CarnalNation

Ireland's Catholic Church has apologised and admitted its shame after a new report showed it covered up child sex abuse over more than three decades. The Irish government also said sorry for failing to protect children after the latest report.

Following a three-year investigation in the Dublin Archdiocese, the country's largest, the report revealed widespread sexual, physical and emotional abuse of children in Catholic-run institutions dating back to the 1930s. One priest admitted to sexually abusing over 100 children, while another accepted that he had abused on a fortnightly basis over 25 years. It concluded that four archbishops routinely protected abusers and failed to inform police of the allegations.

The judicial probe discovered that the archbishops did not report abuse to police until the 1990s as part of a culture of secrecy and an over-riding wish to avoid damaging the reputation of the Church. The probe examined complaints of abuse of over 320 children involving a representative sample of 46 priests in the Dublin Archdiocese between 1975 and 2004.

Children who complained "were often met with denial, arrogance and cover-up and with incompetence and incomprehension in some cases. Suspicions were rarely acted on." Victims welcomed the new report. Human rights group Amnesty International called for an urgent referendum to enshrine children's rights in the Irish constitution to prevent future abuse.