Multitudes in Ireland and elsewhere have either dreaded or "looked forward" to the release of a report on the nine year old investigation of brutality meted out on children in numerous Irish Catholic institutions. The headline of Shawn Pogatchnick's devastating AP article is cringe-worthy: Thousands beaten, raped in Irish reform schools. The general story is not a new one to those who have paid attention to the scandals in this country. It is a clear sign, however, that the Church has lost strength in its iron-grip over the lives of Catholics in Ireland.
While the 2,600 page report is a devastating hammer-blow to religious communities and the Church in general, it doesn't nearly go far enough. The Church won an injunction back in 2004 to bar the publication of the names of the rapists and abusers. They may believe they had won a victory, however, the end result is that all of the Christian Brothers, Sisters of Mercy, other communities and the Vatican are tarred as either child abusers or abettors of child abuse. The apologies are faux-religious and hideously shallow:
Cardinal Sean Brady
I am profoundly sorry and deeply ashamed that children suffered in such awful ways in these institutions. Children deserved better and especially from those caring for them in the name of Jesus Christ.
Where were you when this abuse occurred and did you aid in covering up the names of the abusers?
Spokesperson for the Sisters of Mercy
There is a great sadness in all of our hearts at this time and our deepest desire is to continue the healing process for all involved.
Huh? Sadness in your hearts? Because you were named or because some in your community fucked up little kids so they are now fucked up adults? Only sadness for
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.
"In some schools a high level of ritualized beating was routine. ... Girls were struck with implements designed to maximize pain and were struck on all parts of the body," the report said. "Personal and family denigration was widespread."
Reverend Edmund Garvey, Christian Brothers
[Reading the] presentation of the history of our institutions, it is hard to avoid feeling shame.
Shame? Try fury. Shame is what I have when I yell at a friend. You only feel shame for
The report, unveiled by High Court Justice Sean Ryan, found that molestation and rape were "endemic" in boys' facilities, chiefly run by the Christian Brothers, and supervisors pursued policies that increased the danger.
I don't know how one heals from this kind of abuse. There will be no prosecutions -- the Church thinks money compensation should take care of the problem. It won't. These adults lost their innocence and faith. They had no one to save them from the abusers because the Church protected them and punished the children.
I am Catholic, but I have to say, this part of the article made me blind with rage:
The commission dismissed as implausible a central defense of the religious orders — that, in bygone days, people did not recognize the sexual abuse of a child as a criminal offense, but rather as a sin that required repentance.
In their testimony, religious orders typically cited this as the principal reason why sex-predator priests and brothers were sheltered within the system and moved to new posts where they could still maintain daily contact with children.
Obscene -- particularly in light of the documents found tucked away at the Vatican which the investigative committee found
"Contrary to the congregations' claims that the recidivist nature of sexual offending was not understood, it is clear from the documented cases that they were aware of the propensity for abusers to re-abuse."
Those of you who know what I have written in the past are aware that I love my former congregation. Indeed, I love the Sisters of Mercy whom I know and many priests. Predators and sadists are not religious -- they are predators and sadists in religious garb.
Blessings to all who have suffered at the hands of amoral beasts.