The Vatican on Saturday rejected accusations from the Irish parliament that it had sought to cover up child sex abuse by its priests and undermine child protection laws. In its first formal response to the rebuke made by the Irish parliament in July, the Holy See said it was "sorry and ashamed" for the abuse of children by priests but that accusations of Vatican interference in Irish law were "unfounded".
"In this regard, the Holy See wishes to make it quite clear that it in no way hampered or sought to interfere in any inquiry into cases of child sex abuse in the Diocese of Cloyne," the Vatican said in a statement. "Furthermore, at no stage did the Holy See seek to interfere with Irish civil law or impede the civil authority in the exercise of its duties," it said.
The Vatican response follows a motion passed by the Irish parliament in July, accusing the Holy See of "undermining child protection frameworks" after a damning report into sexual abuse by priests in the diocese of Cloyne in county Cork. The Church's dominant position in traditionally Catholic Ireland has been shattered by reports.