Priests abused
hundreds of Irish kids,
church says
By AP from CNN.com
from the Web, March 8, 2006
DUBLIN, Ireland -- The Roman
Catholic archdiocese of Dublin published a report Wednesday that says 102 of its
priests -- more than 3.5 percent of the total -- are suspected of sexually or
physically abusing at least 350 children since 1940, the biggest such admission
to date in Ireland.
The office of Archbishop Diarmuid Martin said it was publishing its findings
ahead of the expected formation later this month of a government-appointed
commission to investigate the history and handling of such abuse throughout
Ireland. This predominantly Catholic nation has been rocked by waves of
church sex-abuse scandals since 1994.
The office said the numbers were based on a two-year review of the personnel
files of more than 2,800 priests who have worked in the Dublin archdiocese,
either as parish priests or in religious orders, during the past 66 years.
According to the report, eight Dublin-assigned priests have received criminal
convictions for abuse charges, while 32 priests have been sued for damages by
105 victims at a cost to the archdiocese of 5.8 million euros ($7 million),
including 1.7 million euros ($2.05 million) in both sides' legal bills.
But it said costs were expected to go much higher because 40 cases remained
unsettled, while church authorities had positively identified at least 350 abuse
victims and "a possible further 40 persons who may have been abused but who it
is not yet possible to identify or trace."
Martin, a veteran Vatican diplomat who was appointed here in 2003, said he
thought the archdiocese would have to sell off some of its properties to cover
the mounting compensation bill -- but said it was a necessary sacrifice to put
right past wrongs, as much as was possible.
"It's very frightening for me to see that in some of these cases, so many
children were abused. It's very hard to weigh that up against anything,"
Martin said. "On the other hand, I know that the vast majority of priests
don't abuse, that they do good work, that they're extremely upset and offended
by what's happened."
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