Dublin, Ireland, Dec 11, 2009 / 01:21 am
The Irish bishops have apologized to victims of clerical sexual abuse, decrying the “failure of moral leadership” and “the scale and depravity of abuse” described in a newly released report on the issue.
The first day of the Irish Bishops’ Conference’s Winter General Meeting gave full attention to the Commission of Investigation Report into the Archdiocese of Dublin, which was published Nov. 26.
“We, as bishops, apologize to all those who were abused by priests as children, their families and to all people who feel rightly outraged and let down by the failure of moral leadership and accountability that emerges from the Report,” the bishops said in a statement.
The bishops said that their initial response to the Report was to ask the National Board for Safeguarding Children in the Catholic Church to explore a mechanism to ensure that the Church’s current practices are best and that allegations of abuse are properly handled.