Ireland's justice minister says a new investigation into Catholic Church concealment of child abuse by priests demonstrates that church officials cared more about protecting their reputation than the welfare of children.

The report published Wednesday details how church leaders in a rural Cork diocese suppressed evidence of complaints against 19 priests from 1996 to 2009. The report pinned most blame on the area's bishop, John Magee, who resigned last year.

It is the fourth government-ordered report into Catholic cover-ups. Previous probes covered two other dioceses and a network of workhouse-style residential schools for children.

Wednesday's report found that Magee ignored the Irish church's explicit 1996 instructions to begin telling police about all suspected cases.

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