Debate contribution: Clerical Child Abuse

Debate contribution by Mr Robbie Butler on 27 January 2026.

MLA

Mr Robbie Butler

Party at the time

Ulster Unionist Party

Date

27 January 2026

Type

Debate contribution

Business

Private Members' Business

Heading

Clerical Child Abuse

Assembly identifier

Official Report component 5345122

Read the official Assembly record

Text

The debate must begin and end with the victims and survivors of clerical child abuse and their families, who have carried the weight of that abuse for decades, at its centre. Their suffering did not end when the abuse stopped; for many, it was compounded by the silence, disbelief, denial and deliberate institutional protection of perpetrators. To each of those victims and survivors and their families, I offer my heartfelt support and that of my party In 2018, the Pope paid a visit to the Republic of Ireland. I was the only unionist representative to attend at that time and was put under the microscope by a number of people. One of my overriding reasons for going that day was my hope that the Pope would make a sincere and heartfelt apology and, more than that, outline what that Church was going do to redress the imbalance of evidence. That did not happen in 2018, and, sadly, a lot of those families and victims still feel that they are without justice.

However, it is not just the Catholic Church but every institution of faith that needs to look into this. As someone of faith, I say that churches in particular should be a haven for children, women and men. They should set the standard and not fall below that bar. Churches and faith-based institutions did not merely fail to act; in too many cases, they actively concealed harm. Abusers were moved between parishes and dioceses, warnings were ignored, evidence was buried and truth was treated by people in authority as an inconvenience rather than their moral duty. That silence magnified the pain of the victim. It told victims that their lives mattered less than reputations. That stain cannot be erased and must never be repeated. Every Member in the Chamber has, as a legislator, a responsibility to ensure that what happened is fully exposed and understood and never allowed to happen again. Learning the truth is not an act of hostility towards faith; it is an act of justice for those who were betrayed by institutions that they trusted. As legislators, our primary duty is to defend the rights of victims and survivors and to pursue justice without fear or favour. There can be no loopholes for powerful institutions. There can be no hiding place in legal technicalities, internal processes or claims of autonomy when it comes to withholding evidence or reports. No institution, religious or otherwise, should be permitted to destroy, conceal or sanitise records that relate to the abuse of children. The motion states:

"That this Assembly notes that independent research findings and recommendations on clerical child abuse, commissioned by the Executive Office, were submitted to the First Minister and deputy First Minister in July 2025"

and — there is a helpful amendment, which we will support — expresses regret for the lack of meaningful engagement with victims and survivors since that time. I have stood — and sat — in the Chamber many times as we have said that that would be a priority. It is time that we put those words into absolute action. I once again pay tribute to the survivors who have courageously shared their deeply personal experience of abuse in faith-based settings, often at great personal cost. In particular, I recognise one such person who has spoken very bravely: Margaret McGuckin. Her bravery in speaking out has helped force the issue into the light and has given voice to those who were silenced for far too long. We therefore call on the First Minister and deputy First Minister to publish the reports in full, to set out a fully funded and time-bound response and to clearly state their position on the reported recommendations for an independent public inquiry. We would like those steps to be taken sooner rather than later.

637 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.

Assessment

Not flagged

Jev’s structured answers

Assessed 21 October 2026 at 14:21 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.

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