Child abuse

The government-appointed commission said that at least three archbishops in office until 1987 largely ignored the complaints of child victims about incidents dating back as far as the 1940s. Instead, church officials maintained secrecy "obsessively" to protect abusive priests, the church's reputation and its assets.

The 720-page report by judge Yvonne Murphy and two other jurists examined how the church and state dealt with sexual abuse allegations lodged between 1975 until 2004. Complaints by victims were often denied and rarely investigated.

Archbishops did not begin reporting abuses to police until the mid-1990s, it concluded.

Catalogue of evil

Irish Justice Minister Dermot Ahern, presenting the report in Dublin, said the inquiry had catalogued "evil after evil" and showed an avoidance of scandal by the church on an "astonishing scale."

"In many cases the welfare of children counted for nothing and the abusers were left free to abuse," Ahern said. He promised there would be "no hiding place" for perpetrators.

The Murphy report concluded that Dublin's archdiocese formerly operated a policy of "don't ask, don't tell," allowing a minority of member priests to carry on abuses unchecked.

Complaints by over 320 children and a representative sample of 46 priests had made "abundantly clear" that abuse had once been widespread over a 30-year period. One priest had admitted to sexually abusing over 100 children, the report said.

Irish government apologizes

The Irish government, which on Tuesday had cleared the report for publication, said it apologized without equivocation for state failures in dealing with the scandals. Some details were removed so as not to jeopardize criminal proceedings.

Victims, who are now adults, welcomed the new report, saying it vindicates sufferers of abuse who in past years had been vilified by the church and even called liars.

Spokeswoman Maeve Lewis said some abuse could have been prevented if police had taken action earlier.

Diarmuid Martin, who took over as Dublin's archbishop after the period covered by investigators, said last year that eight Dublin priests had been convicted. Some 120 civil actions against 35 priests were pending.

On Thursday he added that "no words of apology will ever be sufficient. I offer to each and every survivor my apology, my sorrow and my shame for what happened."

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Similar abuse cover-up charges have dogged the Roman Catholic Church in numerous countries, including in the United States, where dioceses have faced lawsuits by abuse victims. Pope Benedict met victims during a visit in 2008.

Thursday's revelations in Ireland follow a similarly damning report in May which traced abuses at former Catholic-run special schools, reformatories and orphanages in Ireland back to the 1930s.

Amnesty International Ireland has called for an urgent referendum to enshrine children's rights in the Irish constitution.

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Editor: Kyle James