NORTHERN IRELAND
Belfast Telegraph
A Catholic bishop has said the recommendations of Northern Ireland’s child abuse inquiry should be implemented with goodwill.
Noel Treanor hoped the report will help others who have been abused to find the strength and courage to come forward and report it to the authorities.
The independent probe recommended compensation payments of up to £100,000, funded by the state and voluntary institutions responsible for the residential homes where the harm occurred, with payments beginning later this year.
Those who suffered in state, church and charity-run homes should also be offered an official apology from government and the organisations involved, the Historical Institutional Abuse (HIA) inquiry led by retired judge Sir Anthony Hart found.
Bishop Treanor said: “Let us pray that in response to the HIA inquiry and report, our local church in this diocese and all involved in the statutory and voluntary sectors will have the grace and strength to respond with honesty, integrity and goodwill to the report’s recommendations and their implementation so that the light of justice, truth and peace may shine upon us and facilitate in our society the cultivation of a civilisation of love, courtesy and care for all.”
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