All allegations of clerical child sexual abuse on the island of Ireland must be reported to civil authorities, said Catholic Church representatives.
Maynooth-based director of safeguarding for the church Teresa Devlin said it was mandatory within the Catholic Church in Ireland to report allegations of child abuse and that has not changed.
“The national board delivers training to bishops and provincials which sets this out clearly following their appointment,” she said.
Ms Devlin was responding to reports of a Vatican training document for new bishops which said that, though bishops must be aware of local laws, their only duty was to address allegations internally.
“According to the state of civil laws of each country where reporting is obligatory, it is not necessarily the duty of the bishop to report suspects to authorities, the police or state prosecutors in the moment when they are made aware of crimes or sinful deeds,” the document states.
Archbishop of Dublin Diarmuid Martin said all allegations of clerical child sexual abuse in Ireland must be reported to gardaí.
He said co-operation with gardaí has been very productive from the perspective of the archdiocese. “Gardaí have the ability and expertise to investigate matters that diocesan personnel would not.”
The training guidelines were written by controversial French monsignor Tony Anatrella, who serves as a consultant to the Pontifical Council for the Family. The Vatican released the guidelines – which are part of a broader training programme for newly named bishops – at a press conference earlier this month.
The guidelines on child abuse were presented to new bishops last September in the annual training course organised by the Congregation for Bishops.
Pope Francis has called for the church to exhibit "zero tolerance" of sexual abuse of minors or vulnerable adults by clergy and that "everything possible must be done to rid the church of the scourge of the sexual abuse".
Maeve Lewis of One in Four is shocked at the implication bishops have discretion whether or not to report: "Given the history in this country we all know the dangers and what sort of culture that can create and the dangers to vulnerable children. It must be unbelievable to people like Archbishop Diarmuid Martin who showed such leadership on this issue.
“In Ireland, and the UK, mandatory reporting of sexual abuse of children is in place so a bishop would be in breach of the law if he did not report,” she said.
