Newsgroup: it.politica.internazionale
Titolo: criminali in tonaca, coperti dalla polizia

Irish church and police covered up child sex abuse, says report
Devastating report on abuse of children by clergy from 1975 to 2004 
accuses church and Garda of colluding to cover up scandal
Ireland's police force colluded with the Catholic church in covering up 
clerical child abuse in Dublin on a huge scale, according to a damning 
report on decades of sex crimes committed by the country's priests.
The devastating three-volume report on the sexual and physical abuse of 
children by the clergy in Ireland's capital from 1975 to 2004 accuses 
four former archbishops, a host of clergy and senior members of the 
Garda Síochána of covering up the scandal.
It found that the "maintenance of secrecy, the avoidance of scandal, the 
protection of the reputation of the church and the preservation of its 
assets" was more important than justice for the victims of sexual and 
physical abuse.
Four former Archbishops in Dublin – John Charles McQuaid, who died in 
1973, Dermot Ryan, who died in 1984, Kevin McNamara, who died in 1987, 
and retired Cardinal Desmond Connell – were found to have failed to 
report their knowledge of child sexual abuse to the Garda from the 1960s 
to the 1980s. But the report added that all the archbishops of the 
diocese in the period covered by the inquiry were aware of some complaints.
The report, launched today by the Irish justice minister, Dermot Ahern, 
also concluded that the vast majority of priests turned a "blind eye" to 
abuse, although some individuals did bring complaints to their 
superiors, which were not acted upon.
The report, commissioned by the government, strongly criticises the 
Garda and says senior members of the force regarded priests as being 
outside their investigative remit. The relationship between some senior 
gardai and priests and bishops in Dublin was described as "inappropriate".
Rather than investigate complaints from children, gardai simply reported 
the matter to the Dublin Catholic diocese, the report says. The Garda 
Síochána is accused of connivance with the church in stifling at least 
one complaint of abuse, and letting the alleged perpetrator flee the 
country.
Ahern said there should be no hiding place for the abusers even if they 
wore a clerical collar. "The persons who committed these dreadful crimes 
– no matter when they happened – will continue to be pursued.
"They must come to know that there is no hiding place. That justice – 
even where it may have been delayed – will not be denied," he said.
He told a press conference: "I read the report as justice minister. But 
on a human level – as a father and as a member of this community – I 
felt a growing sense of revulsion and anger. Revulsion at the horrible, 
evil acts committed against children. Anger at how those children were 
then dealt with and how often abusers were left free to abuse."
The Dublin Rape Crisis Centre welcomed the report, saying it was 
"another acknowledgment of the abject failure of our society to take 
care of our children".
The report states that senior clerical figures covered up the abuse over 
nearly three decades and that the structures and rules of the church 
facilitated that cover-up. It also says that state authorities 
facilitated the cover-up by allowing the church to be beyond the reach 
of the law.
The Murphy Commission of Inquiry into the abuse of children in Dublin 
identified 320 people who complained of child sexual abuse between 1975 
and 2004. It also states that since May 2004, 130 complaints against 
priests operating in the Dublin archdiocese have been made.
The report details the cases of 46 priests guilty of abuse, as a 
representative sample of 102 priests within its remit. But it concludes 
that there was no direct evidence of an organised paedophile ring among 
priests in the Dublin archdiocese, although it says there were some 
worrying connections. One priest admitted abusing more than 100 
children. Another said he had committed abuse every two weeks for more 
than 25 years, it said.
The report highlights the case of a Father Carney and Father McCarthy 
who it claims in one case both abused the same child. The abuse by 
Carney often occurred at swimming pools, sometimes when he was 
accompanied by another priest.
The report states that it was not until 1995 that the archdiocese began 
to notify the civil authorities of complaints of clerical abuse. The 
commission concludes that in the light of this and other facts, every 
bishop's primary loyalty was to the church itself.
A move by the archdiocese to take out insurance against potential 
compensation claims arising from clerical abuse was, according to the 
report, an act proving knowledge of child sexual abuse as a potential 
major cost.
The report, running to hundreds of pages, details particular priests and 
the abuse perpetrated by them.
The Garda Síochána's current commissioner, Fachtna Murphy, said the 
report made for "difficult and disturbing reading, detailing as it does 
many instances of sexual abuse and failure on the part of both church 
and state authorities to protect victims."
Murphy apologised to victims who did not receive the response and 
protection they were entitled to.
Pope Benedict was challenged today to go to Ireland and apologise for 
his clergy's behaviour.
A victims' rights campaigner called on the pope to visit and say sorry 
for "the betrayal of children" by those who were meant to show them 
love. John Kelly, of Irish Survivors of Child Abuse, said only a papal 
visit would exonerate the worldwide church of culpability in the abuse 
scandals.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/nov/26/ireland-church-sex-abuse

 accuses church and Garda of colluding to cover up scandal
Questa storia � ancora pi� disgustosa e devastante di quanto sembrasse 
all'inizio.