BishopAccountability.org
	Silent March for Victims of Church Abuse By Claire Murphy Herald June 10, 2009 http://www.herald.ie/national-news/silent-march-for-victims-of-church-abuse-1768233.html Thousands were expected to march in Dublin today in support of the victims of institutional child abuse. Organisers asked participants to wear a white ribbon and bring a child's shoe to symbolise the young people who were abused in schools in Ireland. The march was due to coincide with a debate on the Ryan Report under the Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse. However, this has since been postponed until tomorrow or Friday after Fine Gael tabled a motion of no confidence in the Government. Overshadowed Organisers of the march include Survivors of Child Abuse (Soca) Ireland, Right of Place and the Aislinn Centre and will march in silence between Parnell Square to the Dail at noon today. Members of the public have been invited to join them. But the significance of the march has been overshadowed by the decision to delay the debate. Christine Buckley, of the Aislinn Centre, which provides support to abuse victims, said that they were angered and hurt by the decision. "This march was organised very carefully to coincide with the debate," she said. "Now, we feel like we've been kicked around like footballs by the political establishment." A spokesman for Fine Gael said that it had suggested holding the no confidence motion during private members' time, which would have allowed the institutional abuse debate to take place as scheduled. The participants in the march will leave the children's shoes at the Dail gates and white ribbons will be tied on the railings outside Leinster House as a mark of respect for those who suffered clerical abuse. Victims of child abuse in church-run institutions will then hand over a petition to the head of the Conference of Religious of Ireland. "There will be four wreaths, two for the living and two for the dead," Christine explained. A representative from Survivors of Institutional Abuse Ireland (SOIAI) said: "The silence will be broken only when survivors intone the names of the 216 institutions as the petition is being handed to Sr O'Connor and Br Mullan outside the Dail. Then 108 white balloons and 108 black balloons, representing the living and the dead of the 216 institutions, will be released into the skies." Christian Brother Kevin Mullan and at least one representative from other orders named in the damning Ryan report have accepted invitations to attend. Contact: clairemurphy@herald.ie
Any original material on these pages is copyright © BishopAccountability.org 2004. Reproduce freely with attribution.