IRELAND
RTE News
The Catholic Church’s child protection watchdog has found that 53 allegations of child abuse against 44 members of three religious orders have resulted in no convictions.
The finding was made in audits by the National Board for Safeguarding Children in the Catholic Church (NBSCCC) of accusations against Sisters of Mercy, the Oblates and Legionaries of Christ.
The review focused on the handling of allegations since 1975, but some of the cases stretched back as far as 1941.
The Sisters of Mercy was criticised by the Ryan Commission for overuse of corporal punishment and neglect in residential institutions while “some very serious incidents of sexual abuse were perpetrated by lay staff in some schools”.
Today’s review found that since 1975, 31 allegations of child abuse have been made to the Sisters of Mercy against 17 nuns.
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