ROME
The Irish Catholic
Michael Kelly
Prominent abuse campaigner Marie Collins has insisted that victims of abuse can only begin to find healing when there is a full acknowledgement of the hierarchy’s failure to tackle abuse and not just an apology for the abuse itself.
Mrs Collins, who was abused as a child by Fr Paul McGennis, said her experience of not being listened to by the Church when she came forward to report her abuse created a loss of faith, not in God, but in the leadership of the Church.
She told hundreds of bishops and religious superiors from all over the world that “the final death of any respect that might have survived in me towards my religious leaders came after my abuser’s conviction,” she said.
Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.