published towards the end of last week but it emerged that disagreement on Mr Justice Kearns’s decision, between counsel for the priest concerned and counsel for the State, deepened as the week progressed.
It is understood lawyers for the priest have been arguing there are references, apart from chapter nine, which could identify their client and which should be redacted. On the other hand, lawyers for the State have been arguing that parts of chapter nine itself could be published in line with Mr Justice Kearns’s ruling.
Over the weekend it became clear the report would not be published before Easter and that it was increasingly likely all sides would return to the High Court again for a further hearing before Mr Justice Kearns.
There were also concerns expressed towards the end of last week by victims’ support groups that the report would be published this week in the run-up to Easter. They felt too many of their volunteers would not be available over the holiday period to meet the expected increase in demand on their 24-hour helplines following publication.
