The Church of Ireland has made available all records relating to the Bethany Home of which it has knowledge and has furnished copies of minute books for the home to Professor Niall Meehan.
This was relvealed in a C of I press release today, October 8., which states, “The Archbishop of Dublin and the Church of Ireland are conscious of the pain expressed by former residents of the Bethany Home and other homes and institutions in Ireland and assure former residents and those who may experience renewed pain as a result of issues raised that the clergy of the Church are available to provide pastoral care.”
The ssrarement concudes, “The Church encourages former residents to contact Minister Haughey to avail of the offer to disclose allegations of abuse to Government officials and to bring all information in their possession to the Government’s attention. The Church encourages Minister Haughey to give consideration to information received through this process, keeping an open mind on the possibility of including the Bethany Home within the Redress scheme if appropriate.”
The statement also commented, “The Archbishop does not have files of that period nor any records of Bethany Home. The letter dated April 1945 from a former Archbishop of Dublin to a former Minister for Justice, which has come to light from government records, confirms that in 1945 the Bethany Home was already subject to Government inspection, was recognised by the Courts as a place of detention and that arrangements involving the home were already in place. This supports claims made by former residents of a formal relationship between State institutions and the home. The Church has for some time asked the State to have the Bethany Home brought under the remit of the Residential Institutions Redress Board and notes Minister Haughey has recently confirmed in the Dail that the Government will consider cases involving the home on an individual basis. This willingness to engage with former residents is welcomed as a positive step.”
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