BishopAccountability.org
	Anger As Abuse Claims Branded 'Tainted' By Dan Buckley Irish Examiner [Ireland] May 23, 2006 http://www.irishexaminer.com/irishexaminer/pages/story.aspx-qqqg=ireland-qqqm=ireland-qqqa=ireland-qqqid=4115-qqqx=1.asp ABUSE groups have challenged the Christian Brothers to produce proof after the head of the order claimed evidence of abuse was contaminated and motivated by the prospect of compensation. Giving evidence to the Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse, the order's provincial, Brother David Gibson branded as "tainted" evidence of abuse at some of his order's institutions, including the notorious Letterfrack Industrial School in Galway. He told the commission there had been "contamination of evidence" and complaints against one institution were applied to others. Brother Gibson said a large number of meetings were organised by solicitors around the country where former residents of industrial schools were brought together. He said groups of solicitors had copied more than 1,000 copies of RTE programmes and had given them to former residents. He also said lists of former brothers who worked at the industrial schools were given to former residents. Brother Gibson said prior to 1998, there were just three complaints against the Christian Bothers for alleged abuse. This rose to 12 when advertisements called on former residents of industrial schools to come forward. But the following year the figure reached 449 after the Taoiseach apologised to victims of abuse in 1999. However, Deirdre Fitzpatrick, advocacy coordinator for One In Four, said if Brother Gibson knows of contaminated evidence, he should give it to the gardai. "These remarks will cause hurt and upset to those who have shown enormous courage in coming forward to tell the truth of what they experienced. I think it will put them back into a place of being invalidated all over again. "If Brother Gibson has evidence, he should report that to the gardai. The Redress Board can process fraudulent claims. In fact, there has only been one such claim out of a total of 5,111 and even that sole claim did not warrant prosecution, so where is his evidence? "Brother Gibson has admitted that he knows how difficult it is for people to report abuse but what he said is almost a blanket statement and it will certainly compound the hurt, especially for many elderly people who remained silent over the years because of their shame and guilt. It is heart-wrenching to hear their truth being invalidated," Ms Fitzpatrick added. Brother Gibson said the Christian Brothers were alarmed at the possibility that some brothers who taught for only a year in industrial schools were being accused of abuse. He conceded that two members of the order had been convicted of abuse at St Joseph's school in Letterfrack. He didn't know if others were guilty and said it was up to the commission to decide whether they were.
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