IRELAND
Irish Times
Patsy McGarry
Mon, May 12, 2014
None of the 15 Patrician Brothers who have faced 22 abuse allegations since January 1st 1975 have been convicted in he courts,a review by the church’s child protection watchdog has found.
The National Board for Safeguarding Children in the Catholic Church in Ireland (NBSCCCI) review has found that “in the vast majority of cases, the events which gave rise to the allegations may have taken place several decades before they were reported to the congregation and refer to alleged abuse between the 1950s -1980s.”
Of the 15 brothers who were the subject of allegations, “nine are deceased and five have left the congregation. One brother remains in the congregation,” the review found.
The five who left, did so “in excess of 30 years ago and have had no subsequent contact with the congregation. In all cases the allegations were made some considerable time after they had left. In two cases brothers left not long after the alleged time of the abuse.”
The reviewers “were assured by the provincial leader that any decision to leave the congregation was entirely a matter for the individual brother and that the congregation was not in possession at the time of Review of Safeguarding Practice in the Patrician Brothers of information relating to the allegations.”
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