Communiqué

On 14 July 2011, following the publication of the Report of the Commission of Investigation into the Diocese of Cloyne (Cloyne Report), Mr Eamon Gilmore, Deputy Prime Minister (Tánaiste) and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade of Ireland, in the course of a meeting with the Apostolic Nuncio in Ireland, Archbishop Giuseppe Leanza, requested him to convey to the Holy See a copy of the Cloyne Report together with the Irish Government’s views on the matters raised, to which the Minister requested a Response.

Recognising the seriousness of the crimes detailed in the Report, which should never have happened within the Church of Jesus Christ, and wishing to respond to the Irish Government’s request, the Holy See, after carefully examining the Cloyne Report and considering the many issues raised, has sought to respond comprehensively.

This morning, 3 September 2011, Monsignor Ettore Balestrero, Under-Secretary for Relations with States, met with Ms. Helena Keleher, Chargé d’Affaires, a.i. of the Embassy of Ireland to the Holy See, and consigned to her the Holy See’s Response to the Irish Government.

Here following the full text is published. Also published is an Executive Summary of it. For a fuller appreciation and understanding of the comprehensive information supplied by the Response, the reader is invited to read it in its entirety.