The leader of the Catholic Church in Ireland has said he is deeply sorry and ashamed about the widespread sexual abuse of children by priests.

爱尔兰天主教会首领称，他对广泛发生的神父性虐待儿童事件表示深深的歉意和惭愧。

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Cardinal Brady said children's welfare was now a priority

Cardinal Sean Brady also apologised for the way the Church covered up the abuse, which happened in Dublin.

He spoke² after an Irish government report revealed abuse over decades, a systematic³ cover-up by the Church, and a lack of action by the Irish police.

The Church put its own reputation（名誉，名声） ahead of the welfare（福利，社会保障） of children, it found.

The Report of the Commission of Investigation⁴ into the Catholic Archdiocese of Dublin covered a period from 1975 to 2004.

Some offending（不愉快的，厌恶的） priests were shifted from parish（教区） to parish, leaving them free to abuse again.

Cardinal Brady apologised to the victims and their families.

"I am deeply sorry and I am ashamed," he said.

The report also said that state authorities facilitated（帮助，促进） the cover-up by allowing the Church to operate outside the law.

Cardinal Brady extended his apology to all the people of Ireland for the lack of action by the Church.

"No-one is above the law（不受法律约束） in this country.

"Every Catholic should comply fully⁵ with their obligations to the civil law and co-operate with the Gardai in the reporting and investigation of any crime."

He said children's welfare was now a priority for the Church.

'Sorrow and shame'

The Irish government also immediately apologised.

"Whatever the historical and societal reasons for this, the government... apologises, without reservation or equivocation⁶（模糊话）, for failures by the agencies of the state in dealing⁷ with this issue," a government statement said.

The report investigated how Church and state authorities handled allegations of child abuse against 46 priests made by 320 children. Eleven priests were convicted of sexual assaults on children.

Irish Minister for Justice Dermot Ahern vowed⁸ to bring those who had carried out the abuse to justice, regardless of the amount of time that had passed.

Cardinal Brady's words were echoed by the current Archbishop of Dublin, Diarmuid Martin, who said he offered "to each and every survivor⁹, my apology, my sorrow and my shame for what happened to them".