At least 1,000 children identified in the investigation were raped in Catholic places of worship, in schools, and in diocesan owned vehicles.

Pity and punish the powerful but take no delight in their fall.

The state’s attorney general said that his office’s two-year investigation identified 301 priests who abused children and more than 1,000 victims.

Beginning in the mid-1990s, the church in Ireland was rocked by a series of very public revelations about sexual abuse and, particularly, about how the abuse and allegations of it were mishandled by senior church leaders.

The new report finds evidence of appalling sexual and physical mistreatment of students as young as 7, as well as a culture of secrecy, at two abbey schools.

"This transparency and objectivity I promise you will include a thorough review of our safe environment policies and procedures by an outside investigator," Bishop Conley said.