DUBLIN (IRELAND)
Irish Independent [Dublin, Ireland]
September 6, 2024
By Letters to the editor
Since the publication of the Scoping Inquiry report on abuse in Catholic schools, various ministers have condemned what happened. They have rightfully called on the religious orders involved to pay restitution to their victims.
However, this is the same Government that has done nothing to implement a 2014 ruling from the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in favour of Irish citizen Louise O’Keeffe, regarding the abuse she suffered at national school.
This brave woman should not have been pushed all the way to the ECHR in a quest for justice. It is another case of deflect and deny by our Government.
Their obligation to the children who attended national schools is no more and no less than that of the religious orders they have now called out.
It appears some ministers would like Justice to peek out from under her blindfold to ensure the scales are tilted in their favour.
Paddy Murray, Castlepollard, Co Westmeath
Don’t discount probability that abuse also happened in non-religious schools
The reports of abuse in Irish schools make for horrific reading, all the more so when perpetrated by those aligned with religious orders.
My personal experience was a mixed bag. In primary school, I had the misfortune to spend five years under the less-than-tender care of a brute who was physically and verbally abusive.
I hasten to add that he wasn’t affiliated to a religion, but was a lay teacher.
My secondary education was much better. It was mainly provided by diocesan priests, who were gentle by nature.
It appears that the UK was no better in this regard. Charles Spencer, brother of the late Princess Diana, recently revealed that he was subjected to horrific physical and sexual abuse at his secondary school.
Sadly, it appears that the teaching profession attracted too many dubious individuals. Hopefully, it has improved.
Eric Conway, Navan, Co Meath
Emotional scars don’t heal – victims carry burden for remainder of their lives
I attended Willow Park and Blackrock College as a boarder in the 1960s. Sadly, I experienced many years of physical and mental abuse.
Any kind of abuse, be it sexual or otherwise, stays with victims for the rest of their lives.
The following is from a notice to students, both past and present, from both schools. It is an acknowledgment of the findings laid out in the Scoping Inquiry report.
“We are deeply saddened and regretful that a significant number of students, in the care of the schools, were subjected to historical sexual abuse over the years.
“Both the scale of the abuse and the duration of the time frame over which the abuse was perpetrated is shocking and a shameful period in the history of the schools.”
Brian McDevitt, Glenties, Co Donegal
People with a dim outlook filled roles they should never have been let near
All right-thinking adults are horrified by the contents of the Scoping Inquiry report. However, this should not be seen as an opportunity to attack all members of the clergy.
The perpetrators were beguiling people to begin with. A majority of the clergy, to be truthful, were ignorant of life, both its pleasures and traps.
Reading material was severely restricted and, as we know, narrow education narrows thinking.
When combined with the illusion that these were God’s “specially chosen” people, it can be no great shock that reality flew the coop. This was pushed further by a public that placed them on a platform of straw upon their appointments as clerics and teachers.
There is a giant elephant in the room. Nobody wants to address it, but it needs to be addressed very seriously by anyone who claims to be Christian. Christian teaching is that God is omnipotent – that He/She knows everything about each and every person’s life.
The denials and mistruths by church leaders about sexual abuse of children can be seen as denial of God’s omnipotence. If not, these men and women are of the opinion they can fool God.
Declan Foley, Melbourne, Australia