Clerical abuse survivor says public inquiry was narrowed for 'political' reasons - backs new public inquiry

She was sexually abused when she was 15 by a youth leader at her former church, who was jailed in 2024.

Ms Holmes is now a member of the Northern Ireland Survivor Council.

Starting in Wexford in 2005, widespread reports of clerical child abuse eventually prompted the Historical Institutional Abuse (HIA) public inquiry in Northern Ireland, which ran from 2014-2016.

However it was limited only to abuse which took place in children's homes, which were run by churches, charities and state institutions.

After lobbying by other survivors, in late 2024 the Executive Office Commissioned research into the full scale of clerical child abuse outside children's homes.

The finished research was handed to ministers last July, but survivors complained that the department delayed releasing the research by 12 months without explanation.

Published this week, the report recommends a full public inquiry into the issues uncovered. It is broken down into three papers:

:: A survey of historical records across churches dating back to 1920s;

:: A survey of the current safeguarding standards in churches;

:: Testimonies from 37 survivors dating from 1960s-2010s.

Ms Holmes said this week's report shows that the HIA inquiry and another forthcoming inquiry into abuse in Mother and Baby Homes are missing a "phenomenal" amount of abuse.

She believes the scope of the HIA inquiry was kept narrow for "political" reasons.

Most people would think that the full scale of clerical child abuse in children's homes examined in the HIA inquiry would be a small fraction of the wider clerical child abuse that has taken place, she says.

"If all the abusers we know about had victims outside these children’s homes, as the report suggests, then the wider scale of abuse is phenomenal."

While the main churches cooperated well with the research, she says, it was entirely voluntary and a more stringent inquiry is essential.

All clerical abuse victims were involved in the process which led to the HIA inquiry, she said.

However then the processes was "broken up" by TEO so that it would only examine children's homes, she said.

"You would think it was a political decision," she added.

Nikella believes that widespread abuse is still going on in churches.

"There is more accountability for health and safety in church kitchens, which are inspected annually," she said.

Many abusers never come to the attention of police so cannot be screened out by PSNI checks, she said.

The only alternative to this, she says, is an education programme to church members and children how predators operate in churches.

The TEO report, compiled by Queen’s University Belfast and Birmingham University, said that an appropriate legal structure must put in place before the next phase of research.

"The most effective structure would be a Statutory inquiry," it added.

It also warned: "We should not create or tolerate a hierarchy of victims and survivors of historical abuse. There should be parity between the victims and survivors of historical abuse associated with faith organisations outside residential institutions, and those whose abuse has been the focus of the previous work of the HIA Inquiry. Equally robust attention needs to be given to each."

KRW Law solicitor Gary Duffy, who represents many survivors, said only a public inquiry will have the powers to establish the full truth, adding survivors have already waited too long for accountability.

“We welcome the publication of the HCCA research reports and recognise the significant work undertaken by those involved in bringing forward the experiences of victims and survivors,” he told PA.

“However, it is clear that these reports represent only the tip of the iceberg.”