THE author of the report on institutional child abuse has said the country will be tested by how it deals with the fallout from the inquiry’s revelations.Mr Justice Sean Ryan, chairman of the Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse, also said but for the tenacity and courage of the victims, their horrific treatment at the hands of religious orders would never have come to light.
He said the ability of the perpetrators to get away with their crimes reflected wider problems.
"It says a lot about our society, institutions and our systems in the past that these events happened.
"It will also say a lot about our present situation as to how we respond to the disclosure of these events."
Mr Justice Ryan made his comments when accepting the Humbert Award, which was given to him in recognition of the work the Commission had done.
It was his first public statement since the shocking results of the inquiry were published in May. He said now the report was in the public domain it was up to society at large to ensure it effected the necessary change. "Our work is there to be seen, to be analysed, to be discussed, debated and reflected upon. This is the best report we could make.
"It is for others to do justice to those who suffered abuse in the past and to decide what can be done to ensure that such events do not happen in the future."
The award was presented to him by Nobel laureate John Hume on Saturday during a day-long session analysing how the abuse was allowed happen and what were its lingering affects.
Other awards were presented to Michael O’Brien (Right to Peace group), Tom Hayes (Alliance Victim Support group) and Dolores Rooney (Irish Survivors of Child Abuse) on behalf of all the victims.
Mary Raftery, the journalist whose documentaries helped expose the horror of institutional abuse, was also honoured.
Meanwhile Augustinian priest Iggy Donovan, in a separate address, suggested the country should have a national day of atonement on September 27, the 30th anniversary of Pope John Paul II’s visit. It would be inappropriate for the day to be one of celebration because of all that was happening in institutions at the time of the Papal visit.
"Surely it would make more sense than engaging in a triumphalist nostalgic exercise commemorating what has turned out to be the last sting of a dying wasp."
The chief executive of the One in Four Group, Maeve Lewis, said everybody in society had to face up to what happened during the period of abuse and it was not good enough to point fingers.
She warned children were still not safe and the State needed to take equal responsibility to protect vulnerable children who are abused in domestic settings.
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