A leading campaigner for a clerical abuse inquiry in the North has repeated his call for the Stormont government to initiate an investigation after claims made by Ian Elliott saying that the hierarchy of the Catholic Church are using “covert means to limit internal investigations”.
Donegal man Michael Connolly says the victims of abuse can have no faith or confidence in any reports prepared and produced by the Catholic Church child watchdog organisation.
“The only inquiry that victims of abuse can have confidence in is one based on a statutory footing which would have the legal ability to obtain information and produce a transparent outcome,” said Mr Connolly.
“These types of revelations made by Mr Elliott create more hurt to the hundreds of survivors who have been subjected to horrendous physical, mental and sexual abuse in parishes and schools across Northern Ireland for decades who are not getting any younger.”
The Donegal man says victims of clerical abuse feel they are been ignored by political leaders in the North.
Said Michael: “Survivors over the age of eighteen abused in Magdalena laundries and victims of clerical abuse met with junior ministers Jonathan Bell and Jennifer McCann at the beginning of June 2013. Since then we have written on a number of occasions to the joint committee in the hope of a positive response but despite our best efforts we have only received a number of letters in response from the correspondence secretary which reads “your correspondence is currently under consideration”
“One must only look to the reports released by the Catholic Church child watchdog committee for a small indication of the amount of victims throughout Northern Ireland, one must also take note of the recommendations made by the European Committee on Torture and also the outcome of the European convention of human rights Vatican public Inquiry last month of a much-needed Northern Ireland state Inquiry.
“We urge the Northern Ireland assembly to respond positively to our call and begin the process of initiating a state Inquiry without further delay and give the abuse victims the justice they deserve.”
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