Dr
Margaret Kennedy (founder of MACSAS) has completed a small pilot study in
response to the Vatican Visitation Summary Report in Ireland. She concludes
that the Vatican Report findings cannot be proven or substantiated and
questions the Vatican Report's assertion that 'Much' has been done to support
victims of clergy sexual abuse in Ireland'.
She says
that "Victims of clergy sexual abuse in Ireland are suffering even today,
often without the necessary support and help that makes a 'life worth living'
with standards of 'quality of life' as set down by the World Health
Organisation. The Catholic Church must urgently address the hidden needs of
victims and seek to repair lives fully and adequately."
Margaret
calls for a full inquiry, independent research and examination of the
conditions that victims of clergy sexual abuse are now living in."
In her Summary and Conclusions, Margaret writes
In her Summary and Conclusions, Margaret writes
"The statement made by the Vatican, (and often by Church
authorities in Ireland also), that the
Church is supporting victims sexually abused by clergy in Ireland, is NOT
supported by this survey’s findings, though a much larger study is required to
conclusively say this.
The responses to allegations have overall been negative, rejecting, and
even blaming. Only in one case has it
been rectified in the present time ....
Most respondents display despair, hopelessness, bitterness, anger and
cynicism regarding the Catholic Church.
They shared their ongoing suffering in their daily lives. Loss of faith, singleness, loneliness, post
traumatic stress, and a great deal of emotional and psychological pain over
years. Only a few were receiving church funded counselling. Some live in great
financial hardship.
Their continued fights for justice, with three cases taking well over 15
years to be resolved justly, and still ongoing, is testament to the
intransigence and stonewalling by church leaders and their solicitors.
Victims financial sacrifices to obtain both counselling and legal
redress has been extensive in some cases. Some mentioning thousands of Euro,
whilst one sold an heirloom with emotional devastation. A sick and disabled survivor now living in
America cannot afford to eat.
Victims shared ideas and their own message to the church to be humble,
accept responsibility, those accountable for letting perpetrators continue to
abuse to resign, and to change attitudes and values.
Their views of the Vatican visitation was that the process was a “waste of time”. They felt both Church leadership at home and
in Rome “don’t listen”, “they cannot”, one implied they were not even ’human’:
“first, they must become human’ .
They said the summary report did not reflect reality and one respondents
views given to the ‘Visitator’ was neither heard or reported in the
summary."
She
recommends
"That the State or Independent body establish a full research
programme to determine exactly:
a) how many adults have
been sexually assaulted in adulthood by clergy religious or religious
sisters. This should include religious sisters abused in convents, male
seminarians and novices in training, and vulnerable (disabled) adults.
b) what victims of Clergy
Sexual abuse say THEY require for recovery or to achieve a measure of ‘life
worth living’ using the WHO ‘Quality of Life’ paradigm as thresholds of good
practice. ...
c) To determine what
services victims of clergy sexual abuse are receiving from both state and
church funded bodies.
d) to determine if these
services are meeting ALL the needs of victims which include housing help,
education help, financial help, social help, medical help, psychological help
and legal help.
e) to determine why victims
seeking redress are languishing well into the two decades AFTER reporting and
first seeking such redress.
f) any research must
include victims who are intellectually or physically disabled and their views
and service provision should be actively determined FROM THEM not from
care-workers or providers."
