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“I OFTEN WORRY that people get sick of hearing about this issue. We’ve been talking about it for twenty years but today I was as angry, outraged and upset as I’ve ever been.”
That was the initial reaction of one abuse survivor to Cardinal Seán Brady and the Vatican’s response to fresh allegations relating to the abuse of children by paedophile priest Brendan Smyth.
Colm O’Gorman told TheJournal.ie that his emotional response was not so much about what was revealed last night (he said he knew most of that already) but came after hearing from Cardinal Seán Brady and the hierarchy of the Church. He was particularly vexed by the words of the Vatican’s chief prosecutor.
“It was extraordinary to hear Monsignor Charles Scicluna – someone with global prosecutory responsibility in this area – to discharge Brady from all moral culpability and say that he proved that lessons were learned within the Irish church.”
Speaking to Morning Ireland yesterday, Scicluna said the priest “did what was expected of him by Canon Law and procedures that were acceptable at the time”. He also believes that the Catholic Church needs Cardinal Brady as he has “learned the hard way” and is now determined in his protection of children.
According to O’Gorman, who founded the One in Four support group after launching a case against the Church over his experiences of abuse when he was a teenager, “it is incredible that the Monsignor has not been able to spot the perversity of that statement”.
Now an executive director of Amnesty International Ireland, O’Gorman was not satisfied with the similar but weak defence offered by Scicluna and Brady yesterday that back in 1975 Brady was only a ‘notary’ in the interviews.
“Authority is not needed to walk into a Garda station to report the abuse and rape of children. It takes courage and a sense of moral decency,” he said, adding that it was important to remember that Brady was a highly-educated and qualified Canon lawyer at the time. He was also 35-years-old.
At 14-years-old Brendan Boland had the courage, integrity and insight to report his concerns for other people. Brady had nothing like that level of insight or courage. He failed and it is unforgivable.
Commenting on the atrocious acts of Smyth that spanned a forty-year period, O’Gorman recalls the level of terror still visible in Brendan Smyth’s victims years later as something “extraordinary”.
“I’ve never seen anything like it,” he said. “The impact on those people as adults because of what he did to them when they were children. I don’t use this word lightly, but he was monstrous.”
Response raises serious questions
O’Gorman believes that Brady is trying to pitch himself as a “wounded healer” but as an abuse survivor, he questions whom he is trying to heal.
Is it his institution? Himself? His defences, his avoiding of responsiblity is certainly not bringing healing to those who were abused. He may be looking after his own self-healing by defending the indefensible.
He added that even if Brady cannot be judged on his actions in Dundalk in 1975, he can be examined for his responses to those actions in 2012.
“Doing that raises very serious question about his attitude in 2012 to these issues. That is a crucial point.”
Refuting claims that there were no State guidelines to follow, O’Gorman noted that Brady was actually following the Catholic Church’s process “to the letter”.
“There were Church processes clearly set out. The abusers and the accusers were sworn to secrecy and the matter was kept within the church. That process was in place since 1962,” explained O’Gorman, who has spent much time researching all mentions of paedophilia in Canon Law.
The first laws were actually introduced in the fourth century and they were specific to instances of clerical sexual abuse of minors, he said.
There may have been no State guidelines but there was Church law. He was following a clear set of instructions.
“But reducing it down to the basics, a 35-year-old man knew the names of children who were being raped and abused and did not report it to the authorities. If he cannot recognise that as a truly terrible failure, he is incapable of recognising the impact of that failure and questions of his leadership must be raised,” concluded O’Gorman, before finally adding that Brady’s resignation is only a matter for himself and his church – the damage to the abused has already been done.
Anybody affected or distressed by the current focus on child abuse can contact Connect Counselling for free on 1800 477 477 (and from Northern Ireland 00800 477 477 77). Opening hours are from 6 to 10pm Wednesday to Sunday.
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We have to ask ourselves why hasn;’t land and property owned by the sisters of mercy not just been taken to compensate the victims at this stage?
Its disgusting that numerous governments have now failed so many victims not just of this but of so many other religious related abuse, its not just FG but its Labour, FF, Greens, PD’s etc. They’ve all been in power whilst this crap has gone on and they’ve failed so many people.
Sisters of no Mercy more like.
Barry
The Irish State entered into a full and final settlement with the religious orders that was and is binding on all of the parties. Now you want to move the goal posts and say that the word and signatures of those representing the State is neither binding nor honest.
What sort of a guy are you Barry when you portray and propose such dishonour?
Cork Feminista does not have a position on sex work. We do not support any campaigns to legalise or criminalise sex work. We often share articles on both side of the debate because our members are interested in the topic. Our organisation currently consists of 3 voluntary organisers and a small pool of voluntary assistants.
Good luck to the organisers of the protest . The orders should be ashamed of the stance they have taken
Thank you on behalf of the survivors, supporters and Cork Feminista
Christoper Hitchens was correct religion poisons everything
Not really. Child labour, sex trafficking, bonded labour; all examples of modern slavery and none of which relate to religion.
Kevin remember the 19 militant atheists who flew planes into the twin towers?(no that was religious fundamentalists) or you might go look up the role the Catholic Church had in the Bosnia conflict,
Or you might be too young to remember Salman Rushdie having a death warrant issued by a Supreme Religious Cleric for written a work of fiction.
The history of the Catholic Church from pedophilia to the crusades, the Spanish inquisition or the role of the Church and the Pope in aids ridden Africa and condoms. The Catholic Church and it’s deals with Nazi Germany.
The interference of the Catholic Church in Ireland and other countries trying to control laws passed in sovereign nations, always Bishop or a Cardinal ready and willing to comment or chastise on those issues but silent for years on abuse cases.
Jehovah witnesses who are so deluded in a so called Holy book that a child would be allowed to die rather than receive a blood transfusion. Fundamentalists Christians in the States who promote hatred towards gay and lesbian people and attack science with lobby groups.
Islamic fundamentalists genitally mutilating infant girls and stoning rape victims and generally abusing women on every level. Suicide bombers believe plenty of virgins await them in heaven for such righteous and holy acts.
The Dogmatic nonsense Religion teaches like Mohammad and his winged horse flying to Heaven or The Assumption of Mary all without any evidence and just past on generation to generation by blind faith.
What does religion have to do before you actually say yes this is responsible for a serious amount of damage to humanity and the it’s role in history has to be questioned and held accountable for crimes against humanity. Remember Crime will always exist so your previous comment about slavery etc is really invalid because the Religious institutions are supposedly doing God’s work on Earth in a Holy and peaceful manner Organised crime makes no such claims.
If it was as easy as let everyone get along and believe what they want to believe that would be fine but Religion deliberately interferes and makes things much much worse.
Here here James, couldn’t have said it better.
James, between 1980 and 2000 the majority of suicide attacks were carried out by the Tamil Tigers, a secular organisation.
In 1952, 13 Jewish poets, novelists, journalists and academics were executed in the Moscow for attempting to weaken the Soviet Union.
Parents who refuse to immunise their children against life threatening diseases for fear they will ‘contract’ autism.
Countless wars waged to increase or consolidate power, to gain access to resources or for the glory of a nation.
China executed a woman earlier this year for killing her abusive husband in self-defence. And the end of foot binding in China was brought about by members of the Woman’s Christian Temperance Movement.
But my point was not that people do not do harm in the name of religion it was that humans don’t need an excuse to harm each other. To concentrate on only one aspect is usually to ignore the complexity of issues and thus to likely fail to find solutions. I get pretty tired of people who love to characterise themselves as free/critical thinkers only being capable of making simple cause and effect judgements. A religious person did something evil while claiming to be good therefore religion is evil?
I’m not sure how that invalidates my comment. An individual or institution are capable of evil acts regardless of what they assert to be doing. Did these orders claim that forced labour was promoting Christianity? No. They took advantage of their position of power to increase their own institutional wealth. Hitler claimed to only be acting in the interest of Germany when he committed his crimes. Does that make Germans forever responsible for those crimes? Does it make all genuine and peaceful nationalism responsible for them?
Thanks I’ve seen that one. Somewhat of a mismatch isn’t it? Two great orators against Anne Widdecombe and an archbishop who looks like he thought he was going to speak to a group of parishioners. Why don’t you post a video of William Lane Craig debating morality with Sam Harris or Hitchens?
Kevin no matter what the Catholic Church does you will still support it off you go pray away good lad onward christian soldier and all that malarkey.
Did you miss my comment at the top of the page then James?
No. I just don’t like being disingenuous and ignoring the good that religious institutions also do. And I don’t have the well enforced availability heuristic that most anti-theists have in relation to the cause of the world’s major problems
But if in doubt just tell me to go to mass, or to say some prayers or to a meeting of the Iona Institute
Morality predates man made religion Kevin and no religious dogma is necessary to have decency and empathy and do you agree with the Catholic Church interfering in the laws of the land? The believers won’t be happy till every knee bends.
I agree completely. I didn’t claim a person requires religion to be moral.
I guess it depends what you mean by interfere. The Catholic Church has as much right to express its opinion or even lobby government in relation to ethical issues as any other group. Atheist Ireland didn’t have a problem sending a representative to the hearings on the new abortion law
Excellent debate the secularists wiped the floor with faith heads.
Surprised they only got 1,000 signatures
We could have gotten more, the support was definitely there for it. But we had few hours over 4 Saturdays and I conservatively estimated the amount of names, if we had more time there would be more signatures.
They would get a terrible beating if the nuns see that sheet!!
As a carer I have work with these in a care homes and they are lovely beautiful people and now don’t know how to live life’s out side of this, the nuns nowadays take good care of them with the guide lines of the HSE, But it is to little to late they should never been use in this way to line the pockets of these convents and where is all the money now, so so many ladies my heart broke every time I went to work to look after them their life’s were robed never to get back their childhood or their twenty’s . No better then the concentrations camps
And flies in the face of the intended sentiment behind and defited image of the bronze statue outside their Baggot St. premises
*desired
A simple apology ffs! How hard is it to admit the wrong doings and ask for forgiveness.
Sorry. It should be all about the few bob.
I welcome this necessary protest. A few days ago I visited the graves of the women in Bohermore Cemetery (Galway) The latest entry on headstone is 30/1/2013.
A favourite song of mine written by Don Mescall has the lyrics:
“The Sisters of Mercy still live
In the convent on top of the hill
The walls of the laundries came down
Exposing their sins to the town
The ghosts of the girls who had died
The souls of the ones who survived
Echo their protest inside
The Magdalen Laundry”
It’s a;; about the few bob.
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