One of our members was sentenced in Cork Circuit Criminal Court yesterday having been found guilty of a most serious offence against a young person during the early 1980s.
We sincerely hope that the outcome of the court process will assist the person against whom this offence was so wrongly perpetrated – and we sincerely apologise to this man and his family for all of the hurt caused. We fully accept and acknowledge the immense pain, harm and distress suffered by persons who have been abused as well as their families
The Missionaries of the Sacred Heart have rigorous child safeguarding procedures in place, which are fully implemented. The National Board for Safeguarding Children and TUSLA both audited our safeguarding systems recently.
Anyone who has been abused and wishes to make contact with us will receive our support. We also encourage people who have been abused to report the matter to the Gardaí and TUSLA. Should people wish to speak to a representative of the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart on a safeguarding matter, you can contact our Designated Liaison Person, Ms Mary Tallon.
Email: safeguarding@mscmissions.ie
Landline: +353 1 4906622
Mobile: +353 87 381 9515
We also ask those who were abused to consider contacting Towards Healing, an independent, confidential and free helpline providing professional support for people who have experienced sexual abuse. They can be contacted on:
Freephone: 1800 303416 (Republic of Ireland)
Freephone: 0800 0963315 (Northern Ireland and UK)
Hearing Impaired Text Line Number: 085 8022859
The helpline is open Mondays to Thursdays 11:00am – 8:00pm and Fridays 11:00am – 6:00pm.
Other support services:
One in Four: 01-6624070 or www.oneinfour.ie
HSE National Counselling Service (for adults who experienced abuse as children): 1800 234 110.
Also:
An Garda Siochána Freephone number, for the reporting of child sexual abuse:
1800 555 222.