BISHOP of Kerry Dr Bill Murphy said this week that Pope Benedict XVI may have been better off apologising to victims of clerical sexual abuse directly after last week's historic meeting with Irish Bishops.

Speaking to The Corkman on Tuesday following his visit to the Vatican, Bishop Murphy said that the huge media attention had lifted expectations to unrealistic levels and added that an immediate apology from the Pope may have staved off negative publicity in the aftermath of the meeting.

"I think in hindsight now that it would have been better if it were included in view of the expectations that were raised," the Kerry Bishop stated.

"There were very, very high expectations, unrealistic expectations. Some even exceeded expectations and were more like fantasies by certain people in the media," he added.

Stating that he believed an apology will be forthcoming within weeks, Bishop Murphy said that people had misunderstood a Vatican statement issued after the meeting and said those words had not been directly issued by the Pope.

"It was not a statement by the Pope but from the people who took part in the press conference," he explained.

Asked if the imminent statement from the Pope will include the word 'apology', the Bishop said he could not answer that, despite observing a draft letter in Rome.

"He will be issuing his own statement and I certainly would expect his sadness and sorrow but I can't answer if the specific word apology is in it but the equivalent will be used. The letter is the next stage in the process, not the end."

Asked if he felt there had been enough apology at national level, the Bishop said that apologies had been forthcoming ever since 'Child Sexual Abuse Document – Framework for a Church Response' was published in January 1995, referring to an apology written by Cardinal Cathal Daly and John Byrne, President of the Conference of Religious in Ireland.

"Apologies have also came after the Ferns, Ryan and the Dublin reports. So people are often saying they're blue in the face from hearing apologies," he remarked.

Stating that the issue of sexual abuse went far beyond the clergy and Ireland, he added that he hoped the Pope's letter would have the affect of "making people more aware that it is a real serious problem with society".

Due to retire next year, the Bishop said he had spent a significant amount of his 15-year term addressing the issue.

"This issue broke around the time I became Bishop in 1995 and since then an awful lot of my time has been involved with it.

"Things now are very different from before 1995. Our problem today for people who came in around 1995 is that we are getting flack for what happened before we came in because the cases that are emerging have emerged in the 50s, 60s, 70s and 80s. We've had very little since 1995.

Asked if he felt the situation would have been dealt with differently by Pope John Paul II, the Bishop Murphy said:

"I don't think John Paul would have dealt with it as well as Pope Benedict. Cardinal Ratzinger was in charge with issuing the doctrine of the faith and since 2002 he has dealt with child abuse regarding procedures. John Paul wouldn't have had the same awareness of it at all."

- KEVIN HUGHES khughes@kerryman.ie