Irish government releases `damning' abuse report

A special commission sponsored by the Irish government criticized a
bishop for failing to report allegations of clerical sexual abuse to
police and noted "concerns" about the same bishop's own interactions
with a teenage boy.

The commission's report, published on July 13,
is based on a two-and-half-year investigation of the Diocese of Cloyne
in the wake of sexual abuse allegations made against 19 priests between
1996 and 2009.

Investigators faulted the diocese for failing to
inform police about 15 allegations of clerical sexual abuse, including
two cases in which the alleged victims were still minors at the time the
accusations were made.