Sir, - Brother Michael Murray's letter of Monday 15th was shocking. Why does he feel that "any such conviction is one too many"? Why have there not been many more convictions? This is what I would like to know.
On March 29th, 1998, the Christian Brothers gave a public apology to all the children who had been harmed in their care. Will this apology heal all the pain and trauma suffered by the victims of physical, emotional and sexual abuse carried out by the Christian Brothers in their industrial schools and boys' schools all over Ireland? Do victims who have had their lives ruined through abuse not have a right to justice in the Irish courts?
The Irish Government has also made a public apology for its role in this tragedy of child abuse, but this is not enough. Justice must be seen to be done.
A tribunal of inquiry should be set up to examine the facts and to determine what exactly was the role of the State and Church in the shameful neglect and abuse of so many innocent and vulnerable children who were in the care of the Christian Brothers and other religious orders. These records must be made public, acknowledged and dealt with in the courts so that we all can move on as a society. - Yours, etc.,
Paula O'Connor, Castlefield Manor, Malahide, Co Dublin.