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Updated 13.34pm
THE PAPAL NUNCIO, the representative of the Pope in Ireland, has been recalled to the Vatican.
Vatican Radio reports that Giuseppe Leanza has been recalled. This follows criticism of the Vatican by the authors of the report into the Catholic Church’s handling of clerical sex abuse in the Cloyne diocese. Vatican Radio says that Leanza is to attend “consultations” in the Vatican to discuss the findings of the Cloyne report.
Fr Ciro Benedettini, vice-director of the Vatican Press Office, released further information just before lunchtime to say that the recall was “intended primarily” to allow for consultation with those working on the ground in Ireland “in order to prepare the official answer of the Holy See to the Irish Government” on the Cloyne report. He continued:
The recalling of the Nuncio, a measure rarely used by the Holy See, denotes the seriousness of the situation, and the desire of the Holy See to deal with it (with) objectivity and with determination, as well as a certain note of surprise and regret regarding some excessive reactions.
The Apostolic Nunciature in Ireland has not yet responded to TheJournal.ie‘s request for comment on the recall. Tanaiste and Foreign Affairs Minister Eamon Gilmore has released a statement saying that the Vatican’s decision to recall the Papal Nuncio “is a matter for the Holy See”. He continued:
The Government is awaiting the response of the Holy See to the recent report into the Catholic Diocese of Cloyne and it is expected that the Vatican would wish to consult in depth with the Nuncio on its response.
The Vatican’s reference to “some excessive reactions” is thought to refer in part to Taoiseach Enda Kenny’s strong speech in the Dail last week. He condemned the response of the Vatican to the mismanagement and the implementation of child safety guidelines by Cloyne clerical authorities. He said that the revelations contained in the report “excavates the dysfunction, the disconnection, the elitism that dominates the Vatican today”. He continued:
The rape and torture of children were downplayed (in favour of upholding) the primacy of the institution, its power, standing and reputation.
This, he said, was a calculated approach by the Vatican and “the polar opposite of the radicalism, the humility and the compassion upon which the Roman Church was founded”.
Tanaiste and Foreign Affairs Minister Eamon Gilmore summoned Leanza to demand an official reponse from the Vatican two weeks ago but none has been forthcoming.
The statement from the Vatican Press Office doesn’t reveal much – but it does highlight the main reason for the recall is “the reactions” that followed the publication of the report:
Following the publication on 13 July, of the Irish government’s Commission of Inquiry Report into allegations of abuse of minors by clergy of the diocese of Cloyne, otherwise known as the ‘Cloyne Report’ and, in particular, the reactions that have followed, the Secretary of State has recalled the Apostolic Nuncio to Ireland, HE Archbishop Giuseppe Leanza for consultations.
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Good. Lets not allow him back in.
Aye !! And take a few more with ya, Mr Nuncio. Over the years, ye had no problem condemning people from the alter. Don’t tell us you all didn’t “understand” child abuse. Just go away.
@Declan- good point, if they knew it was a sin to look at a girl- how did they not know that the rape and torture of innocent children and then covering it up wasn’t a sin?
Absolutely, Dave.
Good riddance to bad rubbish! Please keep him at the pedo palace and don’t let him darken the shores of Ireland again. Where’s Magee, the dirty little coward, is he still hiding abroad instead of having the balls to face up to his responsibilities? Also, it’s time we heard from the CEO of the catholic church, he should be made to answer some questions given the buck stops with him as head of the catholic church.
We see rupert Murdoch dragged before an enquiry for the actions of 1% of his media empire. Why is the pope not summoned before an enquiry considering the much harsher and more cruel and evil things his reps got up to. Can’t use the age card as rupert is no spring chicken and aren’t all men equal in the eyes of the church, therefore the CEO of the evil empire should be made do what all other men are made do. Time we stopped treating these guys as lords and treating them as the mere mortal cult leaders they inevitably are!
well say diarmaid
Pity that Brady, Martin, Magee & the rest of those paedophile supporters weren’t on the plane with him.
Diarmuid Martin is one of the nicest bishops we have. He’s been landed with this mess and he’s doing all he can to clean it up. He genuinely wants to get to the bottom of this. He was nearly in tears on Six One the other day. He is in no way a pedophile supporter.
Bishop Diarmuid Martin has stood up to the Vatican .Please don’t lump him in with alt he other priests and monsignors and bishops who stood back and did nothing about the abuse ! As for governments not doing anything , finally this one is thanks to Enda Kenny .
It was either be recalled or be booted out. I’d be happier with the former. Won’t help the victims in the long run tho sadly.
Except being recalled is seen as a rebuke of Ireland.
They have got some nerve.
The man in BLOCK CAPITALS has a very valid point. There is no denying that the ultimate perpetrators of the abuse are members of the clergy, that it was systematic and there was a concerted cover up as well.
On the other hand, the Irish public and state institutions also played a part by not acting when they should. Let’s face Irish society was quite happy to dump it’s “fallen women” into this institutions. A handy way of getting rid of a problem.
When Frank Crummy was on the late late show decades ago and raised the question of abuse, he was heckled by the crowd, heckled by the audience, he was hurled abuse on the street as where his kids in school and I believe also lost his job as a result. This was all by otherwise good people who thought the status quo was acceptable and how could you dare question it.
The reality is that many of those who were in institutions were there because they were marginalised by society and a problem solved. It seems that nobody wanted or was bothered to enquire into their well being as it might mean have to deal with the “problem” over again.
We see various repeats where citizens and officials were quite happy to row in behind the unquestionable clergy. Even today we see a convicted sex offender working in a school in Donegal where he re-offended. One wonders will any officials be brought to book for this.
Irish society maybe all the wiser and while the clergy are the ultimate perpetrators we simply can’t just point the finger and say it was all their fault. Society and officialdom stood idly by when actions were needed.
Well said, not just the church who are answerable here although at least the state has committed to making restitution, the church just don’t seem to get they did anything wrong.
well say brian
Generally this term means that the ambassador is being recalled as a form of protest or is going to be reassigned to another mission. The ambassador doesn’t seem to have done anything out of line with his duties that would cause him to be reassigned. So it can only be taken as a form of protest regarding Kenny’s speech.
Perhaps we should have expelled an official from the Nuncio as a sign of our displeasure or look at merging the Irish embassies in Rome and the Vatican.
There’s a lot to be said in favour of Kenny’s speech but the State and public also conveniently looked the opposite direction on many an occasion. What were FG doing about it when in or out of office? Not a whole lot either unfortunately.
The Health Boards over the long years, reported abuses to the Gardaí, who sat on the files. Bob Geldof had it right when he sang about the Black and Blue Uniforms. They stood together. They’ll fall together.
The last time the Irish clergy ignored Rome [pre-1000AD] the Pope allegely charged an English King with bringing them into line. Now we have the Irish State calling the Pope to account, while the states own response has been poor to say the least. A bit of irony lost to history perhaps.
There is a lot of corruption, croneyism and bullying in both the Church and the Garda Síochána that has yet to be exposed to the cold light of day and dealt with. A polite note telling the Papal Nuncio not to return might be in order.
Don’t bother coming back. Tell ratzinger to call all clergy back and keep them
out!!!
Not all clergymen are bad remember!
Why did the so called good clergy stay silent???? They are equally as to blame for not reporting them. They well knew what was going on!!!
Very interesting turn of events. Are the Church getting all butt hurt because Enda told them what the score was.
The entire church may not be responsible but enough of them did cover up crimes and put pressure on the parents not to prosecute. The church abused it’s power for too long.
The time is now for Ireland to become a great Republic free from the self serving influences of the church.
Tried the “Great Republic” thing.. blamed the Brits for all ills.. wound up stony broke and in debt up to the oxters!! Blaming a religious Institution, albeit one as lamentably corrupt as Rome is not the answer, rather look at the machinery, or lack of same, in place to deal with that very corruption endemic in the upper strata of our society. Then you may see less turning the blind eye, for fear of reprisal.
They’ve got some neck recalling him!!!
Kenny was right about their arrogance.
Recalling your ambassador is seen as a rebuke to the country he is recalled from so the Vatican is unhappy with Ireland.
KENNY WAS RIGHT 2 CONDEM THE ABJECT FAILURE OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH IN RELATION TO “CHILD ABUSE”.BUT 2 BLAME THE ENTIRE SCENARIO ON THE CHURCH IS WRONG. SUCCESSIVE GOVERNMENTS FAILED THE INSTITUTIONAL CHILDREN ;THE HEALTH BOARDS – THE HSE’S – THE GARDAI – THE SCHOOL INSPECTORS WHO “INSPECTED” ARTANE KNEW WHAT WAS GOING ON AND DID NOTHING – THAT’S THE REAL STORY OF FAILURE HERE – POLITICIANS USUALLY SAY “THINGS ” IN THE DAIL 2 HIDE BAD UPCOMING NEWS – AND MORE BAD NEWS TO COME.
Too shouty; didn’t read.
Shhhhhhh the death notices are on!!!
I thumbed down just because of the caps.
Get your point. We all carry siome responsibility. It was not just a church thing. The state entrusted the moral guidance of the population to the church when the state was founded. The atrocities carried out in the civil war resulted in a very unstable first government that had only the support of a section of the population. The catholic church had garnered the support of a dejected Irish population from post famine years , after Cardinal Paul Cullen. They were the only ones with moral authority after the civil war. They then used this authority to bully successive governments and successive governments duly paid the relevant respect to the Roman Church. It was this partnership that allowed the abuse of generations of Irish children go unchecked. Game up.
Caps Man has a valid point, since breaking away from the UK and then subjecting ourselves to Rome rule instead the Irish theocracy was so awe of the Vatican that every aspect of life was tainted with their meddling and backwards ways, our education system was hijacked by them and used for their own propaganda and rituals, the censorship laws presided over by the bishop of Dublin made the country a laughing stock, the lack of contraception, divorce the whole social policy of the country was being dictated by the catholic church. The Garda, the politicians, the civil service and yes the Irish people were all complicit in the shameful treatment of the victims. I read an article in the indo yesterday about the ‘good’ priests, well where were the good priests when all this was happening, where were all the good Irish people, even now the country is riddled with those who still see the Vatican as their master, Garda who serve Rome not Ireland and politicians who are members of Opus Dei and other ultra catholic sects who will undermine any attempt to free Ireland from the dark influence of the Vatican. Recalling the nuncio is just another way of putting us down, it’s a slap in the face for Kenny and the Irish. We should have kicked him out before they pulled him out!
I was taught in school mostly by priests and looking back they were intelligent, decent, honest men who of course had some of the normal human frailties but were fundamentally good people. I feel sorry for these guys, they have been badly let down by their leadership.
Some good points there. Like many people say “but the church built schools when there were none and built institutions etc etc etc”….of course they did, they needed a network through which to administer their own rule over all aspects of life. Almost all Irish people alive today have been exposed in varying degree to their dogma from birth and it’s only through our opening up to modern thought and other cultures and perspectives that we have begun to question…that’s why their control is now dwindling. We finally have the chance to build a society based on civility, from our own means, not have their version or anyone else’s imposed upon us.
Good riddance to garbage!
The sad part is, he will return with more PR spin and schite pompous, useless speeches.
Shut the door on your way out Papal Nancio.
We should have sent him back before he was recalled !!!
If anyone is any doubt of how far the catholic church will stoop to avoid facing up to it’s responsibilities and having to pay compensation to it’s victims then just read this from the Guardian, http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/jul/24/priests-abuse-catholic-legal-plea
They have some cheek acting all affronted, it will be interesting to see what they come back with. Can they hurt us financially I wonder?
Seems to me rather that we (the State) could hurt them financially by taking ownership of school properties as per the current education reform agenda as well as taking further properties as compensation for the grievances they have committed. And if it’s lost philanthropic funding you’re thinking of, I would say there are a host of NGOs out there in fact being selectively obstructed by the Church which in their absence will happily fill that need.
Statement by Barbara Dorris of St. Louis, Outreach Director of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (314 862 7688 home, 314 503 0003 cell, SNAPdorris@gmail.com)
The Popes representative in Ireland should be expelled, not recalled. Just a year and a half ago, Leanza refused to cooperate with Irish authorities who were investigating clergy sex crimes and cover ups, hiding behind the technicalities of formal diplomatic procedures, instead of acting responsibly and putting the safety of kids first.
He has still never adequately explained or been held responsible for his callous actions which, we suspect, were dictated by his supervisors at the Vatican.
The Pope should not officially respond to the Cloyne report until he is ready to announce specific, proven prevention steps that better protect kids. An official response that consists of just words would only add insult to injury.
The Catholic hierarchy has ignored, minimized and concealed horrific crimes against kids for centuries, and continues to do so now. It knows what to do. It doesn’t need months or weeks or even days to take appropriate action.
(SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, is the worlds oldest and largest support group for clergy abuse victims. We’ve been around for 23 years and have more than 10,000 members. Despite the word priest in our title, we have members who were molested by religious figures of all denominations, including nuns, rabbis, bishops, and Protestant ministers. Our website is SNAPnetwork.org)
Contact – David Clohessy (314-566-9790 cell, SNAPclohessy@aol.com), Barbara Blaine (312-399-4747, SNAPblaine@gmail.com), Peter Isely (414-429-7259, peterisely@yahoo.com), Barbara Dorris (314-862-7688 home, 314-503-0003 cell, SNAPdorris@gmail.com)
Hope he didn’t buy a return ticket!
“Excessive reactions”? That’s a laugh
If it were only funny!
Ah here lighten up
They should remove that bing bong noise off the radio at 6 0 clock as well. RTE is the states radio station not the churches.
Enda Kennys boorish behaviour has disgraced Ireland across the world. His childish and inaccurate rant was playing to the Irish media gallery. He doesnt care about victims, no more than do most catholic bashers on this site. Look at how the Duke of Edinburgh went to Glasgow airport to greet the Pope. Look at the courtest afforded him by the Queen. Look at how the Israeli jews and arabs received him. Look at the respect shown by Obama when he visited him in Rome. But bogman paddygo backward boorish irishman Enda Kenny….well he knows better. His rant has not protected a single child, while they are being abused by the Irish state and dying in its care. But who cares because we cant bash the Church over it. Yes, the nuncio should stay away and teach Kenny a lesson in diplomacy. Let Ireland be the odd man out on the world stage with no Vatican nuncio. I hope no Irish politician is invited to the next big Vatican event.
Like, who gives a shit if he goes. Will the World stop turning? I don’t think so.
The same way we call priests father, could we call Papal Nuncio “Papa”? Papa! Papa!
If Christ came back I feel he would clear out the Vatican the same way he cleared out the temple
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