Thursday, June 07, 2012

Child abuse survivors consider protest walk

Survivors of child abuse are still considering a walk in protest from Cork to Dublin during the week of the Eucharistic Congress — even though the Church has offered to hold a national day of atonement.

Christopher Heaphy, who attended Greenmount Industrial School in Cork, said the "once-off" national day event being suggested by the Church was not good enough.

He and fellow survivors, including former Clonmel mayor Michael O’Brien, want the day of atonement to be an annual event.

He also said they cannot ignore the fact the bishops have refused to meet with them for the past 10 months.

Mr Heaphy first raised the idea of a national day of atonement when he spoke to his fellow parishioners in Aglish Church in Co Waterford nearly two weeks ago. He called on the Church, State, and public to support such a day of commemoration.

Within 24 hours, the Catholic Church said it was not opposed to such an idea.

However, yesterday, Mr Heaphy said: "The reaction from the bishops makes me wary. Immediately they take the high moral ground saying the event must be sensitively organised and not rushed. There is no sign there of any remorse. They need to be in control. The phrase ‘old dog and new tricks’ springs to mind."

Meanwhile, the Department of Education has said a memorial committee, set up in the aftermath of the publication of the Ryan report into child abuse in Irish institutions, will announce in the coming weeks "its views on a national day of remembrance and solidarity".

The report recommended building a memorial to victims of institutional abuse, inscribed with the words of the apology given by the then taoiseach in May 1999.

However, many survivors have since rejected the notion of a monument saying they would rather that the €500,000 goes towards the planned children’s hospital.

A spokesman for the Department of Education, said: "While some survivors may be opposed to the memorial, as noted in the Ryan report, it is important for the alleviation of the effects of childhood abuse to acknowledge in a permanent place the State’s recognition of their abuse and the suffering."

A competition was held last summer to find an artist to create the memorial. The winner of this competition will be announced in the coming weeks.