Horrific child abuse in Catholic Irish schools

[Morrigan]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090520/ap_on_re_eu/eu_ireland_catholic_abuse_11

A fiercely debated, nine-year investigation into Ireland's Roman Catholic-run institutions says priests and nuns terrorized thousands of boys and girls in workhouse-style schools for decades — and government inspectors failed to stop the chronic beatings, rapes and humiliation.

[...]

More than 30,000 children deemed to be petty thieves, truants or from dysfunctional families — a category that often included unmarried mothers — were sent to Ireland's austere network of industrial schools, reformatories, orphanages and hostels from the 1930s until the last church-run facilities shut in the 1990s.

The report found that molestation and rape were "endemic" in boys' facilities, chiefly run by the Christian Brothers order, and supervisors pursued policies that increased the danger. Girls supervised by orders of nuns, chiefly the Sisters of Mercy, suffered much less sexual abuse but frequent assaults and humiliation designed to make them feel worthless.

I wish I could say this sort of thing surprised me, but in fact, this is highly reminiscent of the Duplessis Orphans scandal we've had here in Québec. As I saw asked on another forum, how will the Vatican weasel its way out of this one?

 

[Monketi Ghost]

If it's true that the investigation shows that the offenders were shielded, the Catholic church is absolutely morally bankrupt, and an enormous exodus is on the way. If I hadn't quit being Catholic years ago, this would make me leave in disgust.

 

[garcia<3]

I'm not surprised at all. Child abuse, brought to you by those who think every fetus is precious, of course until the become children

sorry just ranting...

 

[HarryKeogh]

If it's true that the investigation shows that the offenders were shielded, the Catholic church is absolutely morally bankrupt, and an enormous exodus is on the way. If I hadn't quit being Catholic years ago, this would make me leave in disgust.

While I'm sure thousands of people left the church after the American sex scandal I don't think there was a huge exodus. I don't see how this would be any different. Hope I'm wrong and you're right.

I read the Philadelphia grand jury report on the sex abuse cases in that city and "molesting" is too kind a word for what was done to these kids. It was systematic rape and torture and covered up by all levels of the Catholic church.

I'm glad this report is out. Unfortunately, it's a few decades too late for many and the guilty parties aren't even named.

 

[Finster]

While I'm sure thousands of people left the church after the American sex scandal I don't think there was a huge exodus. I don't see how this would be any different. Hope I'm wrong and you're right.

I would hope you're wrong too but I suspect you are not.

 

[Sir Robin Goodfellow]

Unfortunately, many of the guilty are long in their graves, so they'll never be called to account for their crimes.

I'm glad I no longer have any connection to religion, especially this one.

 

[Cainkane1]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090520/ap_on_re_eu/eu_ireland_catholic_abuse_11



I wish I could say this sort of thing surprised me, but in fact, this is highly reminiscent of the Duplessis Orphans scandal we've had here in Québec. As I saw asked on another forum, how will the Vatican weasel its way out of this one?

I was never sexually abused but if you guys will recall in one of my posts I was rather severely beaten in my secular highschool days.

 

[Gord_in_Toronto]

The whole Roman Catholic ethos seemed (seems ?) to be to convince you that you are bad bad bad. I think many Catholics are marred for life by what the were taught to think about themselves as children.

 

[Fnord]

"The management did not listen to or believe children when they complained of the activities of some of the men who had responsibility for their care," the commission found. "At best, the abusers were moved, but nothing was done about the harm done to the child. At worst, the child was blamed and seen as corrupted by the sexual activity, and was punished severely."

*&^%$#@ religionists Roman Catholic Church ...

 

[Ashles]

There was an awful documentary a couple of weeks ago about one Irish Catholic Priest who abused many, many children in the US over a prolonged period of time.

Again the Church simply shielded him and moved him around.

Some of the abuse victims went to the Vatican to demand some kind of apology or recognition.
They were essentially turned away by bouncers without any comment whatsoever.

It's simply disgusting and some high ranking members of the clergy should be doing prison time for harbouring criminals, failing to report crimes, hampering police investigations and anything else that can be thrown at these scum.

The Priest himself at the centre of it all didn't, even now, seem to fully understand that what he had done was wrong.

This is what happens in communities where Priests and the church are so revered that they feel answerable to no-one.
Got a problem?
You go to your Priest and you trust them implicitly.
The Priest abuses that trust?
No problem - go to someone higher in the Church and trust them implicitly.

At that point God help you because the Catholic Church sure wont.

 

[Darat]

Unfortunately, many of the guilty are long in their graves, so they'll never be called to account for their crimes.

I'm glad I no longer have any connection to religion, especially this one.

And during the years it has taken for the report to be completed the RCC managed to get a legal ruling to prevent people being named and therefore prosecuted.

ETA, my summary was not quite accurate:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/8059826.stm...snip...

The findings will not be used for criminal prosecutions - in part because the Christian Brothers successfully sued the commission in 2004 to keep the identities of all of its members, dead or alive, unnamed in the report.

...snip...

 

[Ashles]

From the link in the OP:

Wednesday's report also highlighted the rarity of human kindness in the institutions.
"A word of consideration or encouragement, or an act of sympathy or understanding, had a profound effect. Adults in their 60s and 70s recalled seemingly insignificant events that had remained with them all their lives," the report said. "Often the act of kindness, recalled in such a positive light, arose from the simple fact that the staff member had not given a beating when one was expected."

I am at work and I really feel like crying.
I wish I could swear in this thread.

 

[Freethinker]

But they are good Christians......

 

[Darat]

Link to the executive summary: http://www.childabusecommission.com/rpt/pdfs/CICA-Executive Summary.pdf

Link to the report pages: http://www.childabusecommission.com/rpt/pdfs/

 

[Darat]

From the summary:

...snip...
This Chapter also looks at the attitude of the Congregation to allegations of abuse and the apologies it issued. These apologies acknowledged that some abuse had taken place but failed to accept any Congregational responsibility for such abuse. Finally, this chapter examines the Congregation’s engagement with this Commission which was co-operative in terms of production of documents but defensive in the way it responded to complaints....snip....

That the abuse happened of course is terrible but that is the past and we can't do anything about that abuse but the fact that the main group involved fails to accept any responsibility is, well I really don't know how to articulate how that makes me feel, angry, disgusted, bewildered.

 

[Darat]

...snip...

The Conclusions on sexual abuse which are outlined at Paragraph 7.549 were that sexual abuse of boys in Artane by Brothers was a chronic problem. Complaints were not handled properly and the steps taken by the Congregation to avoid scandal and publicity protected perpetrators of abuse. ...snip...


Serious allegations were outlined both in documents and in oral testimony about a Brother who was violent and dangerous over a number of years (Paragraph 9.46). This Brother was moved from a day school because his violence towards children was causing severe problems with their parents, and was moved to Tralee
Industrial School. Such a move displayed a callous disregard for the safety of children in care. He went on to terrorise children in Tralee for over seven years.

...snip...

The more I read the more astonished I am.

 

[skeptical]

I only read the executive summary of the report (available on the organizations website) and I felt like throwing up numerous times.

I don't know what it will take for the average person to see what a corrupt, vicious and evil organization the RCC is and always has been. If the pope had an ounce of decency left he would slit his throat on his balcony on live television right after begging for forgiveness from all the people whose lives have been ruined by the sadists and pedophiles that make up his minions.

Its beyond sickening.

 

[Fnord]

The whole Roman Catholic ethos seemed (seems ?) to be to convince you that you are bad bad bad. I think many Catholics are marred for life by what the were taught to think about themselves as children.

.
It's that and more. The Roman Catholic Ethos also includes the dogma, expressed or implied, that the victim of a sinful act is also sin-filled as a result of that act. Thus, children raped by pedophile nuns and priests are called "sinners" and "deserving of the sins inflicted upon them", and then beaten and forced to do penance, in spite of Jesus' own teachings...

He said to His disciples, ¹“It is inevitable that stumbling blocks come, but woe to him through whom they come! ²It would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck and he were thrown into the sea, than that he would cause one of these little ones to stumble."*

(* - From the Gospel According to Luke, Chapter 17, Verses 1 and 2, NASB.)

That seems too good a punishment, but if that's what Jesus wants ... I wonder what's the going price for millstones these days?

ADDED LATER: There is quite the discussion of this very topic over on Newsvine. Follow the link below, and contribute freely!

http://world-news.newsvine.com/_new...?commentId=7189487&threadId=582910&&#c7190270

 

[shecky]

Unbelievable. I recall seeing The Magdalene Sisters several years ago, reading up on the what were essentially slave labor camps, being absolutely appalled that such things could have existed in my lifetime in a place such as Ireland. That this sort of thing went on beyond the Magdalene Laundries is just mind boggling.

Sad to say, this revelation does seem to explain a bit the old school Irish religious clergy I knew in Catholic school as a kid.

 

[dingogirl]

My friend, who was sexually abused by her father, went to her teacher, a nun, for help. What did the nun do? She sexually abused my friend. My friend sued the Catholic Church and won. My mom, a devout Roman Catholic said in disgust, "Yeah, she got her million."