PATSY McGARRY, Religious Affairs Correspondent
CHILD ABUSE REPORT: THE 18 congregations which signed the redress deal with the State in June 2002 have for the first time as a group expressed shame and asked forgiveness for the systematic brutality of children in institutions managed by them and as recounted in the Ryan report.
In a joint statement following their meeting in Dublin yesterday, the 18 said: “Children were abused and not listened to, and we are ashamed that many of us failed them in different ways. We once again deeply apologise to those who were abused and ask for their forgiveness.”
Former Cori president Sr Elizabeth Maxwell, leader of the Presentation Sisters Northern Province, which is one of the 18 congregations, said last night that there was “still dismay, still shock’’ among them at what was revealed in the Ryan report. “We are asking forgiveness. It has gone beyond apology,’’ she said.
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