The Catholic Bishop of Derry, Dr Seamus Hegarty, has said people should not pre-empt the results of the police investigation into the Claudy bombing.
His comments follow allegations that a priest from the Derry diocese, Father James Chesney, led the Provisional IRA unit that planted three bombs in the village in 1972, killing nine people.
Father Chesney was later transferred to Co Donegal after a meeting between the then Northern Secretary, Mr William Whitelaw, and Cardinal William Conway. There have been allegations of a cover-up involving the Catholic Church, the British government and the RUC.
Dr Hegarty said any final decision on who was responsible for the bombings must be based on incontrovertible evidence.
He said he hoped new evidence would help bring those responsible to justice. The Church of Ireland Bishop of Derry and Raphoe, the Rt Rev Ken Good, has met some of the victims of the bombing.
"I was saddened to hear the lack of recognition they were given and I think they are a long way from healing and closure," he said.
Meanwhile, the Ulster Unionist leader, Mr David Trimble, has said there must be a full public inquiry into the scandal. "There is obviously the suspicion of a cover-up," he said. "There is the suspicion of conspiracy to pervert the course of justice. It does seem to involve people at the very highest level, both in government and in the church. There is a very natural desire to know more."
Sinn Féin's Mr Mitchel McLaughlin acknowledged the families of the dead had the same right to the truth as those killed on Bloody Sunday. "This has been a sensational development by any standards," he said. "I come at it from the point of view of the relatives and survivors, and people's right to the truth."