SEVERAL GROUPS representing victims of clerical child sex abuse have asked the Catholic Church to provide financial compensation to survivors of Magdalene laundries who suffered abuse.At a meeting with bishops in Maynooth Friday, the groups also asked those bishops criticised in the Dublin diocesan report to “examine their consciences very deeply” and act in a decisive way.
Magdalene homes were institutions for “fallen women”, who broke the conventions of society by bearing a child out of wedlock.
Some of these women have made allegations of abuse against these mainly church-run institutions, the last of which was shut down in Dublin in 1996.
The Government said in September that women who had been in the homes would not be eligible for compensation from the redress board because the homes were privately-owned and run.
John Kelly of support group Irish SOCA, who attended yesterday’s meeting, said this decision had left many victims of abuse outside the redress mechanism.
“People are coming forward in the community saying they were abused in these institutions and we feel the church has a moral responsibility to allow restitution for victims,” he said.
Mr Kelly said the church should include women who had been in the laundries in a compensation package.
Four of the 33 Irish bishops met the groups – Right to Peace, Alliance Support group, Irish SOCA and Right of Place – to discuss how they could engage with survivors.
The bishops decided at the meeting to broaden their engagement with survivors and meet the leaders of religious congregations to discuss redress.
“Today our task was to devise a road map for the future and that is what we have done,” said Bishop of Ardagh and Clonmacnoise Colm O’Reilly following the meeting.
Bishop of Dromore John McAreavey, Bishop of Cork and Ross John Buckley and Bishop of Killala John Fleming also attended the meeting.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Disclaimer
No responsibility or liability shall attach itself to us or to the blogspot ‘Clerical Whispers’ for any or all of the articles placed here.
The placing of an article hereupon does not necessarily imply that we agree or accept the contents of the article as being necessarily factual in theology, dogma or otherwise.
SIC: IT