Martin: Child abuse scandals not yet over
Archbishop of Dublin Dr Diarmuid Martin has said that the scandal of clerical child sexual abuse is not over and that safeguards for children must remain in place.
"There is a real danger today of people saying: ‘The child abuse scandal is over. Let’s bury it. Let’s move on’," he said in an interview to be broadcast on US network television tomorrow.
"It isn’t over. Child protection and the protection of children is something that will go on for the rest of our lives and into the future. Because the problems are there."
In the interview with CBS television's '60 Minutes' programme, Dr Martin said the Irish Catholic Church has reached "a breaking point" due to the scandals.
"It has reached a breaking point," he said. "It is at a very difficult stage."
He is then asked to what extent the crisis in the Church is due to the sexual scandals to which he replies: "Enormously."
The primetime current affairs programme will be seen by millions of US viewers tomorrow night.
