Religious orders ‘must consider responsibilities

Cardinal Sean Brady’s assistant and coadjutor in the diocese of Armagh has said the religious orders who ran Magdalene laundries need to “consider their responsibilities in a compassionate manner”.

Speaking on RTÉ radio, Archbishop Eamon Martin was responding to calls from listeners who asked why the Church had not put more pressure on the religious congregations to contribute to the redress scheme being designed by the Department of Justice. The four Catholic orders — the Sisters of Mercy, the Sisters of Our Lady of Charity, the Sisters of Charity, and the Good Shepherd Sisters — co-operated with the McAleese inquiry but then said the report had established State involvement in sending women to the laundries and therefore the issue of redress lay with the State.

Archbishop Martin also told Today with Sean O’Rourke said he believed Pope John Paul II would have been “shocked and horrified” by the extent of child abuse in the Church. He refused to suggest the canonisation of Pope John Paul II was taking place without due regard for his failure to act on child sex abuse allegations.