Vatican recalls Irish ambassador over child sex abuse row

Giuseppe Leanza returns to Rome after Irish prime minister accuses Catholic church of attempting to frustrate Cloyne inquiry The Vatican has recalled its ambassador to Ireland after the publication of a devastating report criticising the church’s handling of clerical sex abuse in county Cork. Vatican Radio said the papal nuncio, Giuseppe Leanza, was being called back to Rome for consultations over the Cloyne report , which accused the church authorities, right up to the Vatican itself, of frustrating attempts by Irish police to investigate numerous complaints against priests relating to child sexual abuse. The Irish prime minister, Enda Kenny, launched a blistering attack last week on the Vatican for what he said was an attempt to frustrate the Cloyne inquiry. He accused the Vatican of downplaying the rape of children in order to protect its power and reputation. The Taoiseach said that since making that speech, he had been inundated with thousands of messages ofsupport. His Fine Gael party has traditionally been one of the two main parties protective of the power and privilege of the Catholic church in Ireland. Speaking in Donegal at the weekend, Kenny said he was “astounded” by the response to his words. “The fact that I have had thousands of messages from around the world speaks for itself about the impact and the way people feel,” he said. “The numbers of members of the clergy who have been in touch in the last few days to say it is about time somebody spoke out about these matters in a situation like you are, has astounded me.” After his address to the McGill summer school, Kenny received a standing ovation from the participants. Vatican Ireland Catholicism Enda Kenny Religion Europe Italy Henry McDonald guardian.co.uk

Posted by on July 25, 2011. Filed under News, Politics, World News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.