Archbishop Diarmuid Martin
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The Archbishop of Dublin has launched an emotional attack on church leaders in Ireland over the cover-up of child abuse, saying he is "angry, ashamed and appalled" at the behaviour of those who had deliberately ignored Vatican policy to combat child abuse, reports the Telegraph.co.uk.
Archbishop Diarmuid Martin's comments follow an unprecedented attack on the Vatican by the Irish prime minister, Enda Kenny.
Close to tears, Archbishop Martin, told RTE he hoped the the prime minister's stinging criticism would teach his fellow churchmen a "lesson".
"I find myself asking today, can I be proud of the Church that I'm a leader of?" he said.
"What I'm seeing – I have to be ashamed of this, and I have to be ashamed because of what was done to the victims and what was done to other people."
Describing the leadership in Cloyne as a "cabal" which had deliberately ignored recent Vatican policy to combat child abuse, he said only invasive audits of all diocese was the only way to expose all abuse.
"Those who felt they were able to play tricks with norms, they have betrayed ... good men and so many others in the Church who are working today, I am angry, ashamed and appalled by that," he said.
News.va reports from Vatican Radio that Archbishop Martin said: "Those in Cloyne ignored the 2001 norms of the Pope, of the present Pope".
He said had personally delivered over 70,000 documents to the previous Murphy Commission of Inquiry and has reported every case of abuse allegations to Irish police, and: "I have never been reprimanded by the Vatican for doing that, so the norms that are there are important".
He also went on to speak of his feelings of anger and shame at what was done to victims and other people in the Church, news.va report said, describing a recent episode where elderly priests were heckled at the funeral of a fellow priest.
"There were six elderly priests there who were men of tremendous integrity and goodness, somebody shouted at them 'you should be ashamed of yourself'. That is the Church I am proud of, and I also have a responsibility to defend [it]".
FULL STORY AND RELATED COVERAGE
Emotional Archbishop speaks of 'shame' of Irish child abuse cover-ups (Telegraph.co.uk)
Irish PM's attack on Catholic church a 'wake-up call', says archbishop (The Guardian)
Cloyne report: Arch. Martin warns against polarisation (news.va/Vatican Radio)
PHOTO CREDIT
Achdiocese of Dublin