WikiLeaks cables: Vatican refused to engage with child sex abuse inquiry

The Vatican refused to allow its officials to testify before an Irish commission investigating the clerical abuse of children and was angered when they were summoned from Rome, US embassy cables released by WikiLeaks reveal.

Requests for information from the 2009 Murphy commission into sexual and physical abuse by clergy "offended many in the Vatican" who felt that the Irish government had "failed to respect and protect Vatican sovereignty during the investigations", a cable says.

Despite the lack of co-operation from the Vatican, the commission was able to substantiate many of the claims and concluded that some bishops had tried to cover up abuse, putting the interests of the Catholic church ahead of those of the victims. Its report identified 320 people who complained of child sexual abuse between 1975 and 2004 in the Dublin archdiocese.

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The article states that the leaked cables show us how diplomats in the Irish government tried to open diplomatic discussions with the Vatican to try and persuade it to cooperate with child sex-abuse allegations from with-in the Church that were being investigated by the government. They reveal the attitude of the Vatican as being "imperious" and totally uncooperative, trying to protect the Church officials, over the safety of its children.

It shows that only one archdioceses is being investigated right now, and in the future the investigation into others will probably reveal more "painful revelations."

Sorry this is no big suprise to me, and I think it only skims the surface of that group has done over time.

And this news shocks people why?

"Suffer the little children" indeed . . .

Heh not surprised at all by this . I hope that somewhere deep in the cables somebody will find more interesting facts about our oh so holly church ..

reply to post by Calender


Nobody should be surprised about this, but I wonder why there are so many Catholics out there who stay with the Church yet refuse to denounce this sort of activity.

I find it funny when they're the same people shouting about Muslims who don't denounce terrorism.

reply to post by madnessinmysoul

Many good people have tried to change the catholic church from inside, but failed completely.

The only moral thing to do when in such a corrupt organisation which refuses to change or even acknowledge its faults, except to blame them onto "the evils of homosexuality," thus using its criminal support of paedophiles as another stick with which to bash gays, is to turn one's back on it and walk away from the stinking, hypocritical institution.

All I can say is thank God for Wikileaks. They do more good then a lot of people may realize.

The tide has begun to turn for the catholic church and it's only a matter of time, maybe months, years, or a generation, before it falls. That "church" can turn a blind eye to what's really going on all they want. It means nothing. More and more people are seeing that institution for what it really is, and more and more people are turning away from it. I lost count of the number of people I met in NA meetings that introduced themselves as recovering catholics.

Again, the tide is turning and it's only a matter of time before it gets washed away completely.

now what prophecy was I reading
where it claimed the Pope would be hung
in the Vatican Square??

1 step closer I suppose,
who knows ???