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We know child sexual abuse remains a huge problem in Irish society; it is time we acted courageously to stop it, writes Maeve Lewis

AT THE turn of the century, Irish people were shaken by revelations of clerical sexual abuse. It has been very difficult for us to accept that Roman Catholic priests and religious were responsible for harming thousands of children across the country. It has been even more difficult to accept that the church authorities had in many cases known of the abuse, and had acted to protect the institutional church rather than vulnerable children.