Ireland's Massive Catholic Church Abuse Scandal

Here we go, this is being called the largest child molestation scandal in Ireland's history.  Thousands of former students have come forward with stories of abuse and molestations while the Dublin Archdiocese is accused of shielding hundreds of priests from prosecution.

A new 2,600-page report on physical, emotional, and sexual abuse in Catholic-run Irish schools is “a map of an Irish hell,” said the Irish Times in an editorial. The numbers speak for themselves: 800 abusers, 200 schools, 35 years, many thousands of victims.

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Dublin Archbishop Diarmuid Martin has issued an ultimatum to four bishops: resign immediately or be fired by the Vatican. The four bishops, implicated for their roles in Ireland's child molestation scandal,  are Bishop Raymond Field, Bishop Eamon Walsh, Bishop Martin Drennan and Bishop Jim Moriarty. Irish Prime Minister Brian Cowan has joined the call for the bishops to resign.

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Father Thomas Naughton pleads guilty to five "sample" counts of child molestation. Naughton was convicted of similar charges in 1998 and the cover-up of his assaults is part of the scandal. Naughton received five three-year sentences, to run concurrently, with the final year suspended in each case.

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Two more bishops have resigned in Ireland's widening child abuse scandal. A total of four bishops have now stepped down, with pressure building for the fifth bishop named in the Murphy Report to do the same. Bishops Eamonn Walsh, Raymond Field, James Moriarty, and Donal Murray have all offered their resignations in the last ten days. The Dublin Archdiocese is accused of shielding more than 170 priests from prosecution, usually by transferring them to other parishes.

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After meeting on December 11 with the leaders of the Irish Catholic hierarchy, Pope Benedict XVI expressed his “outrage, betrayal, and shame” at the revelations that sex-abuse complaints had been covered up in the Dublin archdiocese. He offered his prayers for the victims and vowed that “the Church will continue to follow this grave matter with the closest attention in order to understand better how these shameful events came to pass and how best to develop effective and secure strategies to prevent any recurrence.”