Four successive archbishops of Dublin, over a period of 30 years, “routinely” covered up child sexual abuse by priests in their diocese, an Irish government report published Thursday 26 November shows. Dermot Ahern, the Irish justice minister responsible for the “Report of the Commission of Investigation into the Catholic Archdiocese of Dublin”, said it documented “a scandal on an astonishing scale.” The Irish state is also blamed for not ensuring that all were treated equally under the law and “allowing the Church institutions to be beyond the reach of the normal law enforcement processes.” Police are accused of actively colluding with Church officials and priests on a regular basis to cover up crimes from 1974-2004, the period covered by the study. This is the third major Irish investigative report in 10 years into abuse by Church clergy.

Links to other sites: Boston Globe, Guardian, UK, Irish Times and Irish Department of Justice statement