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Fr Federico Lombardi Pier Paolo Cito/AP/Press Association Images

Vatican official dismisses Cloyne report criticisms

Fr Federico Lombardi has described as ‘curious’ claims that the Vatican had encouraged cover-ups – sparking fury from abuse survivors’ groups.

THE VATICAN HAS spoken out for the first time on the Cloyne report – to reject criticisms of the way it handled the clerical abuse crisis.

Fr Federico Lombardi, the Vatican spokesman, denied that a letter sent by the former Papal Nuncio to Irish bishops encouraged them to cover up abuse allegations. The Cloyne report described the letter, which objected to a framework set out by the bishops for handling abuse cases, as “entirely unhelpful”.

However, Fr Lombardi insisted it was “understandable and legitimate” to raise objections, as the measures risked contravening canonical law. “There is no reason to interpret that letter as being intended to cover up cases of abuse,” he added.

Fr Lombardi added that harsh criticisms of the Vatican following the report were “curious”, claiming they “demonstrate little awareness of what the Holy See has actually done over the years to help effectively address the problem.”

However Maeve Lewis, director of abuse survivors’ group One in Four, hit out at Fr Lombardi’s claims. Saying they “completely lack substance”, she added his words are “part of the now familiar refusal by the Vatican to acknowledge that the culture of loyalty and secrecy which facilitated the sexual abuse of children extended far beyond the Irish Church.

“It is further evidence, if needed, that the Vatican’s claim to prioritise the safety of children is completely lacking in credibility,” she said.

Read more: Cloyne report findings ‘could not be starker or more disturbing’ >

Read more: The Cloyne report – who’s saying what >

Read more on the fallout from the Cloyne report >

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34 Comments
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    Mute Ribeard Ó Fiachna
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    Apr 20th 2022, 10:25 AM

    I’ve had an account since they launched in Ireland, it was €7.99 then. I’ve accepted every pay increase, and I’ve kept the top tier subscription the whole time because my parents and partner also use it. I live with my partner now but my folks still share the account and I pay for the privilege as far as I’m concerned. If Netflix stop allowing account sharing between addresses they’re not going to get an extra sub out of my parents, instead I’ll just cancel mine out of spite and use my plex server full time.

    Piracy (not that I would do something so illegal) became less attractive for many people with services like Spotify and Netflix making it VERY convenient to consume media for a low price, but as they get greedier and less user friendly they’re going to start pushing people away from paying and back to the high seas.

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    Mute Marty Quish
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    Apr 20th 2022, 10:31 AM

    @Ribeard Ó Fiachna: yeah, exactly same boat here. Bunch of folks using my account so I’ve accepted the price increase and I’m happy enough to let them continue scrounging. Like you said, I also haven’t been using Plex too often , apart from some of the latest movie releases and/or TV shows I’d like to watch that are on subscription services I don’t subscribe to :)

    139
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    Mute Wolfgang Bonow
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    Apr 20th 2022, 12:34 PM

    @Ribeard Ó Fiachna: Hmm, but sharing an account between different households is against their T&C, so it’s piracy?

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    Mute Dave
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    Apr 20th 2022, 3:43 PM

    @Ribeard Ó Fiachna: Sure would it make more sense to share the top tier subscription of €21 between the 4 of ye for a total of €5.25 each?

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    Mute Hugh O'Keeffe
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    Apr 20th 2022, 8:30 PM

    @Ribeard Ó Fiachna: plex is the only job

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    Mute Mary Fitzsimons
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    Apr 20th 2022, 11:03 AM

    Not impressed with it, I spend more time looking for something to watch than watching . I’ve had it for years. I might be just about ready to unsubscribe.

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    Mute Siobhán Breen Malone
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    Apr 21st 2022, 11:17 PM

    @Mary Fitzsimons: Im the same, i got rid of it for that exact reason.

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    Mute Bitcoin Buddy
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    Apr 20th 2022, 10:14 AM

    It’ll probably be the next subscription to get the chop

    362
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    Mute Declan Moran
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    Apr 20th 2022, 10:19 AM

    They’re taking the buscuit with their latest price increases. I downgraded as a result. While I love using it, if it goes up any higher it will get the chop

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    Mute P. Hansson
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    Apr 20th 2022, 10:54 AM

    Cancelled it after the latest increase in prize. It doesn’t make sense to pay that much when Amazon Prime gives a lot more, for a lot less.

    149
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    Mute Accidental Gentleman
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    Apr 20th 2022, 1:24 PM

    @P. Hansson: prime is awful! sometimes there are seasons missing, other times randomly episodes are unavailable mid season! cancelled it because of that.

    103
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    Mute B Collins
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    Apr 20th 2022, 1:41 PM

    @P. Hansson: have no enjoyed prime. Feels light years behind Netflix in terms of user experience. But Apple TV is pretty good.

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    Mute Pete Gilmartin
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    Apr 20th 2022, 6:06 PM

    @P. Hansson: The only show I really had any interest on Prime was The Boys.

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    Mute Conor
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    Apr 20th 2022, 9:38 PM

    @Pete Gilmartin: try Goliath too

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    Mute Darren Lynch
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    Apr 20th 2022, 11:06 AM

    Have it but most likely I’ll cancel it soon

    105
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    Mute Mirabelle Stonegate
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    Apr 20th 2022, 1:20 PM

    @Darren Lynch: same. Im currently watching locke and key, but once in finished that, I’ll be cancelling, as there’s nothing else currently that I’m interested in.

    33
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    Mute Colleen
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    Apr 20th 2022, 11:00 AM

    I cancelled a few months ago. Price keeps going up and not enough good new content.

    109
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    Mute Dick Barrett
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    Apr 20th 2022, 11:33 AM

    I do not have a Netflix subscription. Instead, I have a life.

    72
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    Mute James Lough
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    Apr 20th 2022, 2:14 PM

    @Dick Barrett: what are you doing on here ?

    140
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    Mute Dave
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    Apr 20th 2022, 3:45 PM

    @Dick Barrett: Imagine people thinking you have no life because you have a netflix subscription… lol

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    Mute Garreth Fitzpatrick
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    Apr 20th 2022, 5:51 PM

    @James Lough: The simplest retorts are still the best. I enjoyed this one James!

    13
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    Mute David
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    Apr 20th 2022, 10:37 AM

    If you have a Sky account make sure to pay your Nextflix sub through them as it’s only a 6.99 a month add on.

    66
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    Mute D. Memery
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    Apr 20th 2022, 10:51 AM

    @David: when I spoke to sky they were going to charge me €7.99, deducted monthly, instead I paid direct to Netflix for a full year and got it for €79. In effect 2 months free by committing and going direct

    39
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    Mute Dave Nevin
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    Apr 20th 2022, 11:06 AM

    @D. Memery: How do pay annually for Netflix?
    I only see monthly option on my account.
    I pay annually for Disney+

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    Mute Sue OB
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    Apr 20th 2022, 11:48 AM

    @David: i was going to do that but i only have 1 sky box so i wouldnt be able to watch netflix in bed on tv

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    Mute David
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    Apr 20th 2022, 11:57 AM

    @Sue OB: You can still use it on a device as well as TV.

    16
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    Mute Credalytics ☘️
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    Apr 20th 2022, 11:07 AM

    Already cancelled it after they hosted paedophilic movies like Cuties.

    Netflix is societal degeneracy dressed up as entertainment.

    77
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    Mute Ken Fallon
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    Apr 20th 2022, 11:24 AM

    @Credalytics ☘️: How do you know so much about that particular movie?

    53
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    Mute Credalytics ☘️
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    Apr 20th 2022, 11:38 AM

    @Ken Fallon:

    How do you know so little ?

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    Mute Sandra Duffy
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    Apr 20th 2022, 7:41 PM

    @Credalytics ☘️: you really missed the point of that movie. It was an expose of the rampant sexualisation of youngsters, not a celebration of it.

    17
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    Mute TomTraubert
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    Apr 20th 2022, 7:58 PM

    @Sandra Duffy: he misses the point quite often tbf.

    16
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    Mute Barry Buckley
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    Apr 20th 2022, 11:45 AM

    Have Netflix since it became available in Ireland, latest price increase had me informing them that I said no to it and cancelled my subscription, so come 28th of this month, Goodbye. Have a Firestick so I have what Netflix has on my movie apps and no subscription, also use a free VPN and can watch up to date movies and series for free.

    47
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    Mute Rochelle
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    Apr 20th 2022, 11:50 AM

    Subbed to it for a long time but the latest price rises have it reaching a point where it’s becoming too much, especially with the rise of other competing services like Disney+, Amazon Prime and Apple TV.

    I think in future I might just rotate between the different streaming services each month.

    38
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    Mute Ann Reddin
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    Apr 20th 2022, 4:08 PM

    @Rochelle: I pay for Prime on my broadband bill, but when it comes to Netflix I subscribe for a month, cancel it for two and then subscribe for another month. There is not enough new content on it to keep paying for it every month so I binge the new stuff I want to watch, for the month I have it. And particularly with the new “weekly” episodes, rather than the whole series, it’s not worth it.

    26
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    Mute Liam Mc Meel
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    Apr 20th 2022, 11:20 AM

    I use 7 illegal movie apps which show tv shows so would never pay for Netflix

    39
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    Mute Quiet Goer
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    Apr 20th 2022, 10:34 AM

    No I don’t use any of these DRM services. The odd few fillims I watch in the year I just torrent

    31
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    Mute John Moylan
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    Apr 20th 2022, 12:34 PM

    I’m already teetering – I share it with my kids, and it’s only 1-screen at a time. In reality even they don’t use it that much. But, if Netflix go down the rabbit hole on this they won’t get any subscription and I’ll cancel and they see how they like them onions.

    30
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    Mute Gerard Cummins
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    Apr 20th 2022, 12:44 PM

    The last price increase was the end of my subscription, equally as good much less expensive options out there.

    18
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    Mute Soeren Kuehling
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    Apr 20th 2022, 11:37 AM

    I watch a lot of the korean stuff (with subtitles) on netflix which I can’t see anywhere else legally (vpn doesn’t work most of the time) so that’s the main reason I keep it. paying for HD/2 screens because that’s still decent quality on a 4k monitor/TV.

    18
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    Mute Christopher Fagan
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    Apr 20th 2022, 1:53 PM

    I do but I don’t pay Irish prices. Signing up through Turkey the top plan is less than 5 euro a month and you get same Irish content, that’s with a 41% increase just after being added on recently.

    Its handy for the kids but If this way gets cut off I wont be paying 20.99 a month.

    17
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    Mute Veronica
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    Apr 20th 2022, 11:24 AM

    Have plenty with Amazon Prime!

    16
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    Mute Fred spins kdb
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    Apr 20th 2022, 11:14 AM

    Use my brother’s one. Thanks, lad.

    22
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    Mute Donal Desmond
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    Apr 20th 2022, 11:33 AM

    @Fred spins kdb: Same here. Think it is very selfish of him canceling his subscription. Trying to get him to subscribe to Disney plus which you can also share..It will also be cheaper for him. Can’t understand why he is like a dog with me at the moment.

    34
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    Mute Jane Alford
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    Apr 20th 2022, 12:08 PM

    I get a month’s subscription when I have the money to pay for it, I then immediately cancel. I definitely don’t do a rolling subscription.

    13
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    Mute Ann Reddin
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    Apr 20th 2022, 4:12 PM

    @Jane Alford: That’s what I do too. I subscribe for a month, binge on the new content and seasons then cancel it and subscribe again two months later, when there’s enough new stuff to watch.

    6
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    Mute Laura Clayton
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    Apr 20th 2022, 1:14 PM

    I cancelled mine a few months ago and opened a prime acc instead. Cheaper and there’s more on it.

    12
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    Mute Aaron Hoare
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    Apr 20th 2022, 1:49 PM

    No opinion for no because the new price is insane? I’d pay more for a bundle of services but to have each is not financially viable

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    Mute Anna Carr
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    Apr 20th 2022, 4:47 PM

    I used to have one, but didn’t think it was worth the money.

    8
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    Mute Mrs Doyle
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    Apr 21st 2022, 7:50 PM

    I will be cancelling my subscription soon, as soon as hubby has finished watching Ozark.

    1
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    Mute Fon_Ellard
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    Apr 21st 2022, 11:04 AM

    I probably have too many subscriptions, Netflix, Prime (poor PrimeVideo Ireland version) and Starzplay – all because of maybe one series per streaming service that I’d actually watch.

    How will this new control work? I have no Wifi or broadband at home (barely even a phone signal to be honest), I usually download a show or series when I do have access to connection, then watch later. I saw on The Six O’Clock Show on Virgin Media last evening, they said it was going to be restricted to your home broadband account – I don’t have one.

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