From Mr Christopher Keeffe
SIR – Philip Butler (Letters, January 8) rightly praises your coverage of the Murphy Report. Given that the report’s full title is Report by Commission of Investigation into the handling by Church and State authorities of allegations and suspicions of child abuse against clerics of the Catholic Archdiocese of Dublin, it strikes me that, while it is right and proper for the Church to reflect and take action to address previous abuse and to prevent it in the future, the report also highlighted failings by the civil authorities, the health boards and the Garda. I trust that the same ire will be heaped on the failings of the Garda and health boards to protect innocent victims.
Will the Garda and health boards provide compensation for their failures? Will senior Garda officers and health board officials be required to stand down? For the sake of equity those who failed victims in the Church should stand down and those likewise in the civil authorities should also.
Yours faithfully, CHRISTOPHER KEEFFE West Harrow, Middlesex