200 new allegations of abuse by religious filed

ALMOST 200 new allegations of child abuse by priests and members of religious orders were reported to the Catholic Church’s child protection watchdog in the past year.

The allegations relate to a mix of physical, sexual and emotional abuse by priests and members of religious orders and missionary societies across the country’s 26 dioceses. While all were historical – coming from adults who were recounting childhood suffering in some cases as far back as 60 years ago – none of them had been reported before despite the massive publicity around the subject in recent years. Ian Elliot, chief executive of the National Board for Safeguarding Children in the Catholic Church, (NBSCCC) which published its second annual report yesterday, said it was possible the publication in the past year of the Murphy and Ryan reports on abuse by religious may have prompted people to come forward who had previously stayed silent.

He said he had no idea if this was an indication of the level of unreported allegations that were likely to surface in future years.