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The Catholic clergy’s most unforgiveable sin... betrayal
Monday, 25 May 2009
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The Ryan Report showed that thousands of children were abused, raped, assaulted and terrorised over a period of three decades in institutions run by the Catholic Church in the Republic of Ireland.
Another report into the activities of deviant priests in the Dublin Archdiocese is to be published soon.
As a Catholic, and as one who grew up at a time when the authority of the Catholic church, certainly in rural areas, was unquestioned in both Northern Ireland and the Republic, such reports make for very uncomfortable reading.
Nothing can ever undo the harm done to the victims, those who were beaten or abused. The sheer random nature of the brutality was summed up for me by one survivor who said: “Sometimes I was beaten for smiling, other times for not smiling”.
The perpetrators were priests, nuns and Christian Brothers. It seems that every institution run by the church had a number of vile brutes among its throng who preyed on the children.
It is almost impossible to comprehend how those children must have felt. They had been handed over to the institutions by the state, or in some cases even their parents because of domestic circumstances. Once there, it seemed, no-one cared what happened to these children. Instead of being cared for they were brutalised.
Worst of all they had no-one to turn to. Their families didn’t know; the state either through the education authorities or social services seemingly didn’t care and the only other figures of authority – the clergy and religious orders – were the perpetrators. Little wonder so many of the children on reaching adulthood fled Ireland, the country that had failed them at every turn.
Given the scale of the abuses, one wonders how they could have gone undetected so long. The shameful fact is that they were known about. The Church knew that it had thugs and paedophiles in its ranks. It moved them about when there was any chance of detection or scandal.
That, for me as a Catholic, is the most unforgivable sin of all. The Church betrayed the children in its care, it betrayed the congregations who followed the faith and it betrayed all the caring decent priests, nuns and brothers who were not party to any abuses.
Those men and women now find themselves tainted with the sins of others because the Catholic hierarchy would not do the decent thing and hand the abusers over to the police voluntarily. That would have sent a powerful message to other abusers and paedophiles who have followed down the years. Instead they also felt the church would protect them and hide their sins.
The laity has also been betrayed. They put their trust in priests and bishops and cardinals and that trust was broken. The laity in the Catholic Church in Ireland has made enormous sacrifices over the years in funding education, new churches and the general running of the church. Does the Catholic hierarchy even now think how much it owes the ordinary men and women of the church and how grievously it has wounded them?
Does it think how its decent priests and religious people feel when they go about their daily work and see the questioning glances of their congregations? People of my generation had great devotion to their faith and great faith in their priests and religion.
One has only to look at the empty pews on any Sunday to see that the devotion is waning among succeeding generations. Can we really blame them?
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"religion and traditions are the root to all evil", Satan who is behind all of this, is turning cart wheels with glee to have his hard work acknowledged by you
Posted by noddy | 03.09.09, 05:49 GMT
The Ferns Re[port also indicates how deep the abuse flows and how the Church tends to lie and conceal its perps in the name of God
Posted by Patrick J. Crr | 22.06.09, 17:34 GMT
The priests and nuns who were guilty of these abuses obviously did not believe there was a god. Surely if there was such a deity, especially one of vengence, there would be a special place in eternal damnation for abusing the weak and helpless. Do you think they're told during their training that it's all hooey?
Other evidence there is no god is that GW Bush can walk around without being struck by lightning. The fact that he does proves he doesn't believe there is, either.
Posted by Wanda | 28.05.09, 21:42 GMT
Des Cormican
If you feel like that, why have you not already left the church?
And if you have left, why are you interfering with those whom you have left behind.
Posted by John McMahon | 27.05.09, 14:10 GMT
dreamonic, it would seem the challenge of spreading the gospel was abandoned a long time ago in favour of establishing and holding a property empire.
Of course only a minority of "religious" were responsible. The scandal is that the evil were protected by the entire mechanism of the church, right up to cardinal level, and the victims will never receive justice. Where's the Christianity in that?
Posted by neil | 26.05.09, 19:36 GMT
The empty pews that Mr white seems to think reflects the deplorable actions of a minority of priests and nuns in Irelands schools and institutions is more to do with the wealth and prosperity that those same institutions have helped create. It would be more deceitful if the Catholic Church was to give up the challenge of 200 years, of spreading the Gospel because, one again, a minority have done terrible injury to generations. It is at times like these that Christians have to be strong!
Posted by dreamonic | 26.05.09, 14:46 GMT
I agree completely! The breach of trust aspect is the most serious and has been echoed in Canada, US and other benighted countries where these demons have been loosed upon us.
What is needed (and will never happen) is a public display of repentance and remorse, where the leaders of these orders and the Church walk the length and breadth of Ireland in sackcloth and ashes. Where are the leaders now??
Posted by Ned Broc | 26.05.09, 11:15 GMT
The Catholic Church will apologise for the horrific behaviour of its clergy and add that the Church has overcome many difficulties in its history and it can overcome this one with the help of its members. Unfortunately people will fall for this excuse. As an ex student of the Christian Brothers I have felt their brutality firsthand and it is now time for people to vote with their feet - leave the Church, expose the perpetrators of these crimes and prosecute them to the full extent of the law.
Posted by Des Cormican | 26.05.09, 05:14 GMT
Good article Mr White.
Now, for real justice to be seen to be done, we need to see the abusers put through the courts. The Catholic church must, bite the bullet, and purge itself of them or it will die.
Posted by TJ McClean | 25.05.09, 16:43 GMT
The Catholic Church has provided the excellent education culture for the majority of its pupils which had made Ireland a leading figure in the technology industries. By seeking a modern day stripping of the altars by such a wholesale appropriation of Church lands, ideologues are seeking to undermine future prosperity.
Posted by Patrick Mullane | 25.05.09, 16:05 GMT
Personally I feel the current gagging clause is a replication of the original abuse where it was a case of 'I won't tell if you won't tell and if you do I'll come after you'. If only the Catholic Orders could free themselves by offering lift this gagging order they demanded I feel it would free them from their continued cover up of various paedophiles, masocists, control freaks, etc whom they continue to protect by not allowing the victims to talk openly without the threat of prison.
Posted by Michael | 25.05.09, 15:03 GMT
Religion and traditions are in fact the root to all evil.
Posted by Henry | 25.05.09, 14:22 GMT
I agree with the statements Tom Doyle O.P. makes in, "Irish abuse report demands decisive action," in the U.S. publication, the National Catholic Reporter:"
"The report of the Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse is not unique though it may well be the most shocking example of the reality of such a culture of evil. In the past two decades over two dozen reports have described physical and sexual abuse of children and vulnerable adults by Catholic clergy and religious."
Posted by SMPTURLISH | 25.05.09, 14:21 GMT
I agree with the comment by Mary Mcallister that the institutions should disbandand hand over their assets; but to whom?
Posted by Peter Blake | 25.05.09, 14:15 GMT
"Archbishop Sean Brady has said he is to discuss the abuse of children in residential institutions run by religious orders with the Pope."
And that will accomplish what? For decades church lieadership has been in denial. As far as those of us in the U.S. were concerned it was labeled an "American problem" and blamed on our pemissive society.
How does one deal with a corrupt institution where whistle-blowers are silenced and enablers are rewarded
Posted by SMPTURLISH | 25.05.09, 13:39 GMT
this just proves that god doesn't exist
Posted by asdf | 25.05.09, 12:43 GMT
I suggest that the Orders of both the Christian Brothers and the Sisters of Mercy hand over all their assets , no matter where held , and be disbanded immediately.
Posted by mary mcallister | 25.05.09, 12:16 GMT