Ireland's Christian Brothers said it will provide a $261 million package of measures as reparation for child abuse findings contained in the country's Ryan Report, with the order's "acceptance, shame and sorrow" over the abuses.
The Brothers said Wednesday they understood and regretted that "nothing we say or do can turn back the clock for those affected by abuse," and would "continue to reflect on many of the deeper issues" raised by the Ryan report, according to an AFP report on the Nine News website.
"The decisions we have taken to recognise our moral obligation to survivors of abuse and to the people of Ireland will be one sign of our willingness to collaborate fully in creating a new reality for the care of children in Ireland," they were quoted saying.
The Brothers' package is made up of cash and property, including sports playing fields which it values at $206 million.
The Dail (Irish parliament) has unanimously called on the 18 orders implicated in the Ryan Report to pay compensation in addition to the $209 million sum agreed in a controversial 2002 indemnity deal with the government, the report adds.
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Catholic order offers $260m for abuse (Nine News/AFP)