Two items from today's Irish Times
I don't suppose for one moment that persecution by Christians counts for much in your book (and it certainly won't raise a twitch on your nodding dog's sliding scale), but below is an indication that the Christian clerical abuse shit has hit the U.K. fan and is likely to run and run
Jim Carroll

BROTHERS APOLOGISE FOR ABUSE AND SUFFERING OF BOYS IN THEIR CARE

SISTERS OF NAZARETH 'APPALLED AND SHOCKED' BY TESTIMONY GIVEN ABOUT THEIR ORDER

DAN KEENAN in Banbridge
The De La Salle Brothers have apologised unreservedly for abuse and suffering inflicted on children in their care.
The inquiry into historical abuse at a range of residential care homes in Northern Ireland heard senior counsel for the reli¬gious order offer the apology yesterday during the second day of oral hearings.
Kevin Rooney QC, for the De La Salle Brothers, said: "Broth¬ers recognise the immense pain and suffering and damage caused to those victims who have been abused."
He added: "Brothers recog¬nise the sense of betrayal that the victims have experienced and the violation of trust caused by certain brothers with¬in the order. They recognise that there have been failures to protect the victims.
"De La Salle order deeply re¬grets the acts of some of its members which have irrepara¬bly damaged the reputation of the order and undermines the selfless care provided by so many of the brothers in pursu¬ance of their vocation."
The coming months will not be easy for the brothers or for victims, he told the inquiry.
Further admissions
The inquiry, chaired by Sir An¬thony Hart, also heard admis¬sions from senior counsel on be¬half of a second religious order. Turlough Montague QC, repre¬senting the Sisters of Nazareth, said members of the order were "appalled and shocked" by some of the testimonies that have come to light so far.
The sisters "have already be¬gun their period of reflection on the past".
"Former residents have come to them over the past number of years to tell them of their unhappiness in their homes and they have been ap¬palled and shocked at the state¬ments of those persons who have come before the inquiry to date to tell of their experiences in their homes," Mr Montague said.
"I also wish to state on behalf of the Sisters of Nazareth that they recognise the hurt that has been caused to some children in their care. They apologise un¬reservedly for any abuse suf¬fered by children in their care. They go forward hoping that les¬sons will be learned not just by them in the provision of care but also by carers generally in society and the wider society at large."
Moira Smyth, appearing for the North's Health and Social Care Board, told the inquiry's chairman: "Where the board failed to meet acceptable stand¬ards for the care and upbring¬ing of children in institutions, and that resulted in wrongdo¬ing, the board is sorry and of¬fers its apologies to the individu¬als concerned."
BETTER FUTURE
The sharing of experiences and close scrutiny of those in institu¬tions should assist in develop¬ing a better future for children who live in residential care, she said.
Short opening statements were also made by representa¬tion for other agencies or bod¬ies - the so-called core partici¬pants in the inquiry. These in¬clude children's charity Bar nardos, the Stormont Depart¬ment of Justice and Depart¬ment of Health, Social Services and Public Safety.
LEARNING FROM PAST
Claire Bates, for Barnardos, said the organisation was com¬mitted to learning from the past.
Francis O'Reilly, represent¬ing the Stormont Department of Health, said access by the in¬quiry to records was granted without hesitation and further assistance would be freely giv¬en.
For the Department of Jus¬tice, Martin Wolfe pledged "co-operation and openness", adding that a collegiate re¬sponse by all "core partici¬pants" would help ensure the in¬quiry met its objectives.
Sir Anthony said the next public hearing of the inquiry on January 27th would address two residential institutions in Derry in accordance with the in¬quiry's plan to deal with evi¬dence in "modules".
The first witnesses are expected to be heard on January 28th.


NORTHERN CARE HOMES 'SURVIVORS OF A BYGONE AGE'
DAN KEENAN
The North's residential care homes were reminiscent of "a bygone age" that had not moved with the times, an in¬quiry into historical abuse in Co Down has heard.
Senior counsel for the inquiry Christine Smith QC told the sec¬ond day of public hearings: "The evidence suggests that those homes operated as outdated survivors of a bygone age."
Reforms aligned with the in¬troduction of the welfare state in Britain after the second World War were not fully imple¬mented, she said.
She illustrated this by refer¬ring to one unnamed witness who has given details to the in¬quiry of her treatment at the hands of residential home workers following bed-wetting incidents. This witness said that, as a child, she had had her nose rubbed in the wet mat¬tress and forced to take a cold baths using Jeyes Fluid, Ms Smith told the inquiry.
The senior counsel had been outlining the historical and leg¬islative background to child¬care during the years 1922 to 1995, the years under examina¬tion by the inquiry under its terms of reference.
HISTORICAL ENVIRONMENT
During the final day of her open¬ing submission to the inquiry, Ms Smith detailed the histori¬cal and legal environment in which 13 residential care institu¬tions under examination by the inquiry evolved.
The inquiry "will be a lengthy and at times difficult process", Ms Smith warned. She went on to pose a range of questions that she said went to the heart of the inquiry's task.
The issue is whether the facts point to systems failure in insti¬tutions responsible for the care of vulnerable children, she said.
"What was known, by whom, when and what was done about it?" she asked. "What steps were taken to avoid repetition, were police involved and, if not, why not?"
She said the inquiry needed to establish what abuse, if any, took place in homes. Future hearings would examine what abuse was alleged and how com¬plaints were addressed at institu¬tional and governmental level.
Accommodation provision for children would be exam¬ined. Questions would be asked if such facilities were adequate and kept in repair, and whether siblings were allowed to stay to¬gether.
She said funding arrangements would be investigate; and how, if at all, state and vol¬untary institutions differed ii their funding arrangements. It was important to examine how much reliance there was on charitable donations and whether there was any difference to per capita payments and the state and other institution;
BACKGROUND CHECKS
Staffing levels, the adequacy training, vetting and background checks would all co: within the remit of the inquiry.
Issues relating to healthcare, illness and injury care would also arise, she said, as would the levels of health qualification among staff charged with looking after children.