By Cian Molloy
Catholic News Service

DUBLIN, Ireland (CNS) — The abuse of children in institutions run by Catholic priests and nuns was part of a culture that was prevalent in the Catholic Church in Ireland, the Irish Catholic Bishops’ Conference said at the conclusion of its summer meeting.

The bishops spent a major portion of their June 8-10 meeting discussing a report from the Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse, published May 20 under chairman Sean Ryan.

The commission found that Church institutions failed to prevent an extensive level of sexual, physical and emotional abuse and neglect.

“The Ryan report represents the most recent disturbing indictment of a culture that was prevalent in the Catholic Church in Ireland for far too long,” the bishops said. “Heinous crimes were perpetrated against the most innocent and vulnerable, and vile acts with life-lasting effects were carried out under the guise of the mission of Jesus Christ.

“This abuse represents a serious betrayal of the trust which was placed in the Church. For this we ask forgiveness. We are ashamed, humbled and repentant that our people strayed so far from their Christian ideals,” the bishops said.

The bishops offered four immediate responses to the report:

• Sadness over the “suffering of so many for so long.”

• An invitation to survivors to “engage with us” in an effort to understand how to assist the victims of abuse.

• The intention to respond as pastors “despite the inadequacies at times of our previous pastoral responses.”

• Praying for the “well being and peace of mind for all who suffered” and urging all Catholics to join them in prayer.

The 18 Irish religious orders implicated in the decades of abuse of thousands of children in their care have agreed to increase their contribution to the compensation fund for victims.

Following a June 4 meeting with the Irish prime minister and other government ministers, the orders also agreed to an independent audit of their assets, so that their ability to pay further compensation can be determined.

In a joint statement following the meeting, initiated by Irish Prime Minister Brian Cowan, the orders said they were willing “to make financial and other contributions toward a broad range of measures, designed to alleviate the hurt caused to people who were abused in their care.”

“The congregations will contribute toward a trust, proposed by (Cowan), and a process has now commenced to establish how this can be achieved,” the statement said. “Each congregation is fully committed to identifying its resources, both financial and other, within a transparent process, with a view to delivering upon commitments made today.

“We agreed to commence this process immediately, and we have also agreed to meet the ‘Taoiseach’ (prime minister) again in two weeks’ time,” the statement said.

The May 20 report said a climate of fear created by pervasive, excessive and arbitrary punishment permeated most of Ireland’s residential care institutions for children and all those run for boys from 1940 through the 1970s.

These residential institutions, funded by the state but often run by Catholic religious orders, included schools, orphanages, hospitals, children’s homes or any other institutions where children were in the care of nonfamily members.

The five government officials met June 3 with representatives from eight organizations representing survivors, who called on the government to ensure that the orders bore 50 percent of the cost of the compensation paid to victims.

Under the terms of a 2002 deal with the Irish government, the 18 religious congregations received indemnity from being sued by victims in exchange for contributing 128 million euros ($179 million) to a victims compensation fund.

Following publication of the report in May, it was learned that the total amount being paid in compensation to victims was 1.2 billion euros so that, until now, the religious orders were only paying about 10 percent of the total compensation package.

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