Ahern receives child abuse report

Dublin, Ireland - A new report into child abuse, which goes to the heart of how the Catholic Church in Dublin is run, will be handed to the Irish Justice Minister later.

The report is expected to be as shocking as the Ryan Report published earlier this year.

It will name 15 priests, 11 of whom have been convicted.

It focuses on how bishops in Dublin handled allegations of child sex abuse against a number of priests between 1975 and 2004.

It's understood the report has identified up to 450 victims of abuse.

A three member commission, led by Judge Yvonne Murphy, has been investigating a representative sample of 46 priests, who have had complaints made against them, over three decades since 1975.

Archbishop of Dublin Diarmuid Martin said their examination of church and State responses to complaints will horrify and shock.

Justice Minister Dermot Ahern may not be able to publish all of the report immediately because it names two priests who are before the courts.

The Minister can ask the High Court to decide whether publishing findings about the men risks prejudicing criminal proceedings against them.

Earlier this year the Ryan report into child abuse at institutions run by monks and nuns in Ireland found that sexual, physical and emotional abuse was endemic.