IRELAND
The Irish Post
November 16, 2020
By Fiona Audley
THE Catholic Church prioritised its reputation over the welfare of vulnerable children for decades, according to a report by the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA).
The 147-page report, released on November 10, finds the Catholic Church’s moral purpose was betrayed by those who sexually abused children – as well as those who turned a blind eye and failed to take action against perpetrators.
Between 1970 and 2015, the Catholic Church received more than 900 complaints involving over 3,000 instances of child sexual abuse in England and Wales.
Since 2016, there have been more than 100 reported allegations each year.
The true scale of abuse over the last 50 years is likely to have been far higher, according to the report’s authors.
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.