IRELAND
Health Service Executive

Volume 1 Dioceses Report

FOREWORD

The sexual abuse of a child by a trusted adult is a traumatic event for the child and can have catastrophic effects on the life experiences and life chances of the child as he or she progresses into adulthood. This is now widely understood and accepted.

What is less clearly understood is the impact that the disclosure of abuse has on the organisation to which the adult belongs. In many cases there is shock and disbelief; an unwillingness to accept the facts, leading in turn to inertia of action and subsequent mismanagement of the situation. It was concerns in relation to possible mismanagement of disclosures of abuse that led to the Government asking the Health Service Executive to conduct an audit of the arrangements for safeguarding children in the Catholic Church in Ireland. The Audit process has been protracted and…