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	Child Abuse Is Ireland's Great Shame The Anglo-Celt May 27, 2009 http://www.anglocelt.ie/news/comment/articles/2009/05/27/39938-child-abuse-is-irelands-great-shame/ The extent of child abuse in industrial schools in Ireland has been known for some years now but the publication of the Ryan Report on Wednesday has blown wide open the wounds for victims, religious organisations, the state and the country as a whole. The shocking detail of physical, sexual and emotional abuse and neglect in 216 schools is sickening to say the least. It made international headlines across the globe and cast a cloud of shame over the entire country. And so too should we all be ashamed – for bad things happen when good people stand by and do nothing. One of the most horrific findings uncovered in the report is how Brothers and individuals, known abusers, were moved around from school to school without any regard for the safety of the poor children in their care. The culture that existed protected (and enabled) the abusers, criminalised the innocent and vulnerable children and covered up the most horrific crimes. Little innocent children, in some cases, were beaten and raped, starved and humiliated. Some of their parents, who had fallen on hard times and may have been forced to put their children into care by the church, thought they were doing the best for their children. It is some small mercy that many of these good people had passed on before the litany of abuse in the schools was exposed. St. Joseph's Industrial School for girls in Cavan town, run by the Sisters of the Poor Clares, closed in 1967 after operating for almost 100 years in the town. There were no complaints before the Commission from former residents, though stories of physical abuse, starvation and neglect from the Cavan orphanage are well documented. Repeated apologies from various religious organisations are meaningless to victims whose entire lives have been haunted and scarred by the abuse they suffered at the hands of people who were supposed to be caring for them. Empty phrases such as 'learning from the past' are little consolation to victims and their families. And while the Ryan Report for the first time officially details and acknowledges the abuse and makes recommendations to prevent anything like this happening again, is it really closure for the victims? To think that the religious institutions involved should only contribute a tenth – capped at a mere €127m – towards a compensation fund for the abuse victims is ludicrous. Of course the State should shoulder some of the blame – for effectively abandoning these children and not regulating or monitoring the institutions charged with their care. But to allow such a cap to exist in the first place and expect taxpayers (many of the abuse victims themselves) to work to pay compensation is an insult. This deal needs to be looked at again. Not only that, criminal prosecutions must be brought against abusers uncovered by the work of the Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse. It is crazy to think that in this day and age they can still hide behind a religious organisation. If such crimes were alleged against ordinary lay people, they would be arrested by the gardaí and dealt with to the letter of the law. All recommendations detailed in the report must be implemented immediately. And for the abuse victims, all necessary support and counselling must continue to be freely available to help them come to terms with the abuse and allow them to reach their full potential and enjoy loving relationships and a fulfilled life into the future.
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