The statement by Cardinal Desmond Connell on the issue of clerical sex abuse last night has been described by victims of abuse as "absolutely inadequate".
Mr Niall O'Muilleoir, spokesman for One in Four, the group representing victims, told ireland.comthis morning the Cardinal's statement demonstrated the Church had made absolutely no progress despite recent revelations.
"The Cardinal's statement is absolutely unacceptable and clearly demonstrates the conservative mindset of the Church," Mr O'Muilleoir said.
"It is absolutely unacceptable to us and absolutely unacceptable to the Minister of Justice. The statement added absolutely nothing to the debate".
Mr O'Muilleoir also dismissed the Cardinal's view that the Hussey Commission would carry out an independent inquiry. He said although the Church was entitled to hold an internal investigation if it wished, it had was not relevant to One in Four's call for civil action.
"I am not dismissing the people who have been appointed to the inquiry," he added. "They are all very qualified and very professional people. But at the end of the day it is still an inquiry established by the Church and for the Church.
"It was established by the Cardinal himself so of course he is going to have confidence in it.
"The bottom line for us is the one clearly expressed by the Minister of Justice yesterday - that the perpetrators must be answerable under civil law, and not under Canon Law as the Church would wish," Mr O'Muilleoir said.
He indicated the drawing up of the terms or reference for the non-statutory inquiry into sex abuse in the Diocese of Ferns was at an advanced stage, and that One in Four was in regular contact with the Minister for Justice on an inquiry in the Archdiocese of Dublin.
The full text of Cardinal Connell's statement can be accessed below.