Irish bishops comment on recently published sexual abuse report

By Francesca Merlo

In a statement published by the Irish catholic Bishops’ Conference, Bishop Kevin Doran of Elpin expresses closeness to victims of sex abuse and stresses that measures have been put in place in Catholic schools to ensure the safeguarding of all children.

The statement, together with a separate statement from the Catholic Education Partnership, followed the publication in Ireland of a Report of the Scoping Inquiry into Historical Sexual Abuse in Day and Boarding Schools Run by Religious Orders.

Actions, not words

In his statement, Bishop Doran emphasises that "real people” endured abuse in places meant to protect them and notes the tragedy that many survivors had to carry their pain alone for years before speaking out.

While the report focuses on religious-run schools, the Bishop warns against being "naive in the extreme" in thinking that child abuse wasn’t also present in other schools across society.

Bishop Doran also notes that his own diocese of Elphin and and the diocese Achonry (where he serves as Apostolic Aministrator) supported the Scoping Inquiry and that they will continue to cooperate with any future investigations.

Then, addressing survivors, Bishop Doran offers a "sincere apology" but admits that those words may "sound hollow", adding that what really matters now are actions.

Bishop Doran concludes by stressing that “together with the safeguarding teams in both dioceses, I am committed to ensuring that the policies and procedures which have been put in place for the safeguarding of children will continue to be fully implemented. The Report serves only to renew that commitment”.

Finally, he invites everyone to be alert and encourages anyone who has a concern, “a suspicion or knowledge of abuse”, to report it.

Catholic Education Partnership

A second statement, from the Catholic Education Partnership, highlights the "criminal treatment of children" in a system that failed to safeguard them.

The Catholic Education Partnership acknowledges the "grave harm" caused to survivors, their families, and those who have died and commits to cooperating fully with the future Commission of Inquiry.

It stresses that Catholic schools today have "robust child safeguarding procedures," noting that they were last reviewed in 2023.

The statement emphasises that the trust of families and children was "betrayed in the most devastating of ways," and that the Catholic Education Partnership vows to work with the State and stakeholders to fulfil their moral and legal obligations.

At the end of its statement, the Partnership also provides contact information for support services like Towards Healing, which offers counselling for survivors, and Towards Peace, which provides spiritual support for those affected.