IRELAND
Irish Times
Church child protection reports: 870 allegations of child abuse made against 325 Christian Brothers
Patsy McGarry
The review found that there had been 870 allegations of child abuse made against 325 Christian Brothers, 12 of whom were convicted in the courts. It found that “the numbers of allegations and Brothers accused is substantial. The files read by the reviewers left them in no doubt that a great number of children were seriously abused by Brothers. Information on the abuse in Christian Brothers’ residential establishments is well documented in the Ryan Report”.
Protocols
It noted how “until relatively recently, the internal Church processes within the Christian Brothers were not carried out” but that “there are now clear protocols in place for Brothers with allegations and accusations”.
In the 66 years between 1931 and 1997, the Christian Brothers received 92 allegations of abuse while in the subsequent 15 years (1998-2013) they received 794 allegations.
The review said that the “broadcasting of two documentaries on Irish television (Dear Daughter in 1996 and States of Fear in 1999), led to a new emphasis on the experience of victims of abuse at the hands of religious congregations”.
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