Church and state

WHEN the Vatican recalled its envoy in Dublin, Archbishop Giuseppe Leanza, on July 25th it marked a low point in diplomatic relations between Ireland and the Holy See. The papal nuncio's sudden departure came after an outspoken attack by the Irish taoiseach (prime minister), Enda Kenny, on Rome's interference in Irish affairs. Mr Kenny accused the Vatican of undermining the work of an official inquiry into clerics' sexual abuse of children in a Catholic diocese, Cloyne.

Over a 13-year period to 2009, most of the 19 alleged cases of child abuse by priests in Cloyne were not reported to the civil authorities. The Cloyne inquiry report, Ireland's fourth investigation into child sexual abuse by clerics, laid most of the blame on the bishop of Cloyne, John Magee, who resigned in March 2010 (he had been private secretary to three popes). The report found that Bishop Magee had misled an earlier inquiry and failed to implement child-protection procedures set up by Irish bishops in 1996. The Vatican dismissed these procedures as “merely a study document” and, the report claimed, was “entirely unhelpful” to any bishops who wanted to implement them. Last year Pope Benedict XVI apologised to victims of sexual abuse by members of the clergy.