(ZENIT News / Dublin, 15.09.2024).- An Irish Government investigation found that there were 884 alleged sexual abusers in over 300 schools in the whole country between 1927 and 2013. There is talk of 2,395 complaints. The world press spread the news immediately.
The cases of child sexual abuse in Catholic religious schools call for a plan of reparation and for Religious Order to contribute. The cases refer to 22 counties of the Republic and involve schools run by 24 Religious Orders.
The investigation reveals that the largest number of abuse cases happened in the early and mid-decade of the ‘70s, although it doesn’t establish the study’s procedure to ensure the fact, as before that year it was difficult to confirm the data, given the time transpired. Moreover, it is strange that afterwards they decreased for no apparent reason.
The investigation was headed by lawyer Mary O’Toole after an RTÉ radio documentary revealed abuses in Blackrock College, a Dublin school run by the Spiritans [Congregation of the Holy Spirit] and in their Willow Park preparatory school. Uncovered cases of Religious paedophiles sparked the investigation. Some groups praise the Orders’ answer, such as the Jesuits, for acknowledging and showing openness to the failures. Groups supporting children insist on investigating the Catholic Religious Congregations, although they do not promote the same analysis of secular or governmental schools.
During a press conference, Norma Foley, Ireland’s Minister of Education, a liberal conservative, described the abuses as shocking: “This is the first time that the magnitude of accusations of child sexual abuse is revealed in schools run by Religious Orders, on the basis of the information provided by the Religious Orders themselves and by the survivors.”
As a result of the Report, the Ministry of Education announced the creation of an Investigation Commission on abuses in religious schools. Why only the religious? Do abuses not exist in secular schools?
Admitting the investigation’s data and finding the average of 884 abusers between 1927 and 2013, the result is 10 accusers per year. And, taking into account that there were some 15,000 members of Religious Congregations working in Ireland every year, reflects 0.00066 individuals contaminated by the evil among consecrated Catholics. If the data is multiplied by 10, to admit unreported abuses, it’s about 0.0066 failures. And. conceding that there are 100 times more, we find the abuse of 0.066 consecrated individuals who were pederasts. Even with such low percentages, condescending very widely, the damage of the information to the Church exceeds the data.
The information appeared in 1994 and has wounded Irish Catholicism. It’s good to reflect on why the sexuality failures of Catholic priests and Religious are investigated so much and never those of members of secular institutions, of local and state government bodies or of artists’ and journalists’ associations.
