IRELAND
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests
For immediate release: Wednesday, February 19, 2014
Statement by Barbara Dorris of St. Louis, Outreach Director of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests ( 314 862 7688, SNAPdorris@gmail.com )
The Irish government has sent a letter to survivors asking them to sign a waiver to receive their lump sum reparations.
We are sickened by this deceitful move against victims who have suffered so much already. The waiver they are being asked to sign is an agreement to the full terms of the redress scheme and give up any right of action against the state. The full terms have not even been finalized yet.
The government has defended its position by stating that the victims can postpone accepting the terms until they have legally been finalized, but a victims group says that the language of the letter is so vague, that option was not immediately clear.
The suffering these women endured for years is heartbreaking. The fact that the government is not being transparent with them now is maddening. We hope that the government will back track and start being now transparent. We hope that all the survivors of the Magdalene Laundries will stand up for their rights.
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