A priest yesterday declined to read out a letter at Mass from the Bishop of Cork and Ross that addressed the issue of sexual abuse and the Ferns report, saying Dr John Buckley's remarks "didn't go far enough".
Fr Gerald Galvin of the Church of the Immaculate Conception, Clonakilty said he didn't question the bishop's sincerity. However, he said the letter was "mistimed" and Dr Buckley should have waited until a more appropriate date in the future, when positive work in relation to clerical sex abuse had been carried out.
"I just felt the letter was incomplete. It didn't go far enough. There was no real sense of atonement. There are a couple of statements in there that I was disturbed by. There is no admission in the first place as to who broke the trust. It is more PR than reality. I just feel that action should have come first and that the letter should have come at a later date when something positive had been done."
Fr Galvin also expressed concern about some of the terminology used in the letter, citing one line in which Bishop Buckley said that "the church's system in the past did not deal effectively with the problems."
Fr Galvin asked: "Who are the church systems? I would have been happier if the bishop had said the church leadership. I still have depths of pessimism about the whole thing. I am not optimistic that some of them [ the hierarchy] are listening even now."
The west Cork priest received a round of applause from the congregation at Saturday night's Mass.
"I think the time for fobbing people off is over. We need real honesty," Fr Galvin said.
A spokesman for Bishop Buckley was not available for comment yesterday.