Child sexual abuse ‘moral failure rather than crime’

THE sexual abuse of children at an industrial school in Galway was viewed by the Christian Brothers as a moral failure rather than a crime, an inquiry heard last night.

Two brothers have been found guilty of sexual abuse at St Joseph’s school in Letterfrack and four more as well as a lay person were disciplined by the Christian Brothers for similar offences in the 1930s, ‘40s, ‘50s and ‘60s.

At the Child Abuse Commission, provincial leader Brother David Gibson said the congregation had not reported the abuse to the gardaí because of their beliefs at the time. “In the ‘30s, ‘40s and ‘50s, when incidents of child abuse came to the attention of brothers, this was seen as a moral failure on the part of the brothers.