SUMMARY: The audits point to common themes in the way abuse allegations were mishandled.
AUDITS INTO Catholic dioceses and religious orders have revealed that hundreds of schoolchildren were exposed to serial abusers over a 35-year period in many communities across the State.
The reports into three religious orders and four dioceses have uncovered at least 335 child abuse allegations against more than 150 priests or members of religious orders.
The audits also found a higher proportion of abuse allegations against members of religious congregations than against priests in the dioceses that were audited.
The reviews – conducted by the Catholic Church’s child protection watchdog, the National Board for Safeguarding Children – examined abuse allegations stretching back to 1975.
The audits focused on three religious orders (the Spiritans, the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart, and the Dominicans) and four dioceses (Kildare and Leighlin, Limerick, Cork and Ross, and Clonfert). It is the first time religious orders have been the focus of audits into child protection practice.
Overall, the reports found evidence that serial abusers who worked in school communities went undetected and unchecked, giving them unsupervised access to children during the late 1960s, 1970s and 1980s.
The reports show a number of common themes in the way abuse allegations were mishandled across orders and dioceses.
Many people in positions of leadership failed to protect vulnerable young people, according to the audits. This resulted in a culture of secrecy that worked in favour of those who wanted to continue to prey on children. In particular, alleged abusers who were known to be a risk were often moved to different parts of the country or abroad.
The audits also revealed allegations of abuse that were never reported to gardaí. These have since been reported to the Garda and may result in fresh criminal charges.
In addition, there were significant delays in alerting civil authorities to abuse allegations, even after official church guidelines were introduced in the 1990s.
Overall, the reports note that full compliance with updated child protection practices agreed in 2009 are still some way off.
However, the audits state there has been considerable efforts to tackle poor practice that took place in the past. The reports state there is evidence of good practice and sound development across the different church authorities.
Ian Elliott, chief executive of the National Board for Safeguarding Children, said all abuse allegations had now been reported to State authorities.
“Sadly, some of these had been very much delayed. However, where this was found, the congregations and dioceses involved are implementing fully any recommendations made through the review process, and each is now in a stronger position in their safeguarding capacity and practice than was the case when the reviews were undertaken initially.”
Among the most serious allegations were uncovered within the Spiritans, formerly known as the Holy Ghost Fathers. It runs some of the best-known schools in Ireland, including Blackrock College, St Mary’s, Templeogue College and St Michael’s in Dublin, as well as Rockwell College in Co Tipperary.
In all there were 142 abuse allegations made against 47 members of the congregation over a 35-year period.
The report said it was clear there was no awareness of the impact of child sexual abuse on the part of the leadership of the congregation during the time under review.
“There was a failure on the part of the congregation in these instances to create safe environments for children,” the report states.
The Missionaries of the Sacred Heart were also heavily criticised. The report found child protection practices were deeply flawed and, in one case, contributed to a man’s death by suicide.
Similarly, the Dominicans were found to have delayed dealing with dozens of allegations prior to 2010, and were only now showing a real sense of accepting past failures.
The diocese of Clonfert was also heavily criticised for moving two priests from one parish to another in the 1990s after they had abused children.
The audit reports were more positive about the diocese of Cork and Ross, and Limerick.
In Cork and Ross, the audit found that the diocese met 42 of the 47 safeguarding criteria. It highlighted five administrative issues, which are due to be resolved by the end of the year.
It voiced some concern about the need for better information on allegations or convictions relating to priests retiring in Ireland from overseas.
Limerick diocese was found to have met 44 of the 48 criteria for safeguarding children in the church.
The audit commented that Dr Donal Murray – who resigned in 2009 – had put in place robust safeguards and prompt responses to allegations.