The Northern Ireland Historical Institutional Abuse inquiry (HIA) report last January was unequivocal in its findings about the Nazareth House (girls) and Nazareth Lodge (boys) homes in Belfast, both run by the Sisters of Nazareth. It investigated abuses in Northern Ireland residential institutions for children in the period between 1922 and 1995.
The HIA report concluded that at
the homes in Belfast “the shortage of finance and its consequent impact
on staffing levels and physical standards of care amounted to a form of
neglect and constituted systemic abuse. Although both central government
and the welfare authorities bore some responsibility, this was
primarily the responsibility of the Sisters of Nazareth.”