A religious statue sits amid rubble left by an earthquake in La Pezca, Chile which left more than 700 people dead. Photo: CNS
    Bishop Noel Treanor, Fr Magorrian CC and Fr McCaughan PP celebrated the confirmation ceremony for students in St Patrick's Church, Lisburn, Co. Antrim
    Catholic Guides of Ireland marking their National Thinking Day when guide movements all over the world remember their guiding friends. Photo: Paul McGovern
    Primary Pupils of the vibrant Christ the Redeemer Parish in Lagmore, Belfast
    Pat Brady of Tynan, Co Armagh with family members celebrating his receipt of a Bene Merenti Medal in recognition of his services as Sacristan at St Joseph's Church, Tynan
    Bishop Noel Treanor of Down and Connor with pupils and staff of St Teresa's Primary in Belfast during the opening of the school's new Speech and Language Centre
    Pope Benedict XVI addresses the Irish bishops during their two-day Vatican meeting to discuss the crisis in the Irish Church
    Trócaire NI launches its 'Party Against Poverty' as part of this year's Lenten campaign where GAA players will organise fundraising parties
    Parishioners of the Diocese of Killaloe take part in a Walk of Atonement for survivors of clerical abuse
    Representatives of St Jospehs Young Priests Society meeting President Mary McAleese at Aras an Uachtaráin in Dublin.

    Top Stories

    Abuse era 'ending'

    Expert hails bishops' commitment to child protection policies

    Paul Keenan

    The era of abuse that has scarred the Irish Church is ''coming to and end'', a leading expert in child protection has said.

    Ian Elliott, chief executive of the National Board for Safeguarding Children in the Catholic Church (NBSCCC) states his belief that ''a uniform commitment to change has taken root across dioceses'' that was not evident in previous years.''A shift in attitude and behaviour has happened,'' Mr Elliott writes in this week's Irish Catholic, ''[and] that change should be acknowledged.''

    Reflecting on the recent negative coverage of the Irish bishops' visit to discuss the abuse crisis with Pope Benedict, Mr Elliott states that a single important factor has been missed by...

    Sex abuse scandal in Germany growing

    The full scale of the clerical abuse scandal in Germany continues to unfold.

    Since allegations against members of the Jesuit Order began to surface at the renowned private Catholic Canisius Kolleg in Berlin in January, the number of former Jesuit students coming forward to allege clerical abuse has grown to 120. There have also been allegations of rape among other accusations levelled against 12 named priests. Of this number, three have admitted abusing students in their care during the 1970s and '80s.

    The number of schools involved has also increased as the investigation widens, to include Jesuit institutions in Hamburg, St Blasien in southern Germany and Hildesheim near Hanover.

    The lawyer appointed to act on behalf of the Jesuit Order, Ursula Raue said the case...
    The View: Is the response to the Pope's letter already predictable? - John Waters

    No matter what gesture the Church or the Pope come to make in an attempt to address recent revelations about clerical abuse in the Irish Church, it is unlikely to satisfy a society in which many forces are at play which the Church does not appear to understand.

    Often, these days, one is moved to think that the leaders of the Roman Catholic Church, in Ireland or the Vatican, have a minimal understanding of the culture into which they must speak. Last week, when the Irish bishops went to Rome to discuss with the Pope and his officials the continuing crisis in the Irish Church, it was as if nobody involved had been able to predict what was obvious and inevitable.

    ...

    Creeping denial

    Is there a creeping denial coming into play now, a view that it would be an injustice for some bishops to resign? It appears that the Pope may not accept the two remaining bishops' resignations that are on his desk, namely those of Bishops Eamonn Walsh and Bishop Ray Field. Archbishop Martin's office is said to not know what the outcome will be which is quite an extraordinary admission.

    Meanwhile Bishop Drennan has refused to step down claiming that it would be an injustice. Bishop Noel Treanor and Baroness Nuala O'Loan last weekend backed this stance, in the case of Mrs O'Loan saying that there was no 'collective responsibility' under the archbishop of Dublin as he was in charge. However, Bishop Jim Moriarty has signalled that his resignation will be accepted.

    So what is...

    Comment

    The View - Nuala O'Loan

    The only bishops who were still in office at the time of the Murphy Report were Bishops Martin Drennan (Galway), James Moriarty (Kildare and Leighlin), Donal Murray (Limerick) Raymond Field and Eamonn Walsh (both auxiliaries in Dublin). At times relevant to the Murphy Report they were all auxiliary bishops. Bishop Murray has resigned, and his resignation has been accepted. Bishops Moriarty, Field and Walsh have tendered their resignations and await a decision from Rome. Bishop...

    The Editors Comments

    Survivors have taught clerics a lesson in basic Gospel principles

    Some of the Irish bishops addressed their congregations at the weekend in the form of Lenten letters and sought to reassure their flocks that a process is in place and that the Pope will, in his Pastoral Letter before Easter - the draft of which they have seen - testify to the fact that this issue is being treated seriously at the highest level.

    It is likely that the Pope will apologise to survivors and will talk about mandatory reporting, an issue which has dogged the bishops since 1996, among other things.

    Speaking to a bishop at the weekend, I made the observation that the Rome meeting had resulted in the impetus had been taken away from the survivors. He seemed shocked by this; the vast majority of bishops do 'get it' I believe and want to bring healing to the survivors. They went to Rome because they were all out of ideas on how to do this.

    Observing

    What I was observing, however, was not the sidelining of the survivors, but that the Rome meeting had put the Irish bishops inside a process, and by dashing expectations, put the bishops' timetable to the fore and removed the urgent 'demands' of the survivors.

    This is why the...