BishopAccountability.org
	Calls to Support Groups Double with Many Ringing to Vent Anger at Church By Jamie Smyth The Irish Times March 17, 2010 http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2010/0317/1224266442352.html HELPLINES: THE NUMBER of calls to helplines run by groups offering counselling to victims of clerical child sex abuse has doubled following media reports about Cardinal Sean Brady’s role in investigating paedophile priest Brendan Smyth. Ellen O’Malley-Dunlop, chief executive of the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre, said many people who called its helpline were extremely upset and angry about a further cover-up of child abuse, which this time involved the head of the Catholic Church. “We were double on our regular daily calls . . . Many people who rang in just couldn’t believe it and are calling for investigation for all the church dioceses,” said Ms O’Malley-Dunlop, who has called on Cardinal Brady to resign. Deirdre Kenny, advocacy director with the sexual abuse victims’ support group One in Four, said the organisation had experienced a 50 per cent increase in calls over the past few days. “Many of these phone calls are from people who just want to express how upset they are at the church rather than from people who have suffered abuse themselves or who want to make a complaint about abuse,” she said. “The memory of abuse suffered while a child often comes to the fore during periods of protracted media attention. “But it can take a few more days for people that are considering making a complaint to the Garda for the first time. “It’s a big thing for many people walking into a Garda station,” she said. Suzanne Costello, director of the Samaritans, said in recent months, since the publication of the Murphy report, it had experienced an increase in calls. She said the Samaritans have been receiving calls from people who had suffered clerical child sex abuse in the Republic since the 1970s. “Often a call can start off in one direction and then go off in another particular vein. “This is what emotional support is about – through people discussing their feelings, to get to the kernel of the problem,” said Ms Costello.
Any original material on these pages is copyright © BishopAccountability.org 2004. Reproduce freely with attribution.