Apology to institutional abuse survivors 'failed miserably' - Derry campaigner

A leading campaigner has rejected an apology offered to the survivors of institutional abuse.

Derry man Jon McCourt, from Survivors North West, said the apology offered by Stormont's politicians was 'touching,' but the remose offered by Church representatives was 'without emotion.'

The public apology was recommended in the final report of the Historical Institutional Abuse Inquiry (HIAI), which was published more than five years ago.

Speaking in the Stormont Assembly, Sister Cornelia Walsh, on behalf of the Sisters of Nazareth, who ran two homes in Derry where children were abused both physically and sexually, said: “We offer this sincere apology to you if you were in the care of Nazareth Houses in Belfast and Derry and for those were sent to Australasia as young children, for those whose experiences under our care between 1922 to 1995 had a detrimental impact on you.

“We recognise your pain and the long-awaited journey you have travelled to reach this day.”

Sister Walsh added there were no acceptable excuses for what happened to abuse victims.”

She said the Order accepted that there was systemic physical abuse and that bullying was prevalent, adding there was a regime of excessive chores and this amounted to a form of abuse.

She added: “We accept that when you sought our help to prevent physical or sexual abuse we did not believe you.”

However, Mr McCourt said if what happened was the best that the Church could offer by way of an apology they 'failed miserably.'

He added he did not believe the Church 'atoned' for its actions and called for religious organisations to make a 'significant con- tribution' to the survivors' redress scheme.

The lack of a First and Deputy First Minister in place to deliver a statement meant the apology was "stolen", according to Gerry McCann, from the Rosetta Trust.

"Today was very tough in many ways for survivors, but to come to parliament and expect an apology from the first and deputy first minister and that didn't happen - that in itself is an indictment of our politics," he said.

"I can't help but feel the opportunity was there for the political parties to reinstate the first minister, even for two hours."