'Shamed' brothers handover €161m
Funds to aid victims of abuse
The Christian Brothers plan to hand over € 34m in cash to directly help victims of abuse. Photo: Press Association
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Wednesday November 25 2009
THE Christian Brothers are handing over €161m in cash and property in the wake of devastating Ryan report on child abuse.
The congregation said in a statement that €34m in cash will be used directly to help victims of child abuse.
The transfer of €127m in property assets will be be used to "begin to repair trust with so many people in Ireland who felt betrayed by the brothers".
"Our response reflects the moral obligation we collectively and individually feel," they declared.
The move by the Christian Brothers comes as the Catholic Church is set to be rocked by another damning report on sex abuse -- this time by priests in the Dublin archdiocese.
The interim report of the Commission of Investigation into clerical sexual abuse in the archdiocese of Dublin was discussed by the Cabinet and is expected to be published tomorrow. That damning report finds the Catholic hierarchy and state authorities failed to respond to allegations of clerical child abuse made against a sample of 46 priests.
Last night, in a statement posted on their website, the Christian Brothers said they were shamed and sorrowed at the extent of abuse of children in their care. Other congregations are expected to release details of their assets today.
The 18 congregations involved had agreed to reveal details of their assets following publication of the Ryan report in May.
Politicians and the public demanded that they pay more compensation than the €128m figure agreed with former Education Minister Michael Woods as the cost to the State was estimated at a massive €1.3bn.
The Christian Brothers, previously the country's largest male teaching order, came in for scathing criticism in the report. For instance, the Ryan Commission said that in St Joseph's industrial school, Artane, in Dublin, corporal punishment was pervasive. Brothers used a variety of weapons and devised methods of increasing suffering when inflicting punishment and, in some cases, they were cruel and even sadistic.
Punishment
In Letterfrack, Co Galway, it was impossible to avoid punishment because it was frequently capricious, unfair and inconsistent. In cases of sexual abuse in Letterfrack, the interests of the congregation and an abusing brother were put ahead of the welfare of the boys.
After the report was published, the Christian Brothers were the first to accept that they needed to pay more than the €30m they had already paid since 1996.
In their statement last night, they said they proposed to:
Make a donation of €30m to an independent trust established by the Government to respond to the direct educational, welfare and medical needs of former residents.
Contribute €4m over the next five years to support counsellor and therapeutic services such as Faoiseamh.
Transfer €127m worth of playing fields and lands to a separate independent trust.
"Our fervent hope is that the initiatives proposed will assist in the provision of support services to former residents of the institutions as well as the facilities, resources and scope to protect, cherish and educate present and future generations of children," they said on their website www.christianbrothers.eu, which also gives details of their assets and liabilities.
It shows assets at the end of June of €240.9m -- this includes €51.7m in investment assets and €10m in bank accounts.
It is proposed to transfer 67pc of this total into independent trusts. The remain 23pc of their assets are accounted for by liabilities (€8.1m); continuation of services such as teacher education in Marino College, Dublin, (€29.7m) and the living, welfare and care of members (€22.9m). There are 250 brothers in the country with an average of 74 years -- only 62 are under 65 years of age. Many of them need healthcare.
The latest proposed transfer follows last year's handing over of schools and associated properties by the brothers to the Edmund Rice Schools Trust (ERST), an independent body. The transfer value, inclusive of funding and establishment costs, was €435m. The Christian Brothers added: "We understand and regret that nothing we say or do can turn back the clock for those affected by abuse".
- John Walshe
Irish Independent
