THE CATHOLIC Church in Northern Ireland has unreservedly apologised to victims of institutional abuse and given assurances it will co-operate fully with an official investigation.
At a meeting between members of the Survivors and Victims of Institutional Abuse group and Cardinal Seán Brady in Armagh yesterday, the church promised to appoint a liaison officer to deal with allegations of abuse in homes run by religious orders.
Representatives of four convent orders at the centre of allegations of physical, sexual and emotional abuse were also in attendance. They pledged to open up their archives to the investigation.
In December 2010, the Stormont executive said it would hold an inquiry into historical complaints dating back to the 1940s, to cover institutions run by Catholic, state and voluntary organisations.
Survivor of institutional abuse Margaret McGuckin described yesterday’s meeting, the first with the all-Ireland primate, as “very hopeful”. “I didn’t have high expectations going into the meeting as I have been let down by the church on so many occasions,” she said.
“We were quite angry, although we carried ourselves with dignity. I think some of the nuns were shocked to hear what we said, but they needed to hear it . . . The cardinal said it was the most profound meeting he has ever had on this issue.”
Ms McGuckin says she was physically abused from the age of three until she was 11 at a home run by the Nazareth Sisters in Belfast.
“To be removed from your parents when you are only three years old is obviously extremely traumatic in itself, but then to be subjected to degrading, humiliating treatment . . . It has ruined my life.
“I was always ashamed of who I was. When I was 11, I went back to live with my dad, but he had a nervous breakdown. I ended up on the streets. I was a mess. I am only beginning to come to terms with it.”
Cardinal Brady said he wished to “confirm that we believe the experiences the group shared with us” and to acknowledge the continuing impact of those experiences on their lives. “We apologise wholeheartedly and without reserve for the abuse that they suffered.”