This article is from page 4 of the 2006-04-04 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 4 JPG
BISHOP Willie Walsh said this week that people were in denial about child sex abuse being a society-wide issue.
“Blaming the church on the issue of child sex abuse is partly to avoid the fact that this is a serious societal issue,” said Dr Walsh, in an interview with The Clare People .
He said that he had argued previously that the issue of child sex abuse was a societal issue, “but nobody wants to hear that.”
“Society is very much in denial over the issue of sex abuse. I am wary about saying this, because it may be in some way be interpreted as a denial on my part. That is the difficulty saying this.
“It is an uncomfortable issue to face up to, as it is easy for someone to convince themselves that it is someone else’s problem.”
Dr Walsh said that “people are entitled to criticise the Church on the issue.”
He also responded to concerns raised recently by a senior Clare cleric, Canon Caimin O’Carroll, over the church guidelines requiring priests to step aside when an allegation was made against him.
“I believe that we need to listen to the fears expressed by priests while at the same time to ensure that children are not put at risk.
“It is an important issue between bishops and priests and I have discussed the issue with priests in the diocese.
“The issue of trust between bishops and priests is very important and I am prepared to listen to the views of priests.
“It is always necessary to strike a balance between the rights of natural justice both to the person that makes the allegation and the natural rights against whom the allegation is made.
“It is always important to find the right balance and ensure that children are not put at risk.”
Asked was the church striking the balance, Dr Walsh said, “I hope that that is the intention.”
Dr Walsh said that the priests were worried that, in other professions, there was a requirement to make the complaint in writing, which was not required if an allegation was made against a priest.
“All these issues can be resolved by sitting down with the priests and talking in an open and honest way and by reassuring them that they will be treated in a just fashion,” he said.