A fair deal for the abused
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OVER the last week the answers to the question of how to make religious orders pay their fair share of the compensation to those who suffered so dreadfully in many of their institutions appeared little by little to become clear.
At first, they had appeared slow to take on board the extent of the anger and horror prompted by the disclosures of the catalogue of physical, sexual and emotional abuse detailed in the Ryan Report. Not so the leaders of the Catholic Church in Ireland, Cardinal Sean Brady and Archbishop Diarmuid Martin. Once they spoke, it was clear the 2002 deal between the Government and congregations must be revisited.
Under that arrangement, the Government gave the orders an indemnity against claims above a total of €128m. In reality, their liability was much lower. The cost to the taxpayers is in the region of €1.3bn.
Even after the two leading churchmen expressed their opinions, the congregations still expressed no willingness to renegotiate. But they changed their tune quickly. Not only were they under pressure from Armagh and Drumcondra, they had the civil authorities to contend with. The Government, having responded weakly at first, found a voice and something like a backbone.
By the end of the week, the lines seemed firm. The 2002 deal would be renegotiated, probably on a 50-50 basis. The Government, not the congregations, would decide how to spend the €500m thus gained. And Justice Minister Dermot Ahern talked of prosecuting the perpetrators. But yesterday, Sister Elizabeth Maxwell, one of the chief negotiators of 2002, shocked the country, and especially the victims, when she cast doubt on the prospect of renegotiation.
She can hardly have foreseen the effect of this. The debate on redress, and the manner in which the 2002 "sweetheart deal" was arranged, had already brought the good faith of the orders into question. Unless they agree a new deal -- and pay their share promptly and without equivocation -- the damage to the standing of the Church could have appalling consequences for our whole society.
The new terms must be roughly 50-50, as the Government Chief Whip, Pat Carey, indicated last night. Not only must all crimes be investigated, the Garda must not wait for victims or perpetrators to come forward. They must pursue the criminals vigorously. And the orders must consider, deeply and urgently, how to restore their good name.
