Irish Religious Offer More to Abuse Victims

Irish religious congregations have offered an additional 348 million euros ($470 million) to compensate victims of abuse in church-run industrial schools. But an Irish government spokesman said that amount, even added to the large sums already paid by religious orders, was still insufficient. The offer from the religious came almost 12 months after a report from the Commission to Inquire Into Child Abuse revealed that the physical and sexual abuse of children had been endemic in some government institutions run by religious orders. The commission heard from more than 10,000 former residents of the homes who alleged abuse. When the abuse first came to light in 2002, the religious congregations paid compensation totaling 128 million euros. Since the publication of the report in May 2009, compensation payouts from a redress board have increased dramatically and now amount to more than 1.3 billion euros.