Mary McAleese has been called on to name and shame the Catholic cleric who laughed when she suggested he should ‘tell the people of God’ about sexual abuse within the church.
The former Irish President recently revealed that she had a showdown with a senior Catholic official. She said that she told him to be honest with the people and open records of sexual abuse which had caused numerous scandals in the 1980s and 90s. She warned him that if the church didn’t then the Irish state would.
McAleese said that the official laughed at the suggestion, saying: the state would never cross that line.”
However, the state didn’t back down and went on to reveal details of abuse. The church has never had the same influence over the people of Ireland since.
Now children’s charities are calling on McAleese to name the official who had laughed off her warning.
Mary Flaherty of Children at Risk said: “We need to know this person is no longer in a position of influence.
“It’s a very strange thing for her to bring something so serious halfway into the open. It’s an extremely concerning account, and the full information should definitely be in the public arena.”
Flaherty believes that it is McAlesse’s duty to name the cleric.