Survivors and Victims of Clerical and Institutional Abuse Ignored Again

The Dublin Rape Crisis Centre (DRCC) is very disappointed on behalf of all the survivor’s of institutional and clerical abuse who have contacted the centre over the past 30 years and who continue to tell us of their feelings of abandonment and let down over and over again by the Catholic Church. Unfortunately the outcome of the meeting between the Irish Bishops and Pope Benedict is yet again another let down in a long long line of let downs.

Ellen O’Malley-Dunlop, Chief Executive, DRCC, said “The Bishops have told us that this meeting with the Pope is part of a process. It is quite unbelievable at this stage in the process that the Pope and the Bishops don’t get it even yet. The survivors and victims are the most important people in this whole process and those who have contacted the National 24 Hour Helpline 1 800 77 88 88 were not surprised by the lack of anything meaningful coming from the meeting with the Pope. The Murphy Report found that the Catholic Church in Ireland covered up the sexual abuse of children by its clergy. No acknowledgment of this cover up was mentioned in the reports from the meeting nor was there any apology to the survivors. The victims were again ignored.”

For further information please contact:
Ellen O’Malley-Dunlop, CEO, DRCC – 01 661 4911 / 086 809 9618