The names of 341 former Christian Brothers who are being joined as defendants to a case where a man who was sexually abused in primary school in the 1970s is suing the congregation, have been published in a national newspaper.
The men on the list, who were all Christian Brothers between September 1974 and December 1979, are not alleged to have anything to do with the sexual assault, but find themselves being joined to the case because of the controversial legal strategy being adopted by the congregation.
The litigant is suing the Christian Brothers for abuse he suffered when attending the CBS school on Stephen Street, Kilkenny, where he was sexually assaulted by former brother Liam Coughlan.
Coughlan (90) was jailed in 2023 for sexually assaulting the man and 23 other former pupils in the 1970s.
More recently, he was convicted of the sexual assault of nine former pupils of the CBS primary school on Patrick Street, Portarlington, Co Offaly, in the 1980s, following a trial by jury at Portlaoise Circuit Criminal Court.
Because the congregation is opting not to put forward a nominee for the purposes of litigation in cases where litigants are seeking damages for past sexual abuse, the men have to sue all members of the congregation at the time of the abuse in order to progress their case.
There are at least 50 such cases lodged in the High Court, court filings indicate. Lawyers acting for the litigants believe the strategy adopted by the congregation is designed to protect its assets.
In order to facilitate one such litigant, Judge Mary Rose Gearty of the High Court last week ordered that 341 former members of the order could be served with their summons by way of a newspaper advertisement, after the congregation told the court it did not have contact details for the men. Another approximately 100 men who are still in the congregation are also being joined as defendants.
In a letter in The Irish Times today, a former Christian Brother, Seán Ó Díomasaigh, from Dunsany, Co Meath, who is named in today’s advertisement, expressed his “profound disappointment and dismay” at the stance being adopted by the congregation.
“I am astonished that those charged with embodying Christian brotherhood have so clearly failed the most basic test of the Christian faith: to show humility, accept responsibility and stand unequivocally with victims,” he said.
“By abrogating responsibility to those harmed and adopting legal tactics that shield assets rather than confront wrongdoing, the leadership has allowed a reprehensible minority of Christian Brothers to tarnish the good name and lifetime service of many faithful brothers.”
When sentencing Coughlan to five years in jail last month for the Portarlington offences, the president of the Circuit Court, Keenan Johnson, said it was likely Coughlan would die in jail.
He also said the legal strategy being adopted by the Christian Brothers in civil cases where victims are seeking damages “strikes me as morally bankrupt and grossly unfair not only to victims but also to the many, many brothers who are totally innocent and blameless of any wrongdoing”.
The law firm representing the litigant in the Coughlan case, Coleman Legal, is to ask Gearty in the autumn for permission to serve summonses by way of newspaper advertisements in three other cases where the clients were sexually abused by then members of the Christian Brothers who are now in jail for the offences, and where the congregation has similarly opted not to put forward a nominee for the purposes of the litigation.
Philip Treacy, of Coleman Legal, described the decision to place an advertisement in a national newspaper as “unfortunately a necessary step”.
“It is a significant step – it is an unprecedented step, I believe. And it is unfortunately a necessary step in circumstances where no member of the organisation of the Christian Brothers has confirmed that they will act as nominee to represent the congregation,” he told RTÉ radio’s Morning Ireland.
“The Christian Brothers is an unincorporated body, so it’s not like pursuing a legal entity. In circumstances where none of the members of an unincorporated body put themselves forward to represent the body as a whole in litigation, you must pursue all of the relevant members,” he said.
Treacy called on the Government to address the legal loophole where the Christian Brothers refused to put forward a nominee.
“I believe the Law Reform Commission have looked into this and they would be in favour of a reform of that, but I believe the only way that this strategy will be prevented once and for all, will be shut down, is where Leinster House looks at this and amends the legislation.”
Treacy acknowledged that the Christian Brothers had done a lot of good in communities and were widely respected as educators.
“Unfortunately, they had some of their members abusing children, but now many years later they’re finding that their names are being printed and they are now full defendants in these cases – they are now legally being pursued.”