Labour calls for radical reform after Ferns diocese inquiry

Following the Ferns Report, society had a duty "to seek fundamental and radical reform" of systems which failed to protect its weakest and most vulnerable, Labour Party deputy leader Liz McManus said last night.

"The Catholic Church may well believe that as an institution it has the right to self-regulate and develop and follow its own internal rules, but we are a democratic society and as such have a right to ensure that control of our education system is open and accountable to the people," she said.

Addressing the Labour Youth national conference in Galway, she pointed out that many abusers in Ferns were in positions of power and responsibility within school structures.

"Fr Seán Fortune had been chair of the board of management of the primary school at Ballymurn," she said.

"The drastic failures within the culture of the Catholic Church and the 'culture of secrecy and a fear of causing scandal' contributed to the abuse of so many children in Wexford," she said. She noted that the Ferns Report "was quite clear in stating where the priorities of the church authorities lay". She quoted from the report: "by failing to properly identify the problem of child abuse even to colleagues and professionals, bishops placed the interests of the church ahead of children whose protection and safety should at all times have been a priority".

Meanwhile, the One in Four group, which helps people who have suffered abuse as children, has been inundated with calls for assistance since publication of the report. Group director Colm O'Gorman said yesterday they had been contacted by 160 people seeking advice and who had never discussed their abuse with anyone before.

On an average busy week One in Four would be contacted by 15 such people, he said, while the group's waiting list for psychotherapy had quadrupled to 81.

The One in Four website has experienced a 400 per cent increase in hits since publication of the report. Many people were from older age categories, with a large number over 60, he said.

This was "both heartwarming and heartbreaking". It was "hugely encouraging" where One in Four's work was concerned, but heartbreaking to realise people had lived for so long with such a difficult secret, he said.