Acta Apostolicae Sedis - Commentarium Officiale706

made in responding to allegations. I recognize how difficult it was to grasp the

extent and complexity of the problem, to obtain reliable information and to make

the right decisions in the light of conflicting expert advice. Nevertheless, it must be

admitted that grave errors of judgement were made and failures of leadership

occurred. All this has seriously undermined your credibility and effectiveness. I

appreciate the efforts you have made to remedy past mistakes and to guarantee

that they do not happen again" (No. 11).

In the same Letter, His Holiness also called Bishops and religious superi-

ors to implement the Church's law regarding these crimes, to cooperate with

the civil authorities and to update and apply child safety norms fully and in

conformity with canon law: "Besides fully implementing the norms of canon

law in addressing cases of child abuse, continue to cooperate with the civil author-

ities in their area of competence. Clearly, religious superiors should do likewise.

They too have taken part in recent discussions here in Rome with a view to

establishing a clear and consistent approach to these matters. It is imperative

that the child safety norms of the Church in Ireland be continually revised and

updated and that they be applied fully and impartially in conformity with canon

law" (No. 11).

From the foregoing considerations, it should be clear that the Holy See

expects the Irish Bishops to cooperate with the civil authorities, to imple-

ment fully the norms of canon law and to ensure the full and impartial

application of the child safety norms of the Church in Ireland.

9. Concluding remarks

When he met with the Irish Bishops on the occasion of their ad limina

visit on 28 October 2006, Pope Benedict XVI expressed his concern about

child sexual abuse: "In the exercise of your pastoral ministry, you have had to

respond in recent years to many heart-rending cases of sexual abuse of minors.

These are all the more tragic when the abuser is a cleric. The wounds caused by

such acts run deep, and it is an urgent task to rebuild confidence and trust where

these have been damaged. In your continuing efforts to deal effectively with this

problem, it is important to establish the truth of what happened in the past, to take

whatever steps are necessary to prevent it from occurring again, to ensure that the