BishopAccountability.org
	A Litany of Shame Offaly Express May 27, 2009 http://www.offalyexpress.ie/15082/A-litany-of-shame.5308002.jp THE Ryan Commission's report marks a watershed in Irish public life and culture. The sheer scale and nature of the abuse perpetuated by religious orders and insitutions is staggering and difficult to comprehend. Commentators have referred to it as as 'Ireland's holocaust." This is not mere hyperbole, but is an attempt to quantify the human misery and destruction wrought on society's most vulnerable members, throughout most of the history of the State. The gulag like conditions in many of these institutions represents a profound blight on any so called civilised society. When coupled with the sexual, physical and mental abuse that took place it negates any notion of civilisation. It cannot be consiged to history, but how it is dealt with now will be a reflection on the capacity of this society to change. As a historical document, the Ryan Commission report details how power and authority were structured in Ireland since the foundation of the State. The systemic abuse that took place against children points up an authority which was thoroughly debased. It was an authority which, until quite recently, was based on a veneer of respectabiity, hierarchy and self serving righteousness. It was aided and abetted by a secrecy and deferential attitudes, unfortunate traits engrained in Irish culture. For example, the report found that that the Department of Education "had considerable powers, but it lacked the initiative and authority to do anything more than maintain the status quo." And the status quo was quite effectively maintained. Anyone who attempted to make a complaint found themselves swimming against an insurmountable tide. They were treated as 'troublemakers.' The State, through its vacuity, acquiesced as did most of the general public, shades of the Holocaust once again. The Ryan report has put the final nail in any idea of a glorified Irish past. It details the brutal and repressive undercurrents which lay at the heart of once venerated bodies. However, it does not end there. The State has once again shamed itself with the 2002 indemnity deal which capped the sum these religious orders were liable for. They were let off the hook. More clearly needs to be done to address the needs of victims and their families. The furore over the 2002 deal will not go away. Indeed, it has already produced an unprecedencted schism between the Catholic hierarchy and the religious congregrations involved, and it will not end there. The paucity of the official response was evident for all to see on last Monday night's 'Question & Answers' when an abuse victim, Michael O'Brien from Clonmel confronted Enterprise Minister, Noel Dempsey on the issue. The poignancy of Mr O'Brien's suffering was gut wrenching, all the more so because he clearly affixed the blame for the shambles of the deal at his own government's doorstep, and highlighed the inadequacy of politicians in addressing it.
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