IRELAND
Irish Independent
Sarah Mac Donald
PUBLISHED
09/09/2015
A significant number of children were abused in the care of religious orders according to the latest audits carried out by the National Board for Safeguarding in the Catholic Church.
The 43 reviews, which cover eight male orders and 35 female orders, show that a total of 325 allegations of sexual abuse were made since 1941 against 141 priests or brothers resulting in 8 criminal convictions.
“Overall there is considerable improvement in safeguarding practice evidenced in these reports,” Teresa Devlin, CEO of the NBSCCCI, said but she added that “The history is undeniable, that once again a significant number of children were abused in the care of Religious.”
However, she said that what is strikingly different among the orders today as opposed to the past is a determination to respond pastorally, to report to the civil authorities promptly and to seek guidance in order to minimise risk to children.
This latest series of reviews deals with orders such as the Jesuits, Rosminians and Capuchins.
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