BishopAccountability.org
	Church Abuse Victims Call for Transparency News Letter June 11, 2009 http://www.newsletter.co.uk/news/Church-abuse-victims-call-for.5357076.jp TWO people who suffered sexual abuse while in the care of the Roman Catholic Church have called for all files on the matter to be made open to victims and the authorities. Richhill resident Tom Hayes was in the care of the Roman Catholic church from two until 16 in Kerry and Limerick. He suffered physical and mental abuse from members of religious orders and sexual abuse from other boys. "The Church will always do the minimum in these cases," said Mr Hayes, who is now secretary of a selfhelp network, the Alliance Victims Support Group. "Then you have to embarrass them before they come clean. The Church will do nothing unless it is dragged screaming. No files on abuse have been released to victims by the Church anywhere in Ireland to date." Fr Patrick McCafferty, who is from Down and Connor and said that he was repeatedly sexually abused by a priest when he was 18, said the arrangement between the Church and the PSNI was " exactly what happened in Cloyne". "At Cloyne the Church gave shortened and censored versions of what happened during abuse, so we have every reason to be anxious about this in Northern Ireland," said Fr McCafferty. "Have the PSNI been given the full facts?"
Any original material on these pages is copyright © BishopAccountability.org 2004. Reproduce freely with attribution.