The really important feature of the story of church abuse in Ireland, was that the Murphy report, which resulted in special attention by Pope Benedict XVI and paved the way for an opening of the floodgates of disclosure across Europe, was that it was an investigation by a national government, not into the abuse itself, but into the cover-ups: in effect, this was an investigation into the affairs and modus operandi of Catholic Church itself. IT may be this example that has prompted the German government to plan a similar investigation of their own, although the Chancellor Angela Merkel has said it will cover more than just the Catholic Church.
The Murphy report, though did not cover all of Ireland, just the diocese of Dublin. With the peculiar political structure of a divided Ireland, it was perhaps inevitable that the government of Northern Ireland should want an enquiry of their own, and now it seems they are going to get one. (Technically, this is part of a separate country, the UK, but falls under the jurisdiction of Cardinal Brady, who is primate not just of the Irish Republic, but is "Primate of all Ireland".) Like Germany, this will investigate abuse across a wide range of institutions, not just the Catholic Church.
Together with the German investigation, this will surely encourage still more governments to conduct inquiries of their own.
