Is this really our country?

Is there no end to the crimes committed by the Church and State? The horror of the institutionalised rape, slavery and crimes against children carried out in Ireland is almost too much. Few read the reports of the investigations finally carried out on what actually happened to survivors of child abuse and the children interned in industrial schools. Since the foundation of the Republic of Ireland in 1921, Church and State have treated certain children as disposable, as less than human.

Since the publication of the Ryan report on industrial schools and the Murphy report on child sexual abuse within the diocese of Dublin, revelations on the treatment of Irish citizens in the twentieth century by the Church and State have undermined everything we believed about ourselves. And the revelations keep coming.

The Primate of All Ireland Sean Brady covered up the rape of children by paedophile Brendan Smyth allowing him to continue raping children for a further nineteen years. The publication of this information has not led to his resignation but rather to his adopting the persona of a “wounded healer”. This persona allows him to continue in his position and treat survivors of the Catholic Church’s brutality with utter contempt. His "wounding" is the discovery of his coverup.

Then there is the systematic mutilation of women by doctors both through symphysiotomy and corrupt individuals wielding a scalpel. There was no oversight because doctors were “self-regulating”. And the medical scandals have not ceased - unread x rays, trolleys, cancer misdiagnosis, surgeons removing the wrong kidney.

Now, we find out that children were used in medical experiments. These children were not those living at home with parents. These were children in mother and baby homes and industrial schools. Members of religious orders gave "consent", violating numerous ethical codes including that of Nuremberg, which was drawn up in the aftermath of the Nazi behaviour in concentration camps.

All of this was done by Irish people, ordinary Joe and Jane Soap. Our uncles, aunts, friends, parents participated or knew what was going on. We are all complicit. What sort of a fucked up country is this? The human rights violations continue on - children in care left on the street, rat infested schools, children in adult psychiatric wards and the children in care disappearing by the hundreds.

Something has to be done. The Murphy inquiry needs to be expanded to cover all dioeses. Victims who did not survive the industrial schools need to be identified and cause of death established. Serious reform or possible abolition of the HSE. The state needs to acknowledge ALL the human rights violations. Offering resignations is not enough. Firing, followed by criminal charges is a beginning.

Ireland has been a republic for less than 100 years and already we have violated human rights on an unprecedented scale. What sort of people are we?

The Ryan report - a year later

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Thursday was the first anniversary of the publication of the Commission of Inquiry into Child Abuse. Commonly called the Ryan Report, its publication cumulated in the realisation of the extent of the violence, rape and sexual assault that children suffered in the care of the Catholic Church. I have written more here. Eight organisations (Barnardos, CARI, Children’s Rights Alliance, Irish Association of Young People in Care, ISPCC, One in Four, Rape Crisis Network of Ireland and Dublin Rape Crisis Centre) met to discuss progress on the implementation of the Ryan Report.

To this day not a single additional penny has been paid by the eighteen religious congregations that committed crimes against children. I say additional because the Irish Government struck a shameful deal with the religious orders in 2002. The then Minister for Education Michael Woods and Attorney General Michael McDowell struck a secret deal. It was never put before parliament and there was no vote. In short, religious orders were awarded indemnity against all legal claims provided they supplied €128m in cash and property. The idea was that if there was a shortfall, the taxpayer would provide. Woods expected around 2000 claimants and a total cost of around €300m.

Fast forward to 2010, and 14 000 claimants have come forward. The bill is expected to be around €1.3bn. And the religious orders have not contributed a single additional penny. The congregations claim that the Irish Government had not yet provided the details of what further contributions are required.

In addition, the Catholic Church, which runs 92% of the primary schools in Ireland have ordered the schools to pay €4.75 per pupil to the church each year to begin at the end of May. There is no reason given for the charge and the church requires immediate payment. Given that many primary schools in politically-disadvantaged areas are in dire conditions, this demand for money is particularly egregious. Students were requested to bring tolls of toilet paper from home because of budget cutbacks in one Cork school. Several schools have repeated rat infestations. 50 000 students are being educated in prefabs – some for over twenty years. Granted, that these failings are also due to the indifference of successive Education Ministers.

However, this is the same government that promised €2 million for the funding of counselling services for the survivors of institutional rape and torture. Organisations like the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre and One in Four have received no extra funding to date and have had their budgets cut by 5.8% despite a government commitment not to do so. Organisations that provide counselling services have been and remain overwhelmed. There is now a nine-month waiting list for one to one counselling at One in Four.

Numerous reports have come out about the cover-up of the sexual abuse of children, yet bishops named in the Murphy report remain patrons of primary schools. The primate of all Ireland, Seán Brady engaged in a conspiracy to cover up serial child rape and refuses to resign. He still holds that position. The leader of the Catholic Church in the Vatican covered up child rape. Benedict XVI was revealed to have ordered bishops not to report child sexual abuse to the correct authorities – the civil authorities – yet he is still lauded by millions.

There has been no information about the children who died in care and were allegedly buried in mass graves. The only information in the public domain is that in 1993 an order of nuns in Dublin sold part of their convent to a real estate developer. The remains of 155 inmates, who had been buried in unmarked graves on the property, were exhumed and, except for one body, cremated and reburied in a mass grave. There has been no other information. Children were murdered, starved and worked to death but we do not even know their names.

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What are we?

Joyce called it the general paralysis of the insane. Some say it's the post colonialism thing. Why do we not protest? I went to the Tralee demo a few weeks ago and I was the only one. There were only a few people out in Dublin. Why are we letting the government pay for Quinn and Seanie's gambling debts? Why do we reelect politicians exposed as corrupt? Why?

Oh we go into the streets on a non-issue like head shops. We'll call Liveline and complain to Joe Duffy about whatever the news of the day is. But when is comes to actually doing anything, the best we can come up with is a dirty look?

The Greeks are in the streets. The British are in the streets. The French are always in the streets. Where are the Irish?

I find the lack of action on the Catholic Church repulsive. Why is Brady still a prince of the church after covering up child abuse? Why are the religious orders named in the Ryan report still in charge of education? Why are their lands not seized and used to pay compensation?

We let our daughters be enslaved by the nuns because they had sex, were raped or looked too pretty. We put our children into religious reform schools, where they were beaten, raped, starved, murdered and traumatised. We exported our pedophile priests all over the world. Chances are that if you heard about a priest raping kids in other countries, that priest would be from an Irish order.

What does that make us? What does our lack of action make us?

The Pope by Tim Minchin

via Panti

Full of bad language and may cause offence. Some good points in there though!

Grasping at straws - Tarcisio Bertone latest defense of child abuse

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It is commonly said that the best defence is a good offence, but just because it works in football does not mean that it should be a universal strategy. Someone should mention this to Tarcisio Bertone. If you have not heard, he is a big cheese at the Vatican (technically the Vatican’s secretary of state). In a determined effort to once more abdicate responsibility for clerical sexual abuse and the ensuring cover up, Bertone stated last week that:

“Many psychologists and psychiatrists have demonstrated that there is no relation between celibacy and pedophilia. But many others have demonstrated, I have been told recently, that there is a relation between homosexuality and pedophilia. That is true… That is the problem.”

Truth it is not. Offensive defensiveness might be closer to the mark. The Catholic Church has always demonstrated a certain level of misogyny but in making this statement, Bertone has erased the experiences and trauma of the thousands of female survivors of clerical abuse. Some passages of the Irish Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse from the section dealing with female experiences:

The forms of physical abuse reported by witnesses ranged from being smacked on the hand to being beaten naked in front of others. They described being hit, slapped, beaten, kicked, pushed, pinched, burned, bitten, shaken violently, physically restrained, and force fed. The Committee also heard reports of witnesses having their heads knocked against walls, desks and window ledges, being beaten on the soles of their feet, the backs of their hands, around their heads and ears, having their hair pulled, being swung off the ground by their hair, and made to perform tasks that they stated put them at risk of harm and danger. The locations where physical abuse was most frequently reported to have occurred included dormitories, refectories, landings, corridors, classrooms, churches, offices, kitchens, work areas and recreation halls.

Witnesses reported sexual assaults in the forms of vaginal and anal rape, oral/genital contact, digital penetration, penetration by an object, masturbation and other forms of inappropriate contact, including molestation and kissing. Witnesses also reported several forms of non-contact sexual abuse including indecent exposure, inappropriate sexual talk, voyeurism and forced public nudity. Witnesses gave accounts of being sexually abused both within the Schools and in other locations while in the care of the authorities in charge of the particular institution. They reported being sexually abused in many locations, including: dormitories, schools, motor vehicles, bathrooms, staff bedrooms, churches, sacristies, fields, parlours, the residences of clergy, holiday locations and while with godparents and employers. [source]

This is only a selection of the experience of Irish female survivors from residential institutions run by the Catholic Church. They do not cover the laundries – once a girl was placed in a Magdalen laundry, she spent the rest of her life as a slave – or sexual abuse that took place in non industrial schools, churches and elsewhere.

In addition to silencing women, Bertone equates homosexuality with paedophila, presumably because a greater number of boys were abused by men. However, there are a number of issues here to be considered.

Firstly, there is no evidence of a link between homosexuality and child abuse. No scientific explanation to justify the hate. No sociological quantitative analysis with even a tenuous link. Try as he might, Bertone and his ilk are responding to their own homophobia and the institutionalised prejudice in Roman Catholicism. The RCC spells out its homophobia and misogyny in one paragraph of its official catechism:

…Tradition has always declared that “homosexual acts are intrinsically disordered.”142 They are contrary to the natural law. They close the sexual act to the gift of life. They do not proceed from a genuine affective and sexual complementarity. Under no circumstances can they be approved. [source]

Basically, the Church’s position is that any sex not leading to babies is contrary to natural law. The path from “love the sinner but not the sin” to “intrinsically evil” is a short one, especially for the pompous elite in the Vatican.

Another argument put forward to attempt to justify the unjustifiable is that greater numbers of boys are abused. There may be a number of explanations why this is so but I put forward the theory of access.

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Brady’s real role in the sex abuse cover up

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Cardinal Seán Brady celebrated mass on Easter Sunday with some pretty words about rebirth, apologies and child sexual abuse. He did not mention that in the previous week he was asked by survivors of clerical sex abuse to resign. He did not announce his resignation. Instead, during his Easter Sunday sermon, he pledged to remain in his position:

I am resolved to continue to keep the safeguarding of children central to the Mission of the Catholic Church in Ireland. We all have a critical part to play in safeguarding children.

Implicitly, Brady refuses to resign. He will not carry out the request of the survivors of clerical sex abuse. Yet he sees no difficulty including in preaching about the seriousness of the wounds inflicted by the church:

We must take them seriously. We can only move on into the future if we first own our own personal misdeeds. We have to recognise the harm they have done and be resolved to do whatever is necessary to atone for the crimes that have happened and prevent their reoccurrence. Once again, I apologise with all my heart to all survivors of clerical child sexual abuse. At the Good Friday ceremonies in Dundalk I pledged that proper reparation would be made for the harm that has been caused and I renew that pledge this morning.

While it is not quite a non-apology apology, it comes close. As the primate of all Ireland, Brady speaks in generalities. He does not apologise for his personal sins of omission and commission.

Indeed, the portrayal of Brady as a youthful, ignorant school master is a public relations exercise. He received his advanced degree in canon law at the elite Pontifical Lateran University in Rome. There is no Catholic education institution more highly regarded than that he attended. The man is an expert on canon law and has been since 1957.

At the young age of thirty nine, Brady was asked by his bishop, Francis McKiernan, to conduct a canonical inquiry into an allegation of child sexual abuse by Norbertine priest Brendan Smyth. The upshot of the inquiry led to the suspension of Smyth’s confessional privileges. Brady reported to McKiernan who, in turn, passed the information to Norbertine Abbot Kevin Smith, Smyth’s superior.

The question is why was the information never passed on to the police. To answer that, I delved into the history of the monastery. I spoke extensively to people from the diocese of Kilmore, many of whom knew the protagonists well.

I was told that Felim Colwell, Abbot at Kilnacrott until 1968, was a strange man. He had grandiose ideas and an inflated view of his own self importance. At public ceremonies in Saint Patrick and Saint Feidlim’s Cathedral in Cavan, Colwell would dress entirely in white, mimicking the Pope, and proffer his ring to be kissed. This was unusual and made quite an impression on those who attended such functions.


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Abominations

Vid via Panti

Also "Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination" is from Leviticus 18:22. Apart from it being Jewish law and not a commandment, do you know what else is in Leviticus?

• No sex during a period (15:19)
• Slavery is grand as long as the slaves are not from around here (25:44)
• Shellfish is an abomination (11:10)
• No going near the altar if you have less than 20/20 vision, a cold sore, physical disability or testicle issues (21:20)
• Clipping the side of your beard or the hair at your temples is also a no no (19:27)
• No rabbit stew or pork and certainly no football (11:6-9)
• You must stone blasphemers. That's one way to rid us of the government (24:14)
• You can't grow potatoes and turnips in the same field. (19:19)
• Wearing cotton and silk is an abomination. I'm sure all the princes of the church keep that decree very strictly indeed. (19:19)
• Doesn't matter if you have high blood pressure, you must salt your food (2:13)
• None of your food can contain blood or fat (sucks to be you) (2:17)
• If you fuck up, you have to atone through blood sacrifice, even if you didn't know you fucked up. (4:13)

and

• An extra special one for the pope and the bishops: if you have information on a crime, you got to speak up (5:1)

My analysis of the first letter of Benedict to the Hibernians

Benedict sent a pastoral letter to the Catholics of Ireland, not the people of Ireland.

PASTORAL LETTER OF THE HOLY FATHER POPE BENEDICT XVI TO THE CATHOLICS OF IRELAND

Does that mean both practising Catholics and people who were baptised but have lapsed? What about those who have left the church or those of other or no religions? In just the title Benedict excludes. 92% of schools in Ireland are run by the Catholic church, what about all those parents and children who do not have the freedom to choose a non-demonimational school.

1. DEAR BROTHERS AND SISTERS OF THE CHURCH IN IRELAND, it is with great concern that I write to you as Pastor of the universal Church.

Not as a pastor of one of the universal churches but the universal church. There are six organisations that may be referred to as a universal church - Catholic Church, Ecumenism, Unitarian Universalism, Universalism and Universal Church of the Kingdom of God. Naturally Benedict excludes the others and hearkens back to the second century nomenclature of the early Christian church. By doing so, he ignores the East-West Schism and assumes authority over the Orthodox and Protestant Churches.

Like yourselves, I have been deeply disturbed by the information which has come to light regarding the abuse of children and vulnerable young people by members of the Church in Ireland, particularly by priests and religious. I can only share in the dismay and the sense of betrayal that so many of you have experienced on learning of these sinful and criminal acts and the way Church authorities in Ireland dealt with them.

In this paragraph he refrains from mentioning his own role in the coverup of child rape and abuse, despite urging bishops not to report these crimes to the civil authorities. In addition, various priests risked disfavour by informing past Papal Nuncios who ignored the complaints.

As you know, I recently invited the Irish bishops to a meeting here in Rome to give an account of their handling of these matters in the past and to outline the steps they have taken to respond to this grave situation. Together with senior officials of the Roman Curia, I listened to what they had to say, both individually and as a group, as they offered an analysis of mistakes made and lessons learned, and a description of the programmes and protocols now in place. Our discussions were frank and constructive. I am confident that, as a result, the bishops will now be in a stronger position to carry forward the work of repairing past injustices and confronting the broader issues associated with the abuse of minors in a way consonant with the demands of justice and the teachings of the Gospel.

Frank discussions there may have been, but how can the bishops carry forward in the teachings of the gospel? They have not been able to do so before. There was plenty of "suffer[ing for] the little children" but there was no Christlike love. Jesus says through Matthew 18.6, Mark 9.42 and Luke 17.2 "whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened round his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea".

2. For my part, considering the gravity of these offences, and the often inadequate response to them on the part of the ecclesiastical authorities in your country, I have decided to write this Pastoral Letter to express my closeness to you and to propose a path of healing, renewal and reparation.

Could be loosely translated as, "it's not my responsibility but here is a token to soothe your wounded feelings". Feels flippant - full of words and signifying nothing.

It is true, as many in your country have pointed out, that the problem of child abuse is peculiar neither to Ireland nor to the Church.

He minimises the role of the church. It is the same tactic that Christopher Jones used a few weeks back. Didn't work then, won't work now.

Nevertheless, the task you now face is to address the problem of abuse that has occurred within the Irish Catholic community, and to do so with courage and determination. No one imagines that this painful situation will be resolved swiftly. Real progress has been made, yet much more remains to be done. Perseverance and prayer are needed, with great trust in the healing power of God’s grace.

The real progress has been the exposure through legal proceedings of the rape, abuse, torture and slavery imposed on children by members of the Catholic Church.

At the same time, I must also express my conviction that, in order to recover from this grievous wound, the Church in Ireland must first acknowledge before the Lord and before others the serious sins committed against defenceless children.

Yes. That is good. The church must acknowledge its crimes and be subject to civil law.

Such an acknowledgement, accompanied by sincere sorrow for the damage caused to these victims and their families, must lead to a concerted effort to ensure the protection of children from similar crimes in the future. As you take up the challenges of this hour, I ask you to remember “the rock from which you were hewn” (Is 51:1). Reflect upon the generous, often heroic, contributions made by past generations of Irish men and women to the Church and to humanity as a whole, and let this provide the impetus for honest self-examination and a committed programme of ecclesial and individual renewal.

There were many great men and women of the Church in the past but it was a church of God then. It was not the corrupt institution ruling for the sake of ruling.

It is my prayer that, assisted by the intercession of her many saints and purified through penance, the Church in Ireland will overcome the present crisis and become once more a convincing witness to the truth and the goodness of Almighty God, made manifest in his Son Jesus Christ.

I wish I could believe that the Church in Ireland will begin following the teachings of Christ. But the institution has rarely had any truck with that, except as a cudgel.

3. Historically, the Catholics of Ireland have proved an enormous force for good at home and abroad. Celtic monks like Saint Columbanus spread the Gospel in Western Europe and laid the foundations of medieval monastic culture. The ideals of holiness, charity and transcendent wisdom born of the Christian faith found expression in the building of churches and monasteries and the establishment of schools, libraries and hospitals, all of which helped to consolidate the spiritual identity of Europe. Those Irish missionaries drew their strength and inspiration from the firm faith, strong leadership and upright morals of the Church in their native land.

Columbanus was not a Catholic. Patrick was not a Catholic. Brigid was not a Catholic. These three were Christians. The East-West Schism was in the eleventh century. Catholic is what western Christianity became after the schism and prior to the Reformation.

From the sixteenth century on, Catholics in Ireland endured a long period of persecution, during which they struggled to keep the flame of faith alive in dangerous and difficult circumstances. Saint Oliver Plunkett, the martyred Archbishop of Armagh, is the most famous example of a host of courageous sons and daughters of Ireland who were willing to lay down their lives out of fidelity to the Gospel.

This is partly true. But what is ignored is the close association between national politics and religion.

After Catholic Emancipation, the Church was free to grow once more. Families and countless individuals who had preserved the faith in times of trial became the catalyst for the great resurgence of Irish Catholicism in the nineteenth century.

And grew rich off the backs of the poor.

The Church provided education, especially for the poor, and this was to make a major contribution to Irish society. Among the fruits of the new Catholic schools was a rise in vocations: generations of missionary priests, sisters and brothers left their homeland to serve in every continent, especially in the English-speaking world.

The rise in vocations is hardly unusual considering that it was the first time in centuries that schools were recruiting grounds for the religious; and that one did not have to provide a large dowry to become a member of the church.

The issue of education is one that is often raised but in truth, the church received money from the government to educate the people. Quid pro quo.

They were remarkable not only for their great numbers, but for the strength of their faith and the steadfastness of their pastoral commitment. Many dioceses, especially in Africa, America and Australia, benefited from the presence of Irish clergy and religious who preached the Gospel and established parishes, schools and universities, clinics and hospitals that served both Catholics and the community at large, with particular attention to the needs of the poor.

Spreading the "prayer to shivering prayer" version of Irish Catholicism.

In almost every family in Ireland, there has been someone – a son or a daughter, an aunt or an uncle – who has given his or her life to the Church. Irish families rightly esteem and cherish their loved ones who have dedicated their lives to Christ, sharing the gift of faith with others, and putting that faith into action in loving service of God and neighbour.

It was a means of getting power. Families were expected to send their sons and daughters to the church. I question the consent of all those young people sent to serve.

4. In recent decades, however, the Church in your country has had to confront new and serious challenges to the faith arising from the rapid transformation and secularization of Irish society.

Indeed. The church has lost the de facto theocracy and have had to adjust to the ensuing lack of power.

Fast-paced social change has occurred, often adversely affecting people’s traditional adherence to Catholic teaching and values. All too often, the sacramental and devotional practices that sustain faith and enable it to grow, such as frequent confession, daily prayer and annual retreats, were neglected.

Again, yes. As the power of the church declined, people were given the freedom to choose and evaluate whether the institution had value in their lives.

Significant too was the tendency during this period, also on the part of priests and religious, to adopt ways of thinking and assessing secular realities without sufficient reference to the Gospel. The programme of renewal proposed by the Second Vatican Council was sometimes misinterpreted and indeed, in the light of the profound social changes that were taking place, it was far from easy to know how best to implement it.

Right. It was due to a misinterpretation.

In particular, there was a well-intentioned but misguided tendency to avoid penal approaches to canonically irregular situations. It is in this overall context that we must try to understand the disturbing problem of child sexual abuse, which has contributed in no small measure to the weakening of faith and the loss of respect for the Church and her teachings.

When one finds out that priests, monks and nuns are raping, beating and torturing children in secret and preaching chastity and hellfire in public, one quickly loses all respect for the church and its failure to protect children.

Only by examining carefully the many elements that gave rise to the present crisis can a clear-sighted diagnosis of its causes be undertaken and effective remedies be found. Certainly, among the contributing factors we can include: inadequate procedures for determining the suitability of candidates for the priesthood and the religious life; insufficient human, moral, intellectual and spiritual formation in seminaries and novitiates; a tendency in society to favour the clergy and other authority figures; and a misplaced concern for the reputation of the Church and the avoidance of scandal, resulting in failure to apply existing canonical penalties and to safeguard the dignity of every person. Urgent action is needed to address these factors, which have had such tragic consequences in the lives of victims and their families, and have obscured the light of the Gospel to a degree that not even centuries of persecution succeeded in doing.

Yeah.

5. On several occasions since my election to the See of Peter, I have met with victims of sexual abuse, as indeed I am ready to do in the future. I have sat with them, I have listened to their stories, I have acknowledged their suffering, and I have prayed with them and for them.

But Benedict will not meet with Irish survivors of rape. Nor did he withdraw the letter to sent to the bishops to coverup the abuse

Earlier in my pontificate, in my concern to address this matter, I asked the bishops of Ireland, “to establish the truth of what happened in the past, to take whatever steps are necessary to prevent it from occurring again, to ensure that the principles of justice are fully respected, and above all, to bring healing to the victims and to all those affected by these egregious crimes”
(Address to the Bishops of Ireland, 28 October 2006).

Yet the apology has only come after the revelations of widespread abuse and the cover up. Hardly a proactive approach.

With this Letter, I wish to exhort all of you, as God’s people in Ireland, to reflect on the wounds inflicted on Christ’s body, the sometimes painful remedies needed to bind and heal them, and the need for unity, charity and mutual support in the long-term process of restoration and ecclesial renewal. I now turn to you with words that come from my heart, and I wish to speak to each of you individually and to all of you as brothers and sisters in the Lord.

This is arrogance personified. Irish people know Christ. We read the gospels. We know that it is the Church and not the God that has committed the crimes. Christ's love is absolute. It is not conditional. Christ loves his children.

It is men who profess to be doing his work that have wounded us, raped our children, denounced our daughters from pulpits. It is the priests, monks, nuns and bishops who have sought to cover up the crimes, horrific and disgusting crimes. It is faith in the Church that is shaken, not the faith in Christ. We are capable of differentiating.

6. To the victims of abuse and their families
You have suffered grievously and I am truly sorry. I know that nothing can undo the wrong you have endured. Your trust has been betrayed and your dignity has been violated. Many of you found that, when you were courageous enough to speak of what happened to you, no one would listen. Those of you who were abused in residential institutions must have felt that there was no escape from your sufferings. It is understandable that you find it hard to forgive or be reconciled with the Church. In her name, I openly express the shame and remorse that we all feel. At the same time, I ask you not to lose hope. It is in the communion of the Church that we encounter the person of Jesus Christ, who was himself a victim of injustice and sin. Like you, he still bears the wounds of his own unjust suffering. He understands the depths of your pain and its enduring effect upon your lives and your relationships, including your relationship with the Church. I know some of you find it difficult even to enter the doors of a church after all that has occurred. Yet Christ’s own wounds, transformed by his redemptive sufferings, are the very means by which the power of evil is broken and we are reborn to life and hope. I believe deeply in the healing power of his self-sacrificing love – even in the darkest and most hopeless situations – to bring liberation and the promise of a new beginning.

Speaking to you as a pastor concerned for the good of all God’s children, I humbly ask you to consider what I have said. I pray that, by drawing nearer to Christ and by participating in the life of his Church – a Church purified by penance and renewed in pastoral charity – you will come to rediscover Christ’s infinite love for each one of you. I am confident that in this way you will be able to find reconciliation, deep inner healing and peace.

I will not comment on this as I am not a survivor of clerical abuse.

7. To priests and religious who have abused children
You betrayed the trust that was placed in you by innocent young people and their parents, and you must answer for it before Almighty God and before properly constituted tribunals. You have forfeited the esteem of the people of Ireland and brought shame and dishonour upon your confreres. Those of you who are priests violated the sanctity of the sacrament of Holy Orders in which Christ makes himself present in us and in our actions. Together with the immense harm done to victims, great damage has been done to the Church and to the public perception of the priesthood and religious life. I urge you to examine yourconscience, take responsibility for the sins you have committed, and humbly express your sorrow. Sincere repentance opens the door to God’s forgiveness and the grace of true amendment. By offering prayers and penances for those you have wronged, you should seek to atone personally for your actions. Christ’s redeeming sacrifice has the power to forgive even the gravest of sins, and to bring forth good from even the most terrible evil. At the same time, God’s justice summons us to give an account of our actions and to conceal nothing. Openly acknowledge your guilt, submit yourselves to the demands of justice, but do not despair of God’s mercy.

What a wonderful sacrament is confession. Just say you're sorry and seek absolution. It is very easy to be sorry directly after committing a crime but that fades and the cycle begins again.

Life sentence in prison would be good to start with. They can pray in prison.

8. To parents
You have been deeply shocked to learn of the terrible things that took place in what ought to be the safest and most secure environment of all. In today’s world it is not easy to build a home and to bring up children. They deserve to grow up in security, loved and cherished, with a strong sense of their identity and worth. They have a right to be educated in authentic moral values rooted in the dignity of the human person, to be inspired by the truth of our Catholic faith and to learn ways of behaving and acting that lead to healthy self-esteem and lasting happiness. This noble but demanding task is entrusted in the first place to you, their parents. I urge you to play your part in ensuring the best possible care of children, both at home and in society as a whole, while the Church, for her part, continues to implement the measures adopted in recent years to protect young people in parish and school environments. As you carry out your vital responsibilities, be assured that I remain close to you and I offer you the support of my
prayers.

How nice that a man in Rome tells people how they feel. He will be close to you. He will pray. Why yes that idea is incredibly creepy.

9. To the children and young people of Ireland
I wish to offer you a particular word of encouragement. Your experience of the Church is very different from that of your parents and grandparents. The world has changed greatly since they were your age. Yet all people, in every generation, are called to travel the same path through life, whatever their circumstances may be. We are all scandalized by the sins and failures of some of the Church's members, particularly those who were chosen especially to guide and serve young people. But it is in the Church that you will find Jesus Christ, who is the same yesterday, today and for ever (cf. Heb 13:8). He loves you and he has offered himself on the cross for you. Seek a personal relationship with him within the communion of his Church, for he will never betray your trust! He alone can satisfy your deepest longings and give your lives their fullest meaning by directing them to the service of others. Keep your eyes fixed on Jesus and his goodness, and shelter the flame of faith in your heart. Together with your fellow Catholics in Ireland, I look to you to be faithful disciples of our Lord and to bring your much-needed enthusiasm and idealism to the rebuilding and renewal of our beloved Church.

I don't think that the church is the way to Jesus Christ. Certainly people can seek a relationship with him outside the church. The hypocrisy might be a little difficult to bear.

10. To the priests and religious of Ireland
All of us are suffering as a result of the sins of our confreres who betrayed a sacred trust or failed to deal justly and responsibly with allegations of abuse. In view of the outrage and indignation which this has provoked, not only among the lay faithful but among yourselves and your religious communities, many of you feel personally discouraged, even abandoned. I am also aware that in some people’s eyes you are tainted by association, and viewed as if you were somehow responsible for the misdeeds of others. At this painful time, I want to acknowledge the dedication of your priestly and religious lives and apostolates, and I invite you to reaffirm your faith in Christ, your love of his Church and your confidence in the Gospel's promise of redemption, forgiveness and interior renewal. In this way, you will demonstrate for all to see that where sin abounds, grace abounds all the more (cf. Rom 5:20). I know that many of you are disappointed, bewildered and angered by the way these matters have been handled by some of your superiors. Yet, it is essential that you cooperate closely with those in authority and help to ensure that the measures adopted to respond to the crisis will be truly evangelical, just and effective. Above all, I urge you to become ever more clearly men and women of prayer, courageously following the path of conversion, purification and reconciliation. In this way, the Church in Ireland will draw new life and vitality from your witness to the Lord's redeeming power made visible in your lives.

Why not start again if they really believe? Go back to the Gospels and forget about the accumulated dogma of centuries. Live in the stone huts and eat the berries of the forests and all that. I don't understand how any person who actually believes what they preach could stand by and be associated to the corrupt institution.

11. To my brother bishops
It cannot be denied that some of you and your predecessors failed, at times grievously, to apply the long-established norms of canon law to the crime of child abuse. Serious mistakes were made in responding to allegations. I recognize how difficult it was to grasp the extent and complexity of the problem, to obtain reliable information and to make the right decisions in the light of conflicting expert advice. Nevertheless, it must be admitted that grave errors of judgement were made and failures of leadership occurred. All this has seriously undermined your credibility and effectiveness. I appreciate the efforts you have made to remedy past mistakes and to guarantee that they do not happen again. Besides fully implementing the norms of canon law in addressing cases of child abuse, continue to cooperate with the civil authorities in their area of competence. Clearly, religious superiors should do likewise. They too have taken part in recent discussions here in Rome with a view to establishing a clear and consistent approach to these matters. It is imperative that the child safety norms of the Church in Ireland be continually revised and updated and that they be applied fully and impartially in conformity with canon law. Only decisive action carried out with complete honesty and transparency will restore the respect and good will of the Irish people towards the Church to which we have consecrated our lives. This must arise, first and foremost, from your own self-examination, inner purification and spiritual renewal. The Irish people rightly expect you to be men of God, to be holy, to live simply, to pursue personal conversion daily. For them, in the words of Saint Augustine, you are a bishop; yet with them you are called to be a follower of Christ (cf. Sermon 340, 1). I therefore exhort you to renew your sense of accountability before God, to grow in solidarity with your people and to deepen your pastoral concern for all the members of your flock. In particular, I ask you to be attentive to the spiritual and moral lives of each one of your priests. Set them an example by your own lives, be close to them, listen to their concerns, offer them encouragement at this difficult time and stir up the flame of their love for Christ and their commitment to the service of their brothers and sisters. The lay faithful, too, should be encouraged to play their proper part in the life of the Church. See that they are formed in such a way that they can offer an articulate and convincing account of the Gospel in the midst of modern society (cf. 1 Pet 3:15) and cooperate more fully in the Church’s life and mission. This in turn will help you once again become credible leaders and witnesses to the redeeming truth of Christ.

Not accountability before God but accountability before the people of Ireland. Throw open your libraries and admit your collusion. Use your time in prison to reflect and then go on a pilgrimage. Maybe then you can start again in a seminary.

12. To all the faithful of Ireland
A young person’s experience of the Church should always bear fruit in a personal and life-giving encounter with Jesus Christ within a loving, nourishing community. In this environment, young people should be encouraged to grow to their full human and spiritual stature, to aspire to high ideals of holiness, charity and truth, and to draw inspiration from the riches of a great religious and cultural tradition. In our increasingly secularized society, where even we Christians often find it difficult to speak of the transcendent dimension of our existence, we need to find new ways to pass on to young people the beauty and richness of friendship with Jesus Christ in the communion of his Church. In confronting the present crisis, measures to deal justly with individual crimes are essential, yet on their own they are not enough: a new vision is needed, to inspire present and future generations to treasure the gift of our common faith. By treading the path marked out by the Gospel, by observing the commandments and by conforming your lives ever more closely to the figure of Jesus Christ, you will surely experience the profound renewal that is so urgently needed at this time. I invite you all to persevere along this path.

Observing the commandments, right. Those are the things that equate wives with property, right? Those are the edicts that regardless of circumstance you obey your parents, right? The commandments are Old Testament. Christ gave one commandment - love one another as I have loved you. Remember that one?

13. Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, it is out of deep concern for all of you at this painful time in which the fragility of the human condition has been so starkly revealed that I have wished to offer these words of encouragement and support. I hope that you will receive them as a sign of my spiritual closeness and my confidence in your ability to respond to the challenges of the present hour by drawing renewed inspiration and strength from Ireland’s noble traditions of fidelity to the Gospel, perseverance in the faith and steadfastness in the pursuit of holiness. In solidarity with all of you, I am praying earnestly that, by God’s grace, the wounds afflicting so many individuals and families may be healed and that the Church in Ireland may experience a season of rebirth and spiritual renewal.

The institution of the church is not the same as faith in God.

14. I now wish to propose to you some concrete initiatives to address the situation. At the conclusion of my meeting with the Irish bishops, I asked that Lent this year be set aside as a time to pray for an outpouring of God’s mercy and the Holy Spirit’s gifts of holiness and strength upon the Church in your country. I now invite all of you to devote your Friday penances, for a period of one year, between now and Easter 2011, to this intention. I ask you to offer up your fasting, your prayer, your reading of Scripture and your works of mercy in order to obtain the grace of healing and renewal for the Church in Ireland. I encourage you to discover anew the sacrament of Reconciliation and to avail yourselves more frequently of the transforming power of its grace. Particular attention should also be given to Eucharistic adoration, and in every diocese there should be churches or chapels specifically devoted to this purpose. I ask parishes, seminaries, religious houses and monasteries to organize periods of Eucharistic adoration, so that all have an opportunity to take part. Through intense prayer before the real presence of the Lord, you can make reparation for the sins of abuse that have done so much harm, at the same time imploring the grace of renewed strength and a deeper sense of mission on the part of all bishops, priests, religious and lay faithful. I am confident that this programme will lead to a rebirth of the Church in Ireland in the fullness of God’s own truth, for it is the truth that sets us free (cf. Jn 8:32).

So Benedict's idea of concrete action is having a bit of an old pray. Yeah very concrete action. I think one of the cardinals show show the man a dictionary.

Furthermore, having consulted and prayed about the matter, I intend to hold an Apostolic Visitation of certain dioceses in Ireland, as well as seminaries and religious congregations. Arrangements for the Visitation, which is intended to assist the local Church on her path of renewal, will be made in cooperation with the competent offices of the Roman Curia and the Irish Episcopal Conference. The details will be announced in due course. I also propose that a nationwide Mission be held for all bishops, priests and religious. It is my hope that, by drawing on the expertise of experienced preachers and retreat-givers from Ireland and from elsewhere, and by exploring anew the conciliar documents, the liturgical rites of ordination and profession, and recent pontifical teaching, you will come to a more profound appreciation of your respective vocations, so as to rediscover the roots of your faith in Jesus Christ and to drink deeply from the springs of living water that he offers you through his Church.

If the Apostolic Visitation is an actual investigation rather than a flying visit, it might not be a bad thing but it should be transparent.

In this Year for Priests, I commend to you most particularly the figure of Saint John Mary Vianney, who had such a rich understanding of the mystery of the priesthood. “The priest”, he wrote, “holds the key to the treasures of heaven: it is he who opens the door: he is the steward of the good Lord; the administrator of his goods.” The Curé d’Ars understood well how greatly blessed a community is when served by a good and holy priest: “A good shepherd, a pastor after God’s heart, is the greatest treasure which the good Lord can grant to a parish, and one of the most precious gifts of divine mercy.” Through the intercession of Saint John Mary Vianney, may the priesthood in Ireland be revitalized, and may the whole Church in Ireland grow in appreciation for the great gift of the priestly ministry

This is the same John Vianney who thundered from pulpits on blasphemy and dancing. He refused absolution to his parishioners who would not give up dancing. What a wonderful role model of Irish clergy. It provokes the image of a return to the 1950s. Perish the thought.

I take this opportunity to thank in anticipation all those who will be involved in the work of organizing the Apostolic Visitation and the Mission, as well as the many men and women throughout Ireland already working for the safety of children in church environments. Since the time when the gravity and extent of the problem of child sexual abuse in Catholic institutions first began to be fully grasped, the Church has done an immense amount of work in many parts of the world in order to address and remedy it. While no effort should be spared in improving and updating existing procedures, I am encouraged by the fact that the current safeguarding practices adopted by local Churches are being seen, in some parts of the world, as a model for other institutions to follow.

Why say things like this? The church has not done an immense amount of work to address child abuse. Rather it indemnified itself from prosecution, put gagging orders on survivors, secured its assets through trusteeships. In fact, at every step it has been a model of what not to do.

I wish to conclude this Letter with a special Prayer for the Church in Ireland, which I send to you with the care of a father for his children and with the affection of a fellow Christian, scandalized and hurt by what has occurred in our beloved Church. As you make use of this prayer in your families, parishes and communities, may the Blessed Virgin Mary protect and guide each of you to a closer union with her Son, crucified and risen. With great affection and unswerving confidence in God’s promises, I cordially impart to all of you my Apostolic Blessing as a pledge of strength and peace in the Lord.

From the Vatican, 19 March 2010, on the Solemnity of Saint Joseph

BENEDICTUS PP. XVI

Benedict just does not get it. I don't think people who believe in God turn away from God. They turn away from the church. It is the church that failed and continues to fail. It is the arrogance, pride and surety in moral superiority that has failed. If the church in Ireland wants to keep people going to mass then it should reveal all voluntarily, all involved be they abusers or those who covered up the abuse must be booted out of the church. The church must sell its assets to pay compensation to the survivors. The church must withdraw from education, health and politics. The church must focus on begging forgiveness from those it wronged. Then perhaps those remaining in the church should perform pilgrimages - Dublin to Compostella maybe to atone. After that maybe people might come back to the church.

The letter in the whole is full of meaningless words. Little has been said but it took a lot of words to say. Benedict could have used a good editor.

I despise referring to the church as female considering the attitude of that institution to women since its inception.

Catholic Church allowed abuse – now wants cash

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After the Ryan and Murphy reports, were published, shock and anger reverberated throughout Ireland and the world. Questions of how the people of Ireland have failed children so grievously were raised in the media, while the Catholic hierarchy engaged in defence and obfuscation. And then the furore died down, and people went back to worrying about the recession.

Few read the Ryan and Murphy reports and understandably so. No one wants to believe that members of the Church behaved so violently, or that the Church itself was not interested in stopping the violence. The fact that children were the victims made the horror complete.

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The devil made us do it

From the Indo

The growing clerical sex abuse scandals in the Roman Catholic Church are proof that the Devil is at work inside the Vatican, according to the Holy See's chief exorcist.

Father Gabriele Amorth said the Pope "fully believes in liberation from evil, because the Devil lodges in the Vatican. Naturally it is difficult to find proof, but you can see the consequences". Fr Amorth (85) has been the Vatican's chief exorcist for 25 years and says he has dealt with 70,000 cases of demonic possession.

Amazing how a fictional anthropomorphic personification made the Catholic Church rape, torture, enslave children and then cover it up.  It certainly is a evil being - one so beloved of God. Whatever you call the entity - Lucifer, Satan or the Devil - it must be a terrible burden to be responsible for all the evil in the world.

Blaming an anthropomorphic personification is just another way of refusing to take responsibility for one's actions and that is far more likely in the Catholic Church. There is no excuse too outlandish that the Church will try to wriggle out of admitting its crimes.

Reality is light years away for some bishops

From the Irish Times

The Catholic Bishop of Elphin, Christopher Jones, has accused the media of being “unfair and unjust” to his Church through a concentration on the handling by Church authorities of the clerical child sex abuse issue.

"Could I just say with all this emphasis on cover-up, the cover-up has gone on for centuries, not just in the Church….It’s going on today in families, in communities, in societies, Why are you singling out the Church?,” he asked at a press conference in Maynooth today where the Irish Episcopal Conference was concluding its three-day Spring meeting.

“I object to the way the Church is being isolated and the focus on the Church,” he said “We know we’ve made mistakes. Of course we’ve made mistakes but why this huge isolation of the Church and this huge focus on cover-up in the Church when it has been going on for centuries.”

Nasty media. It hurts us precious.



Douchebag

The Vatican washes its hands

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Matthew 16:19 And I will give unto thee the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven. And whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in Heaven, and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in Heaven.

Working for an organisation can inspire loyalty. You defend the policies, because you believe in them. You minimise whatever failings you fins out about and cover up a few mistakes. You invest your time and effort into being the best worker you can. Then you find out that the organisation is not perfect. Maybe it dumps toxic waste into the ocean or uses slave labour. At what point do you blow the whistle? At what point do you resign in protest?

The analogy is not perfect, but neither is the reaction of the Catholic Church to accusations of child sexual abuse. As a reference point, Vatican II (Second Vatican Counsel) marks the modern Catholic Church – a handy milestone for an ancient organisation. Did the latter day cover ups start with Pope John Paul II or was his refusal to permit the defrocking of paedophile priests only the latest deception? In 1989, the pontiff was determined to give priests every chance to repent. In Ireland, this policy led inexorably to repeat child sexual abuse. In many cases, the cycle was repeated for decades.

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Murphy Report: will ANYONE resign over child abuse in Dublin archdiocese?

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Matthew 25:40 Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.

Last week, the Report by Commission of Investigation into Catholic Archdiocese of Dublin was published. It sent shock waves through the country. Although there were warnings about the content before the publication, it was worse than anyone could imagine. I have previously written about the revelations of torture, violence and rape in the Ryan Report. The Murphy Report, as it is commonly called, is just as revealing. It details the sexual abuse and rape of children by 102 priests in the archdiocese of Dublin.

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I write letters

Dear Taoiseach,

That you are a coward and a liar does not surprise me. That you are unable to do what is necessary to fix the economy does not surprise me. That you were too drunk on your latest visit to China to attend two press conferences does not surprise me.

On the other hand, that you kowtow to pedophiles, rapists, criminal facilitators and accessories after the fact does surprise me. You say it is not a state issue. You are wrong. If you cannot conceive that the state is supposed to protect children from a rapacious and foul pedophiliac organisation, you are not fit to lead this country or a political party. That you do not immediately expel the papal nuncio is disgusting. That you have no respect for the citizens of your country is revolting. That you do less than the bare minimum is abhorrent.

I met you in the UN in September 2003. You were there with Bertie to give one of the worst speeches at the GA that year. Not for a second did I believe Bertie's greasy faux sincerity but you impressed me. You seemed sincere. How wrong was I.

You messed up the economy, stood by while the country drowned, appointed incompetent ministers and have generally been one of the worst leaders to date but this is the final death knell for any human kindness or respect you ever had. The Ryan report. The Murphy report. Just how many details of atrocities do you need to read before you act (assuming you have read the reports. I'm sure a civil servant condensed them for you)? How many children must die or suffer horrific sexual abuse before you take action?

Here are some actions to take just in case you do not know what to do:

- expel the Nuncio (yes you have that power and yes you should be using it)
- expel all religious orders named in the Ryan report (that you have not done this already is frankly baffling)
- have the DPP charge the bishops with being accessories after the fact, criminal negligence and co conspirators.
- If the Vatican is considered a state, insist that the ICJ investigates charges of crimes against humanity and crimes against children. If it is not considered a state then initiate criminal proceedings against it for criminal conspiracy and cover up
- apologise
- formally declare which members of the government are involved in secret societies. It is not credible that they are that incompetent. You might remind them of Matthew 25:40 "whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me."

Regards,

Mór Rígan
Voter and citizen

How much longer do we have to wait for the government to banish the religious congregations?

The Catholic has failed us in Ireland. Members of the church have perpetrated horrific crimes on vulnerable children and have done everything to avoid paying compensation and even owning up to their crimes.

It now emerges that we exported our child abusers. Where Irish religious orders went, child abuse followed. It is clearly that something is rotten in the church. It is time to disband the corrupt institution to protect our children.

Tardun was one of the more notorious of Australia's 500 or so children's institutions. It had all sorts of Irish connections. It was one of four such institutions run by the Christian Brothers, who were tightly controlled by their Irish leadership, based at the Dublin headquarters in Marino. They even named another of their western Australian institutions Clontarf - it is to be found in Waterford, a suburb of Perth.

Many of the brothers working in the Australian institutions were first generation Irish. These included Br Paul Keaney, the infamous resident manager of Bindoon (another Christian Brothers-run boys' orphanage) up to the 1950s, who was born in Rossinver, Co Leitrim.

Thousands of boys passed through these institutions. Most were Australian, who, like so many Irish children, ended up in care during the middle decades of the 20th century for reasons of poverty and disadvantage.

Why are these people still permitted in education in Ireland? I suppose it is the tarring brush but there were those who knew and did nothing. They are complicit. The percentage of child abusers, torturers and rapists in the church far exceeded population statistics.

Get them out of education, out of hospitals and out of this country.

Three counts of child rape gets you only three years in Ireland

From the IT

A Co Louth man (21) who raped his 11-year-old cousin four years ago has been jailed for three years.

The man pleaded guilty at the Central Criminal Court to three charges of raping the boy between December 2004 and April 2005. The accused was then aged 17. He has no previous convictions.

Mr Justice Paul Carney noted the man was at low risk of re-offending, had entered an early guilty plea and shown remorse. He registered him as a sex offender and ordered that he undergo post-release supervision.

Wow Justice Carney, way to show the child rapists and molesters that you don't really care about child survivors. Nice slap on the wrists. Shows how seriously Irish people in positions of responsibility took the Ryan report. You just supported our rape culture.

I am utterly disgusted with our "justice" system.

Justice for the Magdalene survivors

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It’s 1967. You are fourteen and you sneak out to the cinema which has just opened. You are so excited to see the moving picture that your leg bounces up and down as you wait in line. It is a wonderful experience, and you sneak back into your house, prepared to reflect on it for days to come.

Then, you are caught and physically examined to ensure your enduring virginal state. No matter what the doctor finds, it is too late. You have disgraced your family you are sent to a Catholic laundry to work from dawn to dusk. You wash filthy clothes, make lace handkerchiefs and linen tablecloths for export for profit but you see none of the money. You cannot leave or escape. You are paid nothing. This is the story of thousands of Irish women and girls in the Magdalene laundries run by the Catholic Church until 1994.

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No jail time for child abuser maybe because he's an award-winning author?

According to Judge Moran, the abuser's needs supersede the victim's rights. What a wonderful fucking justice system

Desmond Hogan has been given a two-year suspended jail sentence, placed on the sex offenders register and ordered not to have unsupervised contact with children after he pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting a 15-year-old boy...

“This is a very serious matter . . . this was an incident with a young boy who was under age, it’s completely unacceptable, it was an abuse of a relationship between a young boy and a considerably older man,” Judge Moran said.

However, he believed society would benefit more from Hogan continuing with his treatment than from sending him to jail where he might meet like-minded people serving sentences for similar offences.

“He is a person with a complex make-up and if he continues his underlying therapeutic treatment, in all the circumstances, society is probably better served than if he is sent to jail,” Judge Moran said.

Fianna Fáil and resignations

From the Irish Times

Mr Cowen yesterday deflected criticism of Ms Coughlan’s decision to approve a “golden handshake” for Mr Molloy last November, which enhanced the long-term value of his pension by an estimated €1 million.

Course he did. Holy Saint Dermot "Back to the good old days" Ahern defended Sweary Mary on Radio 1 this afternoon. Angling to be Tánaiste that one is.

Fianna Fáil have brass necks. They are unshameable. A quick non-apology and back to business as usual. How many of them have committed firing offenses?

• Batt O'Keeffe for the Magdalanes as employees remark
  
• Brian Lenihan for getting the budget wrong and not reading the necessary documents; for nationalising Anglo Irish Bank to bail out FF grassroots members
  
• John O'Donaghue for his expenses
• Martin Cullen for his expenses, e-voting, abuse of government jet
  
• Mary O' Rourke for racism
• Mary Coughlan for the FÁS and Rody Molly debacle
• Michael Woods for negotiating immunity for child rapists and torturers who were in the church
• Mary Harney for the health system
• Bertie Ahern for, amongst other things, the gas and oil deal with Shell
• Brian Cowen for continuing lack of leadership and allowing corrupt public servants to resign instead of firing them
• Dermot Ahern for amendments to the criminal justice lawand the blasphemy law
  

Right, who have I forgotten?

It's not inspiring to think so many government ministers have said and done things that they should be fired for. Where is the political will, accountability and justice there? The government is supposed to serve the people.

There is a cancer in the body politic when we keep returning these corrupt fuckers. New people need to stand for election but the best and brightest are leaving Ireland because who wants to spend their life paying for these fools' mistakes and not a single person is fired or takes responsibility?

Does it take their blood flowing in the streets to get resignations? I abhor violence but I wonder whether anything short of that will get them out of government.

Batt O'Keeffe proves his cruelty

You know if Batt O'Keeffe, Minister for Education, thinks that hard manual labour without pay or chance to leave is employment, I suggest he be encouraged to consider his position. From the Irish Times

He referred to the women as “former employees of the Magdalen laundries”.

Just when I think that this government cannot fall any lower, the Minister comes out and trivialises the suffering and exclusion of women in the Magdalen laundries. The Minister has no compassion or understanding of the responsibility of the government.

Minister O'Keeffe adds

the Magdalen laundries were privately-owned and operated establishments which did not come within the responsibility of the State. The State did not refer individuals to the Magdalen laundries nor was it complicit in referring individuals to them.

Right, so if a child was kidnapped, the gardaí won't attempt to rescue that child because ze is held in a private building. That makes sense.

Does not the State have a responsibility to protect the freedom of its citizens?
Does not the State have a responsibility to treat its citizens equally?
Does not the State have a responsibility to the women and girls, who had committed no crime, who were illegally imprisoned for years?
Does not the State have a responsibility to assure that pay and working conditions are equitable?

The State failed in its duty. An acknowledgment of this failure might have begun to heal wounds but instead they issue denials and disavow any responsibility. This is exactly what happened to the children in the industrial schools when they tried to bring their abuse and torture to government notice.

The Minister should consider his position.