The prevalence of sexual abuse in religious-run
schools in Ireland has been talked about for years, but no one ever
knew how many abusers there were or the number of children whose lives
were tarnished forever.
It was covered up for decades, spoken about in hushed tones. That was until this past week, when the extent of the abuse and the ways it was concealed were highlighted in a stark and harrowing report published by Education Minister Norma Foley. It shows how thousands of innocent children were abused for decades in hundreds of Irish schools.
While many rightly blame religious orders for covering up for the horrific abuse being carried out by its members, it is clear that the truth also appears to have been concealed by An Garda Síochána, the Department of Education and the public at large.
In their own words, participants in the Scoping Inquiry into abuse in religious-run schools alleged that:
A Garda caught a member of a religious order with a 10-year-old child in a hotel room and the abuser was “released because of where he worked”.
Reports were sent to the Department of Education about an alleged abuser and this person was allowed to continue working in different schools.
Other teachers and staff members who were not accused of abuse knew of children being sexually abused and did not stop the violence.
One participant recalled a school staff member “sniggering” as he was led to a Brother’s office.
“That’s the bizarre part,” one participant told the inquiry. “It was not even clandestine.”
The report, published earlier this week, found 2,395 allegations of sexual abuse against 884 alleged abusers in 308 schools across 22 counties. The report’s author, Senior Counsel Mary O’Toole, acknowledged that most religious orders provided the Scoping Inquiry with all the information sought from them. However, not all fully complied or provided information that was complete or up to the standards that may have been required.
For example, two orders failed to provide all the information sought. The Sisters of Mercy did not provide the names of the schools where abuse was reported to have taken place, nor “any indication of which allegations related to particular schools”.
The Patrician Brothers did not provide a school-by-school breakdown of the allegations and alleged abusers.
The De La Salle Order only provided the names of their schools in early June, when the report was nearing completion.
The reviewers were “unable to clearly state that they have had access to and examined all allegations in relation to sexual abuse against Norbertine priests”.
Some of their records are held by solicitors in Dublin, while some “are lodged in the archives of the Abbey at Tongerlo in Belgium”.
“There is a lack of clear recording in relation to all aspects of allegations; and therefore it is not possible to state with any confidence that all allegations have been reported to An Garda Siochana/PSNI or Social Services in the appropriate jurisdiction."
The cover-up also appeared to involve several institutions of the State. This included the Gardaí, who some participants suggested had a “strong relationship” with the religious order. “Some said that they were aware of people being taken by the Gardaí for questioning,” the report read. “In these cases, participants reported that they did not think that any arrests were made. Participants reported that this made it very difficult to address what was happening.”
One participant, speaking about the “influence of Orders”, talked of an abuser who “physically and sexually abused students”. “The participant is aware that he was caught in a hotel room by Gardaí with a ten-year-old child and was released because of where he worked,” it is stated.
Another participant knew of an abuser who “boarded in the same house as the local Gardaí”. “It is not clear if the local police were aware at the time, but I find it incredulous that some members of the Gardaí were unaware at the time, as very little happens in a small provincial town that they don’t know,” they said.
Questions must also be asked of the Department of Education’s actions. In one instance, a participant said they believed a report was sent to the Department about an abuser. “He also thinks that reports were made to the Department and that they allowed this person to continue working in different Schools,” the report said.
“There were complaints from children in at least three schools where the Brother worked; it is likely that there were more people who were affected but that they never came forward to report what had happened to them.” Some people spoke of telling their parents or other adults who did not believe them because of the power that the church had in Ireland.
Society let down every one of the young people who were the subject of abuse. But there is no getting away from the fact that it was the church and the religious orders that covered up the biggest secrets of all. For too long, they got away with the most horrific crimes and reading parts of the Scoping Inquiry shows the evil ways they managed this.
They picked on vulnerable children; the ones from broken households, the ones who were too young and innocent to know anything about sex or grooming or abuse. Many did not have the knowledge or the language to articulate what had happened to them. And the abusers took advantage.
“You would pretend to like it, but you were too young to know,” one person said. Another said: “The abusers knew who they were targeting, choosing children who might not be able to report the abuse”.
And another: “The Brother in [that school] would never have abused me if he knew I had a family I could talk to. He never went to those from better families. I couldn’t do anything.”
And another: “The priest told me if I told anyone, my mother wouldn’t go to heaven.”
And another: “[They were] individually threatened that if they told anyone when they left, they would be killed.”
And another, and another and another. 2,395 allegations of sexual abuse.
One thing is clear – The time of cover ups is over. The Government must establish the Commission of Inquiry without delay. All of the people who lost their childhood and were let down for so long deserve nothing less.