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Irish Church Long Shielded Pedophiles: Report

Long-awaited report finds rampant abuses at reform schools

By Ambreen Ali, Newser User

Posted May 20, 2009 12:29 PM CDT

(Newser) – Sexual abuse was endemic in Irish Catholic institutions until the 1980s, a 9-year government inquiry has found. Over a 60-year period, 2000 children—mostly boys, now over 50—suffered physical and sexual abuses at the rigid schools, the BBC reports. Church officials encouraged beatings and shielded pedophiles in their orders, while inspectors failed to stop the chronic abuse, the report alleges.

While a cardinal says abusers should be held to account, the findings are unlikely to result in criminal prosecution, partly because the targeted Christian Brothers order succeeded in having the accused remain anonymous. The commission does recommend 21 ways the government can recognize past wrongs, like building a memorial, improving child protective services, and providing counseling to still-traumatized victims.

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A member of a child-abuse survivors group, right, and the brother of an abuse victim shout outside a press conference about the report. (AP Photo)

Kevin Flannagan, brother of a child abuse victim, is seen in Dublin earlier today. (AP Photo)

Journalists take away copies of the Child Abuse Report in Dublin, Ireland, today. (AP Photo)

Religious statues are seen at St Patrick's Roman Catholic Church in Dublin. A fiercely debated, long-delayed investigation into church abuses sees light today. (AP Photo)

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The reformatory and industrial schools depended on rigid control by means of severe corporal punishment and the fear of such punishment.
- The Commission to Inquire Into Child Abuse report

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Irish Church Long Shielded Pedophiles: Report