Irish Catholic orders refuse to revise abuse compensation
Andrew Bushe
DUBLIN, Andrew Bushe - Irish Roman Catholic religious orders which ran homes where children were abused for decades ruled out Monday renegotiating a disputed deal for compensating the victims.
The announcement came despite pressure from Cardinal Sean Brady, leader of the Catholic Church in Ireland, for the orders to do more following a major report last week which exposed widespread abuse in church-run institutions.
"We fully accept that we seriously failed vulnerable people while in our care and that we have an ongoing responsibility to try to meet their needs," the 18 orders who ran the institutions said following a meeting Monday.
"Rather than re-opening the terms of the agreement reached with government in 2002, we reiterate our commitment to working with those who suffered enormously while in our care.
"We must find the best and most appropriate ways of directly assisting them."
In the 2002 deal, the Catholic orders capped their share of the compensation bill for abuse victims at 128 million euros (177 million dollars), but opposition politicians have called on the government to renegotiate.
Cardinal Brady added his voice to these calls Monday, saying: "It should be revisited taking into account the potential of people to pay.
"The needs above all of the victims, we have to keep coming back to that."
He spoke as the 12 most senior Irish bishops gathered outside Dublin to consider their response to the report, which revealed sexual and physical abuse of children in the homes dating back to the 1930s.
In a statement afterwards, they apologised to "those so cruelly abused" and said the report was a "significant step in establishing the truth."
They did not directly address the religious orders' announcement, but said: "We will work closely with religious congregations and institutes in addressing the needs of survivors of abuse and in the healing process."
In an article in the Irish Times earlier, the Archbishop of Dublin, Diarmuid Martin, urged the orders to "invest substantially" in supporting the abused.
"There are many ways in which substantial financial investment in supporting survivors and their families can be brought about," he wrote.
Addressing the orders, he said: "In many ways, it is your last chance to render honour to charismatic founders and to so many good members of your congregations who feel tarnished."
A government body has already paid out almost one billion euros in compensation and legal fees to around 12,500 of the more than 14,500 victims who claim they were abused in the institutions.
Martin said it was "stunning" that the full 128 million euros promised by the orders had not yet been paid out.
"There may have been legal difficulties, but they are really a poor excuse after so many years," he wrote.
Compensation has been sought by Irish people now living in more than 30 countries. The average award is about 65,000 euros, with those most severely abused getting up to 300,000 euros.
Meanwhile, a spokesman for Garda Commissioner Factna Murphy said that he had appointed Assistant Commissioner Derek Byrne to examine the report "from a criminal justice point of view".
However, such a review is likely to be lengthy as none of the alleged abusers were named in the report and the events took place a long time ago.
"Obviously at the end of the day they have to prove a case beyond reasonable doubt and they have to convince the DPP (Director of Public Prosecutions) in that respect," said justice minister Dermot Ahern.
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