IRELAND
Austin American-Statesman
By Don Melvin
INTERNATIONAL STAFF
Sunday, March 19, 2006
GOREY, IRELAND — Colm O'Gorman was born 39 years ago into an Ireland in which the Roman Catholic Church was central to almost everyone's life.
At 3 1/2, he began attending a state school owned and run by the church. When he was 8 or 9, he became an altar boy. Social life revolved around the church.
The local priest was a revered and powerful figure. The church wielded a strong influence on Irish politics.
"There wasn't an arena or an area it wasn't involved in," O'Gorman said.
So, he said, when he was sexually abused by a priest for three years, beginning at age 14, he blamed himself.