How the sex abuse scandal unfolded over the decades
THE clerical child sex abuse scandal has rocked the Catholic Church over the last two decades. Allegations of sexual abuse by members of Catholic institutions and clerics began to emerge from the late 1980s onwards. However, it was not in the 1990s that revelations of paedophile priests and sex abuse in children’s homes was publicly exposed following pressure from survivors as well as public opinion and media reports.
Here in Ireland, a number of criminal cases and government inquiries exposed the extent of horrific crimes and uncovered details of how hundreds of priests abused thousands of children over decades.
Paedophile priest Brendan Smyth
ONE of the most notorious cases centred on Belfast-born paedophile Brendan Smyth, who abused more than 140 children over four decades. Smyth was arrested in 1991 in Belfast but went on the run to the Republic, where he spent three years.
The mishandling of his extradition led to the collapse of the Irish government in 1994.
The revelations led to a number of inquiries on both sides of the border.
The Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse
COMMONLY known as the Ryan Report, the inquiry looked into child abuse in institutions run by religious orders. It was established in May 2000 and went on to detail horrific neglect by religious congregations which were left to look after children.
It documented the rape and sexual assault of children. The report, published in 2009 made a number of recommendations including those to help protect children. The redress scheme cost more than €1.25billion.
The Ferns Report
THE report, published in October 2005, documented more than 100 allegations of child sexual abuse made between 1962 and 2002 against 21 priests in the Diocese of Ferns. The report addressed how allegations were handled, and stated that between 1960 and 1980, it appeared that Bishop Donal Herlihy treated child sexual abuse by priests of his diocese exclusively as a moral problem.
The Murphy Report
THE 2009 Murphy report investigated allegations of child sexual abuse by priests in the Archdiocese of Dublin from 1975 to 2004.
Released by Judge Yvonne Murphy, it examined complaints about the alleged sexual abuse of more than 320 children. The report cost €3.6million.
It stated that the four archbishops who were serving during that three-decade period – John Charles McQuaid, Dermot Ryan, Kevin McNamara and Desmond Connell – handled complaints badly.
One of the priests who admitted abuse stated he did so more than 100 times.
Another did so fortnightly for 25 years.
Along with clergy, the gardaí were accused in the report of covering up the scandal.
The Historical Institutional Abuse inquiry
THE HIA looked into historical allegations of abuse in Northern Ireland between 1922 and 1995.
The largest number of complaints stemmed from four different Catholic-run institutions.
Chaired by Sir Anthony Hart, it found that priests and lay people sexually abused children.
Last year, Sir Anthony recommended compensation, a memorial and a public apology to abuse survivors. However, the collapse
of the Northern Ireland government has led to a delay in implementing his findings.
Commission of Investigation into Mother and Baby Homes
THE commission was set up following claims of mass burials of hundreds of children at the Bon Secours Mother and Baby Home at Tuam, Co. Galway. There has also been evidence of illegal adoptions in Church-run institutions. The inquiry is ongoing.
Pope apology
IN March 2010, Pope Benedict XVI wrote a pastoral letter of apology for all of the abuse that had been carried out by Catholic clergy in Ireland.
In May 2010, Pope Benedict established a formal panel to investigate the sex abuse scandal. And in August of this year, Pope Francis apologised in an open letter to victims of clerical abuse, saying that ‘no effort will be spared to prevent abuse and its cover-up’ in the future.