ROME, July 25 (UPI) -- The Vatican has recalled Archbishop Giuseppe Leanza to Rome following the release this month of the "Cloyne Report," which alleged a coverup about child abuse.
Vatican spokesman Ciro Benedettini said the bishop's recall "denoted the seriousness of the situation." He said the pope would "deal with it with objectivity and [with] determination."
Leanza was Rome's ambassador to Ireland.
The report found that clergy in the rural Irish diocese of Cloyne failed to act on complaints of abuse that were brought against 19 priests from 1996 to as recently as 2009, Vatican Radio reported Monday.
After the report's release, Irish lawmakers aimed their anger directly at the Vatican and not at local church leaders.
The report accused the bishop of the Diocese of Cloyne of ignoring complaints against priests and lying to authorities, The New York Times reported.
Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny criticized the Vatican, saying, "the dysfunction, disconnection, elitism and the narcissism that dominate the culture of the Vatican to this day" should end.
The Cloyne Report spurred Irish ustice Alan Shatter to propose legislation penalizing anyone who fails to report child abuse, even if the information is given to a priest during confession.
