Paul Murphy demands immediate redress over Church cover-up
Paul Murphy welcomed the establishment of the Commission into child sexual abuse but criticised the very long delays, the proposed timeframe and how survivor testimony and redress are to be handled. He called for immediate state-paid redress, the pursuit of Church and religious order assets to compensate survivors, and for survivor testimony to be central to the inquiry.
He welcomed that the Commission is being established but said there are real issues with the very, very long delay that it has taken to get here, concerns about the proposed timeframe as another delay, and serious issues about redress and how survivors' testimonies will be treated.
He paid tribute to survivors he has met from Cray Lane in Limerick and described the horrendous abuse they suffered and its devastating impact. He said survivors recently obtained church documents that reveal what those at the top of the Church knew and that abusers were moved rather than properly reported.
He read several church documents into the record, including a 24 February 1970 letter from Brother John Kevin Drummond to Brother Loftus admitting he had "interfered sexually with some of my pupils" and asking to be dispensed from his vows. He outlined a subsequent letter to the Vicar-General and a Vicar-General document freeing Drummond from his vows, noting that none of this was reported to the Gardaí.
He said the Catholic Church knew about paedophile priests and brothers and concealed evidence, prioritising the Church's reputation and wealth over the needs of children. He added that the State, "in thrall to the Church," did the same.
He urged that redress cannot be kicked further down the road and that the State must pay redress now, then pursue the Church and religious orders, including seizing assets to compensate survivors. He warned that the Commission's Terms of Reference must not separate survivor testimony from core investigative work and expressed concern about language that appears to give the Commission wide discretion over evidence and reliance on the Survivor Engagement Programme.
Commission and immediate criticisms
He welcomed that the Commission is being established but said there are real issues with the very, very long delay that it has taken to get here, concerns about the proposed timeframe as another delay, and serious issues about redress and how survivors' testimonies will be treated.
Survivors and documents from Cray Lane
He paid tribute to survivors he has met from Cray Lane in Limerick and described the horrendous abuse they suffered and its devastating impact. He said survivors recently obtained church documents that reveal what those at the top of the Church knew and that abusers were moved rather than properly reported.
Specific letters and institutional response
He read several church documents into the record, including a 24 February 1970 letter from Brother John Kevin Drummond to Brother Loftus admitting he had "interfered sexually with some of my pupils" and asking to be dispensed from his vows. He outlined a subsequent letter to the Vicar-General and a Vicar-General document freeing Drummond from his vows, noting that none of this was reported to the Gardaí.
Allegations against the Church and the State
He said the Catholic Church knew about paedophile priests and brothers and concealed evidence, prioritising the Church's reputation and wealth over the needs of children. He added that the State, "in thrall to the Church," did the same.
Calls for redress and survivor testimony
He urged that redress cannot be kicked further down the road and that the State must pay redress now, then pursue the Church and religious orders, including seizing assets to compensate survivors. He warned that the Commission's Terms of Reference must not separate survivor testimony from core investigative work and expressed concern about language that appears to give the Commission wide discretion over evidence and reliance on the Survivor Engagement Programme.
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Transcript
I welcome the fact that the Commission is being established, I do think there are real issues with the very, very long delay that it has taken to get here, there are issues about the timeframe that is proposed, which is another delay, there are very, very serious issues about redress, and there are issues, as I read through it, in relation to how survivors' testimonies are to be treated. If I have time, I want to come back to all of that. I just want to start by paying tribute to all those survivors, I have met on a number of occasions survivors from Cray Lane in Limerick, it is obviously horrendous, the abuse that they suffered, and the devastating impact that it has had on their lives. But they recently came into the possession of documents within the church, which reveal just exactly what was going on within the church, the knowledge that those at the top of the church had, and the fact that they did nothing apart from move around some teachers that they knew, and priests they knew were abusers. So the first letter is a letter from a paedophile Christian brother to his superiors in the Catholic hierarchy. It is a letter dated 24 February 1970 from Brother John Kevin Drummond, and it is addressed to Brother Loftus, head of the Christian Brothers Training College. It says, Dear Brother Loftus, it is with deep regret that I send you this application for a dispensation of my temporary vows. I have interfered sexually with some of my pupils and I cannot in conscience allow myself to remain in the congregation, much less to go back to the classroom knowing that the same thing could happen again. Please accept my sincerest apologies for the harm I have done to the congregation, and pray for me that I may make up in some way the harm that I have done for those boys. I would be very grateful if you would send on the dispensation as soon as possible, as I am only a nuisance and embarrassment to the brothers at the moment. I have been changed from Limerick, where it happened, to the above address, which is the Christian Brothers in James Street, Dublin 8. Then there is a letter to the Vicar-General in closing Brother Drummond's confession. It says, quote, I have a little more trouble for you. We are getting more than our share of it these days. Our Council voted unanimously that he should be dispensed and let go, and we would be grateful if you do the needful in the matter as soon as convenient. Of course there is no immediate hurry. If there were, I suppose we could give him leave of absence in anticipation of the dispensation coming. The third document is one that is signed by the Vicar-General, which says, acting in accordance with the faculties granted by decree of the sacred congregation of religious, and in response to the request of Brother Kevin Drummond of St. Helens, Province, Ireland, the Governor-General being away from Rome, the Vicar-General, with the affirmative vote of the General Council, now declares that Brother John Kevin Drummond is freed from the obligations of his vows. So he is released from his vows, but it is never reported to the Gardaí. The Church later denied any knowledge of what had happened, and they concealed the evidence that they knew about it for years. The Catholic Church knew all about paedophile priests and brothers. They were and are complicit in the endemic rape and sexual abuse of children. They knew about it, but they prioritised protecting the reputation and wealth of the Church over the needs of the children in their care. And the truth is that the State, in thrall to the Church, did exactly the same. Very quickly on the issues, there needs to be redress. Redress can't be kicked further down the road. The State needs to pay redress now, and then pursue the Church and the religious orders in a full way, including seizing assets, in order to compensate for that. But the survivors must receive redress immediately. There cannot be any more delays. The other point I will briefly make is that I am concerned with how the Terms of Reference for the Commission refers to the evidence. It says it shall exercise its discretion in relation to the extent of the evidence that it considers. It says that the Commission may make such findings and further recommendations arising out of its investigation relating to the handling of child sexual abuse and child protection. In its recommendations, the Commission may also have regard to the work of the Survivor Engagement Programme. I am concerned about the separation of the Survivor Testimony. Survivor Testimony needs to be core to the work of the Commission.