BishopAccountability.org
	Abuse Claims Exaggerated Say Christian Brothers By Chris Parkin The Scotsman [Ireland] Downloaded October 26, 2003 One of Ireland’s biggest Roman Catholic church religious orders clashed today with an organisation representing victims of sex abuse after denying the practice had been so widespread as claimed. In a statement, the Christian Brothers rejected what they called “the now-established perception” that there had large scale systematic abuse in institutions they ran. They stressed that it had been openly acknowledged that “some abuse” had taken place, but said allegations had been made against large number of their members, the vast majority of whom strongly rejected the claims. The order maintained that more than 95% of Christian Brothers had worked in ordinary day schools for periods of up to 40 years, without any allegation or hint of complaint against them. of Today’s statement was backed by an organisation called “Let Our Voices Emerge (LOVE),” made up of people who were raised in Christian Brother establishments throughout Ireland. A spokeswoman said they wanted to show “the positive side” of being raised by the brothers, and denied abuse had been as widespread as alleged, adding “The religious carers have been getting the raw end of the deal. These people have already been convicted by society, and had their lives ruined.” The same group also said conditions in the homes involved were better than had been portrayed. But the One in Four victims’ organisation said the Christian Brothers’ statement marked “a highly-regrettable backward step.” It claimed the move amounted to “a return to the mindset of blanket denial, which characterised the Christian Brothers’ approach to the issue of sexual abuse prior to 1999. “In both content and tone, the statement will cause further deep hurt to the men and women supported by One in Four, who experienced widespread sexual, physical and emotional abuse in institutions and day schools run by the Christian Brothers.” The organisation also declared: “Those who will find the statement most offensive are the many victims seeking support from One in Four, who as day pupils in schools run by the Christian Brothers, experienced significant levels of abuse. “For these vulnerable men and women, there is no political forum, no redress and no acknowledgement of their abuse. “The reason for this statement by the Christian Brothers to exonerate 95% of their members accused of sexual abuse, is not yet clear.” One in Four said such attempts at “re-writing the history of sexual abuse perpetrated by members of the Christian Brothers” should serve to strengthen political resolve for the reinstatement of an Irish government commission that was established to probe institutional abuse over a period of decades.
Any original material on these pages is copyright © BishopAccountability.org 2004. Reproduce freely with attribution.