Murphy Report: will ANYONE resign over child abuse in Dublin archdiocese?

Matthew 25:40 Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.

Last week, the Report by Commission of Investigation into Catholic Archdiocese of Dublin was published. It sent shock waves through the country. Although there were warnings about the content before the publication, it was worse than anyone could imagine. I have previously written about the revelations of torture, violence and rape in the Ryan Report. The Murphy Report, as it is commonly called, is just as revealing. It details the sexual abuse and rape of children by 102 priests in the archdiocese of Dublin. In addition, it proves that the bishops were aware of the abuse and that they facilitated the moving of priests from diocese to diocese so that they could victimize children again and again.

“The Commission received information about complaints, suspicions or knowledge of child sexual abuse in respect of 172 named priests and 11 unnamed priests. (Some or all of the 11 unnamed priests may, of course, be included in the 172 named priests.) … the Commission concluded that 102 of these priests were within remit… two main reasons for their exclusion were identified: the complaint was made outside the time period 1975 – 2004; the priest was not operating under the aegis of the Archdiocese of Dublin at the time of the alleged abuse… The Commission was to select a representative sample of the priests concerned…” [PDF source]

Until the publication of the Murphy Report, the majority of Irish bishops denied abuse ever took place. Now that they have been forced to reveal the truth, the same bishops claim that they were on a learning curve and did not know what was the best course of action. This claim is an excuse, cooked up in haste, after the depth of public anger was revealed. The Medicina Pastoralis in usum Confessariorum et Curiarum Ecclesiasticurum by Ioseph Antonelli was required reading at seminary. Medicina Pastoralis gives instruction on the kinds of sexual crimes to be aware of and how to deal with the perpetrators. It was standard issue to priests preaching between 1975 and 2004.

The Commission did not investigate whether child sexual abuse took place. Its function was to examine how the complaints were dealt with by church and state. The Commission uncovered willful neglect, active criminal co conspiracy, the failure of the police force to investigate even after complaints, and the submission of the state to the church in legal matters.

As far as the catholic patriarchy of Ireland was concerned, the reputation of the church was paramount. There was no concern reported for the children who were being sexually abused. The Murphy Report notes that:

“When a specific complaint was made in 1978, Monsignor O’ Regan carried out a thorough investigation and came to the clear conclusion that Fr McNamee was a danger to children. Yet again, the emphasis was on the avoidance of scandal and the protection of the priest’s reputation rather than the protection of children. It is particularly shocking that Fr McNamee was encouraged to stay on in the parish in order to avoid any damage to his reputation.”

There was a clear and present danger to children, but the worry was protecting the reputation of a sexual predator. McNamee was moved several more times, sexually abusing children each time. He built two swimming pools (unthinkable in 1978) where certain boys were selected to swim nude. Many reported abuse after the fact.

Archbishop John Charles McQuaid was a powerful man. He had the ear of Eamon de Valera – some time Taoiseach (Prime Minister) and President of Ireland. McQuaid ruled with the proverbial iron fist without a velvet glove. In 1960 McQuaid received information from Scotland Yard. He was told that a photographic company had

“…handed to Scotland Yard a colour film with label Rev. [Edmondus], Childrens Hospital, Crumlin, Dublin, of which 26 transparencies were of the private parts of two small girls, aged 10 or 11 years”.

Police Commissioner Costigan met with McQuaid and made the following request:

The Garda Commissioner asked Archbishop McQuaid to take over the case because a priest was in question and the Gardaí “could prove nothing”… McQuaid met Fr Edmondus who admitted photographing the children in sexual postures alone and in groups “… seeing no grave sin at all and suffering no physical disturbance in himself. He was puzzled… as to structure and functions of female”… McQuaid and Bishop Dunne then agreed that there was not an objective and subjective crime of the type envisaged in the 1922 instruction and consequently that there was no need to refer the matter to the Holy Office in Rome.

The police handed over the investigation. Edmondus’ version of events was taken at face value. With all this information gathered by Scotland Yard, McQuaid did nothing.

“The Commission believes that Archbishop McQuaid acted as he did to avoid scandal in both Ireland and Rome and without regard to the protection of children in Crumlin hospital.”

There was no attempt to identify the girls or to investigate further.

The systematic cover-up of sexual abuse permeated the Catholic Church in Ireland. By covering up the institutionalised sexual abuse of children, the bishops were actually condoning the behaviour. The priests never suffered censure or had their word questioned. Rape was dismissed as horse play or high spirits.

The state failed to protect its citizens from criminals. The police did not follow up on reports of abuse because the reports involved priests. Priests were off-limits. When the police did investigate in 1995, they found obfuscation and attempts to block investigations from the Catholic Church:

“The Gardaí met Monsignor Stenson in May 1996. They asked him for a copy of the Fr Edmondus file or at least for an opportunity to look at it. He refused, stating he would need legal advice first. He said that canon law did not permit him to give permission for the file to be read. Monsignor Stenson was also asked about the claim that Fr Edmondus had admitted the offence to him and a letter he wrote to Mrs Collins was shown to him. Monsignor Stenson expressed dismay on seeing the letter, saying that he would not have written that had he known that she would be handing over the letter to the Gardaí.”

The Murphy Report, in account after account, demonstrates that self-confessed pedophiles were reassigned to work with children; that protecting the church’s reputation was paramount; that the police did not investigate; that the church shredded relevant documents and blocked access to others; and that citizens of Ireland were treated as inhuman.

In the past week, bishops have been asked to consider their positions, which is Irish political doublespeak for resigning. None have done so. The Taoiseach refuses to protect the citizens of Ireland through public submission to the church. Whether these shocking reports will be acting upon is open to debate. Little has been done so far. Stay tuned for more.