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A crow flies past the Papal Cross in Phoenix Park, in Dublin, Ireland - Source: Reuters -
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Irish bishops said they were "ashamed, humbled and repentant"
about widespread abuse of children at Catholic-run schools after
victims marched silently to the Irish parliament to demand
justice.
Disclosures of floggings, slave labour and gang rape in Ireland's
now defunct system of industrial and reform schools have shamed
Irish people, particularly older ones who did not confront what a
report last month described as endemic abuse.
"Heinous crimes were perpetrated against the most innocent and
vulnerable, and vile acts with life-lasting effects were carried
out under the guise of the mission of Jesus Christ," the Irish
Bishops' Conference said in a statement.
The leaders of the Catholic Church in Ireland met Pope Benedict on
Saturday and he told them to make sure justice was done for all,
"to bring healing to the survivors of abuse" and to prevent abuse
from happening again, the bishops said.
The statement came hours after hundreds of victims of abuse,
carrying children's shoes and wearing white ribbons symbolising
their lost youth, marched to parliament accompanied by thousands of
other protestors. "It was as if you were inside prison and
when you come out you don't talk about it," said Marina Permaul,
66, who was brought up "military style" by nuns in the western
county of Galway.
"You don't talk about it even to your children," said Permaul, who
arrived from London to attend the march. "You're too ashamed of it
all, and in any case would they believe you? You didn't dare speak
out against a religious order."
Compensation
Organisers of the march, held to coincide with a parliamentary
debate on the report, have expressed anger that the debate was
postponed to allow parliament to deal with a motion of confidence
in the government.
"It really emphasises again that the state hasn't actually
understood one iota of what it was like for 165,000 children who
went through 216 institutions," said victim Christine
Buckley.
The inquiry, chaired by High Court Justice Sean Ryan, criticised
religious authorities for covering up the crimes and the Department
of Education for colluding in the silence. It noted children were
also preyed upon by foster parents, volunteer workers and
employers.
The report did not identify abusers after a successful legal
challenge by the Christian Brothers, which was the largest provider
of residential care for boys in Ireland.
A series of scandals involving predatory priests has dislodged the
Roman Catholic Church from its once pre-eminent position in Irish
society but there is anger that many have avoided jail.
Religious orders identified in the report have come under pressure
to pay more compensation to victims. A 2002 deal capped their
contribution to a redress fund at 127 million euros. The total bill
is expected to top one billion euros.
Buckley said the fund was a failure and she has called for its
awards to be reviewed and a trust fund set up instead.
"The whole idea of the redress board was another form of
institutional abuse. It is silent, it is behind closed doors and
there is punishment if you reveal your award," said Buckley, who
set up the Aislinn Centre, which provides support for
survivors.
A further report by a commission investigating complaints of child
sexual abuse involving Catholic priests in the Dublin Archdiocese
from the 1970s is due to be completed in coming weeks.
In the United States, the Roman Catholic archdiocese of Los Angeles
agreed to pay $660 million to 500 victims in the largest
compensation of its kind.
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