Abuse Compensations Rejected, Straits Times (Singapore), May 26, 2009

Abuse Compensations Rejected

Straits Times (Singapore)
May 26, 2009

http://www.straitstimes.com/Breaking%2BNews/World/Story/STIStory_381805.html

DUBLIN - IRISH Roman Catholic religious orders which ran homes where children were abused for decades ruled out Monday renegotiating a disputed deal for compensating the victims.

The announcement came despite pressure from Cardinal Sean Brady, leader of the Catholic Church in Ireland, for the orders to do more following a major report last week which exposed widespread abuse in church-run institutions.

The report, which revealed sexual and physical abuse of children in the homes dating back to the 1930s.

In another development, police said they had appointed a senior officer to examine the report to see if any criminal charges should follow.

In the 2002 deal, the Catholic orders capped their share of the compensation bill for abuse victims at 128 million euros (177 million dollars), but opposition politicians have called on the government to renegotiate.

Not all of these monies have yet been handed over to the state, underscoring calls for a renegotiation.

Cardinal Brady added his voice to these calls Monday, saying: 'It should be revisited taking into account the potential of people to pay.

'The needs above all of the victims, we have to keep coming back to that.' He spoke as the 12 most senior Irish bishops gathered outside Dublin to consider their response to the report, which revealed sexual and physical abuse of children in the homes dating back to the 1930s.

In a statement afterwards, they apologised to 'those so cruelly abused' and said the report was a 'significant step in establishing the truth.' They did not directly address the religious orders' announcement, but said: 'We will work closely with religious congregations and institutes in addressing the needs of survivors of abuse and in the healing process.' In an article in the Irish Times earlier, the Archbishop of Dublin, Diarmuid Martin, urged the orders to 'invest substantially' in supporting the abused.

A government body has already paid out almost one billion euros in compensation and legal fees to around 12,500 of the more than 14,500 victims who claim they were abused in the institutions.

Compensation has been sought by Irish people now living in more than 30 countries. The average award is about 65,000 euros, with those most severely abused getting up to 300,000 euros.