Abuse inquiry

A chara, – The announcement by the Minister for Education to set up a “scoping inquiry” into allegations of historical sexual abuse at schools run by religious orders is a step in the right direction. Any abuse, even just one case, is abhorrent. The inquiry as announced is, however, a highly discriminatory step.

Religious orders are not the only organisations which provide such educational services. Is the Minister suggesting that those others are immune from such abuse, including schools run by the State itself? Studies of abuse in US public schools also indicate serious levels of abuse. Why restrict the scoping inquiry to schools run by religious orders, if we are serious about discovering the full facts?

It is of further concern in that religious orders are characteristic of the Catholic Church. To restrict the inquiry just to Catholic organisations would seem to suggest that the Catholic Church is inherently more to be mistrusted than other organisations. The Murphy report on the handling of allegations of abuse dealt overwhelmingly with how Dublin diocese handled allegations, while failing to scrutinise equally the handling of those cases by the State, which was also in the terms of reference. The result is a serious imbalance.

Article 44 of the Constitution of Ireland states: “The State shall not impose any disabilities or make any discrimination on the ground of religious profession, belief or status.” To inquire selectively into just one religious denomination, while there are many other institutions also involved in schools, hardly seems to respect that constitutional mandate.