The Bishop of Killaloe, Dr Willie Walsh, said yesterday that there was "a very, very serious moral disorder within the Catholic Church" that allowed priests to sexually abuse children. Gordon Deegan reports.
There was still "a very significant denial of the widespread nature of child sex abuse in wider Irish society even though there is solid research now by independent bodies indicating a very serious problem".
In an interview marking his 10 years in office, Dr Walsh said that the Killaloe diocese had made payments to two victims of sexual abuse during his time as bishop.
He said the diocese had paid out money for counselling and some money in two cases in order to help people "who I would have regarded as being in need and possibly being in need because of this experience in their childhood".
Dr Walsh said he was not prepared to give the amounts involved. "I regard it as a confidential matter between myself and the victims, though I have not entered into any confidential agreement with either person," he said.
He had dealt with possibly six or seven allegations against priests, some going back to the 1950s. Some of these complaints related to priests who are dead 30 and 40 years, he said.
"While I never question the honesty of anybody who tells me a story like that, apart from listening to people, there is nothing that I can do," Dr Walsh said.
There was "a fair bit of denial" in the church in relation to the sexual abuse of children in the early years.
However, he said, the church's response over the past 10 years had been very strong, and there had been no other issue to which he had given more attention.
"All my colleagues have been deeply distressed over this area, and I think some of them have borne an unfair burden of the blame.
"Some of them have had to carry the mistakes made by their predecessors 30 and 40 years ago," Dr Walsh said.
He was lucky enough to have been appointed bishop at a time when there was good advice available and increased understanding of the issue.
"If I had been bishop in the 1980s, I would not have had the same understanding which was there at the time of my appointment."
Reflecting on his 10 years in office, Dr Walsh said: "I have been happy and quite fulfilled".
The highlight during his time was the Walk of Reconciliation across the diocese which acknow-ledged hurts done to people in the name of the church and asked people for forgiveness.
He also said the increased in- volvement of lay people in the church and the working towards and publication of a pastoral plan for the Killaloe diocese were two other highlights.
During his time in office, he has allowed Traveller families set up camp on his lawn at his Ennis residence several times. He said he would only repeat this action "if there was a very extreme situation".
A Traveller family living in a mobile home is currently located adjacent to his Westbourne residence.