Orders still failing to contact victims of clerical abuse

Religious orders are still failing to respond adequately to victims of clerical child sex abuse, the latest tranche of monitoring reports reveals.

While practices have improved in terms of acting quickly on allegations of abuse and alerting the gardaí and health authorities, orders are subsequently running scared of complainants and cutting themselves off from contact with them.

“They miss that human bit,” said Teresa Devlin, chief executive of the National Board for Safeguarding Children in the Catholic Church (NBSCCC) which yesterday published reviews of safeguarding practice in 18 orders and congregations.