Sometimes a news report hits close to home. The report into sex abuse at Catholic religious run schools struck home for me. That is despite the North not being included.I attended Christian Brothers’ schools at primary and secondary level in the North. That was the same time the Brothers were at their high point. In the mid-60s there were over 5,000 members of the Order. There have been allegations of sex abuse against 303 in the South. That is about one Brother in every 16. There are allegations from 132 schools. That must be over half of Brothers’ schools around 60 years ago. That understates the abuse. First of all, that is because the North isn’t covered. And, of course, abuse didn’t happen in Ireland alone. In Australia there are allegations against 22% of all Brothers in that country. There was a major scandal in Newfoundland, Canada. Boys in an orphanage were sexually abused.
