Schools abuse: Almost 2,400 allegations at more than 300 religious-run institutions disclosed to inquiry

https://www.irishtimes.com/politics/2024/09/03/schools-abuse-inquiry-live-updates-religious-orders-norma-foley/

Posted by scoobeire

28 Comments

  1. Absolutely horrific stuff.

    > The key findings of the report are that:

    > 2,395 allegations of historical sexual abuse at the 308 schools run by religious orders have been disclosed to the Government-appointed inquiry.
    > The allegations were made against 884 alleged abusers, the report found.
    > It is likely that the actual number of allegations likely exceeds the stated figure given the level of underreporting of childhood sexual abuse.
    > The report found that a high number of allegations are concentrated in special education schools, where there were 590 allegations recorded in 17 institutions involving 190 alleged abusers.

    > The inquiry report found that, as adults, participants endured serious and ongoing difficulties in relationships, mental and physical health problems, addiction issues, lost career opportunities and damage to their sense of place and community.

    > “Many described failed early intimate relationships and marriage breakdowns,” the report said.

    > “Some said that, as a result of the sexual abuse, they decided not to have children, or when they did, it impacted their parenting, with many participants describing the effects of intergenerational trauma on their families.”

    > The inquiry found that many survivors “spoke with real sadness of the impact of telling their elderly parents of their experiences”.

    > Survivors encountered difficulties with authority figures in employment, with their long-term solution being to undertake contract work or self-employment.

    > Others missed out on opportunities to go to university due to poor academic progress or “inappropriate behaviour in employment resulting from mental health difficulties and addictions”, the report said.

    > Some participants said they had successful careers because they worked excessively “at the cost of their close relationships, to distract themselves from their early trauma”, the inquiry found.

    > Survivors spoke of emigrating and “creating distances from family and friends to avoid traumatic memories”.

    > They spoke of becoming alienated from religion and church-related services to the extent that they would avoid a parent’s funeral or other family event “as they could not enter a church”.

    > Some detailed how a crisis in adulthood such as a suicide attempt or time in rehabilitation “as a time when their childhood abuse first came to the fore and was identified as a source of their difficulties”, beginning a process of healing.

  2. What will be the result for these religious orders? Fuck all. It’s fine for politicians to stand up and say this is shocking and disgraceful but they will do nothing.

  3. 8 allegations, 5 abusers at my primary. 1,1 for my secondary.

    What’s the time-frame on it? All time?

  4. Academic_Noise_5724 on

    It really shows how bad things are when I read this headline and was like yes, and? My dad went to one of the named schools and it was very much known that some kids had been abused by priests. I know due process and all but anyone who’s genuinely surprised by this has been living in ignorance

  5. Which orders have been found guilty?

    Which orders have made *commitments* to make redress payments?

    Which orders have not made good on those commitments?

    Which orders refused to make any redress?

    May all those who ever harmed a child burn. The ramifications for those poor people lasted right throughout their lives. No children, failed marriages and addictions.

    Absolutely criminally awful.

    How could they? How?

  6. What always gets me is that the victims of these abusers and the organisations that harbour them have to watch crowds of people each week flock to churchs and services revering those same organisations.

    I know obviously that’s not the intent of people going to mass, but it still feels like a betrayal on some level.

  7. TheStoicNihilist on

    The indemnity deal means none of this will cost them a cent. Any compensation is paid by us.

  8. External-Chemical-71 on

    Kick out the catholic church once and for all. They will never comply with legal proceedings, accept proper responsibility or dispense compensation.

    Just take any land, buildings, or holdings in their name, tell them to fuck off you are not welcome here.

  9. I briefly went to one of those schools mentioned, but years later. However one of the named abusers was one of my teachers. I’d no idea whatsoever, nor did my parents, but it creeps me out and really pisses me off to think that other people did and they let me be in the same room as him when I was that age.

    It’s sickening to see what happened. I hope the victims know that, unlike these great institutions and the establishment’s cold attitude, the rest of us very definitely support them.

    These organisations and shouldn’t be protected with any deals. Let them face the **full** costs of civil damages consequences.

  10. Constant-Chipmunk187 on

    Why should these organisations still be here if they can’t even not rape a child?

  11. Yet people will still attend churches for weddings, funerals, have their kids baptised and send them to these schools. Absolute lunacy

  12. Traditional-Map2728 on

    History is brutal. The English Starved us and the Catholic Church raped us.

    No wonder we have such a high obesity rate. Generational Trauma comfort eating

  13. BrahneRazaAlexandros on

    Jesus, Blackrock was some serious den of monsters.

    Very upsetting stuff. But honestly I’m more surprised by politicians being “shocked” by this, than I am about the prevalence of abuse from religious-run institutions.

  14. Just checking the cesspool: and no surprise, no mention whatsoever of this story on Gript, Irelands leading right wing scumbag site. Quelle fucking surprise.

  15. The principle of Wexford’s St Peter’s College, Fr Donal Collins, was prosecuted and jailed for multiple counts of sexual abuse that he perpetrated there in the 1980’s, yet I can find no mention of it in the report. Does this mean that the report is incomplete? I don’t understand.

    https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donal_Collins

  16. How any of you freaks are still baptising your kids into this sick criminal sex cult is beyond me

  17. Green-Detective6678 on

    Paddy and Mary Bloggs will be horrified by this news but will still get their kids baptised, send them to Catholic ethos schools and mark themselves down as Catholic at the next census.

  18. These religious orders need immediate shutting down with their assets seized by the state. They can no longer be allowed to hide behind legal processes and obfuscation. Fucking Catholic Church wonders why no one attends masses?!