Call for global inquiry into Church abuses after Pope’s apology to Ireland
A founder member of a child abuse support group has called for the expanding of official inquiries into the activities of Catholic missionaries abroad.
John Kelly of Survivors of Child Abuse (Soca) said that child sex abuse at the hands of Catholic clergy is a “worldwide problem”.
“The Christian brothers have missionaries all over the world; the Pope referred to that in his letter,” he said. “What the Pope didn’t say is that we know they did it in Africa, we know they did it in Canada, and we know they did it in America. There’s been terrible abuse in Australia. And now there’s Poland, Holland and Ger-many.
“We know that they supported abuse across three continents. It’s not just Ireland. It’s a worldwide problem, a global problem. We know that for a fact,” said Kelly, himself a survivor of clerical abuse.
In his pastoral letter to the Irish people released last week, Pope Benedict XVI apologised to the survivors of clerical sex abuse for “grave errors of judgement” and “failures of leadership” committed by Irish church authorities. The papal letter also praised the work of Irish clergy for their work outside Ireland.
“Many dioceses, especially in Africa, America and Australia, benefited from the presence of Irish clergy ... who preached the Gospel and established parishes, schools and universities, clinics and hospitals that served both Catholics and the community at large, with particular attention to the needs of the poor,” the letter read.
John Kelly – who spent two years at Daingean Reformatory in Co Offaly, where he says he was abused between 1965 and 1967 – believes the Pope’s letter is a positive move, but must not be the end of it.
“He’s acknowledged that it’s a criminal act. That’s a step forward. He’s acknowledged that there was a cover-up. That’s a step forward. There are a lot of positives, but we need to know now, what do all these things mean?”
He said the Irish branch of Soca, which was formed in 1999, will seek a meeting with the Primate of All-Ireland, Cardinal Seán Brady, to clarify statements made in the Pope’s letter.
Kelly highlighted one passage where the Pope tells any priest who has abused children to “submit yourself to the demands of justice”.
“What does that mean?” he asked. “There has to be some clarification.”
While there have been calls for Cardinal Brady’s resignation with regard to his handling of clerical abuse reports, Kelly took a more practical stand.
“You better be careful what you wish for. If he resigns, he can go away. If he stays, he can be made accountable,” he said.
The Irish Times reported on Monday 22 March that Dublin’s Archbishop Diarmuid Martin supports “full accountability” with regard to any investigation of clerical child sex abuse in Ireland.
“Without accountability for the past there will no healing and no trust for the future,” Archbishop Martin said.
