Enda Kenny

“ It is fair to say that after the Ryan and the Murphy reports, Ireland is, perhaps, unshockable when it comes to the abuse of children. But Cloyne has proved to be of a different order because, for the first time in this country, a report into child sexual abuse exposes an attempt by the Holy See to frustrate an inquiry in a sovereign, democratic republic as little as three years ago, not three decades ago. And in doing so, the Cloyne report excavates the dysfunction, the disconnection, the elitism that dominate the culture of the Vatican today. ”

“ Shatter is bringing forward two pieces of legislation: firstly, to make it an offence to withhold information relating to crimes against children and vulnerable adults; and secondly, at long last, to allow for the exchange of "soft information" on abusers.
As Taoiseach, I want to do all that I can to protect the sacred space of childhood and to restore its innocence, especially our young teenagers, because regardless of our current economic crisis, the children of this country are, and always will be, our most precious possession of all. ”

“ Clericalism has rendered some of Ireland's brightest and most privileged and powerful men either unwilling or unable to address the horrors cited in the Ryan and the Murphy reports. This Roman clericalism must be devastating for good priests, some of them old; others struggling to keep their humanity, even their sanity, as they work hard to be the keepers of the church's light and goodness within their parishes, within their communities, and the condition of the human heart. ”