It often based its assessment on the likelihood of a priest re-offending on the optimistic view of the abusers themselves.
The report revealed there were, without doubt, cases where the harm could have been prevented if the order acted on the direct allegations of victims.
These were among the findings of the reviewers who inspected the files of the order, which was formerly known as the Holy Ghost Fathers.
The report showed that since 1975 allegations have been made against 47 Spiritan priests and 142 reports have been sent to the gardaí.
Eight of the alleged abusers are still alive and 36 are dead. One alleged abuser is still in his ministry and three have been convicted for related crimes.
A number of victims contacted the National Board for Safeguarding Children in the Catholic Church to complain about how they were treated by the order.
The report found that even after the requirement to report allegations was introduced in 1996 there were examples of up to four-year delays in notifying the authorities.
The board said the managers of the order pre-1994 put children at risk by their failure to act.
"Previous provincials maintained men in ministry after being informed of abuse and it is distressing to report that some of these men went on to abuse again.
"In some instances, priests/brothers were moved either out of the country or to other ministries, where they continued to abuse children," it said.
The report said if the leadership had acted differently children could have avoided the predatory behaviour of these priests.
"If the provincial [senior order official] at the time of receiving information about concerning behaviour, and in some cases direct allegations, had taken action to remove the offending priest/brother, then it is entirely reasonable to believe that some children could have been spared."
It was only in the last year that the order has begun to refer cases for canonical inquiry, although it had been sending allegations to civil authorities.
The outgoing provincial of the order, Fr Brian Starken, issued an unreserved apology to victims and said their may be people who suffered but have yet to come forward and he said the Spiritans was anxious for them to make themselves known.
"What happened to these victims and their families is inexcusable. As a religious congregation, we are filled with shame but our shame cannot compare with the immense suffering and hurt experienced by victims and their loved ones. We acknowledge the failure of the congregation to protect and safeguard at all times those who were confided to our care or who put their trust in us," he said.
No awareness of impact of abuse
The reviewers’ views on the record of the Spiritans:
"The case files make very sad reading. There is evidence that there were serial abusers who worked in school communities in Ireland.
"They went undetected and unchecked giving them unmonitored access to children during the 1960s, 70s, and 80s. It is clear that there was no awareness of the impact of child sexual abuse on the part of the leadership of the congregation during that time. There was a failure on the part of the congregation in these instances to create safe environments for children.
* Fr A (deceased): He abused 23 children between 1968 and 1993 but was not removed from ministry until 1996. Records indicate there may be victims of this man in the US and Ireland but they have not yet come forward.
* Fr B: For 13 years he abused children but when concerns were raised, he remained in his job and targeted children for 10 years. He was moved aside until Apr 1995. Only recently has he been brought under a monitoring panel and as of Nov 2011 he still had a public profile by taking part in an internet forum. There are grave concerns about his online activity.
* Fr C: Until recently, this abusive priest worked actively outside the order in a role unknown to its provincial leadership team. The group said his ability to get another post casts doubt on the ability of such men to engage in public ministry in other locations, even temporarily.
The report said that the order acted on "misleading advice from psychologists and psychiatrists around the likelihood of re-offending. Assessment reports appeared to believe that recidivism was low, based on poor evidence, often on simply what the accused priest said. There are examples of overly optimistic advice about returning the perpetrator to ministry following assessments."