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VICTIMS OF CHILD abuse and Catholic bishops have been reacting to former Bishop of Cloyne Dr John Magee’s apology to those who were abused by clerics in his diocese.
According to the Irish Examiner, victims have dismissed his apology as “empty” and “insincere”.
Meanwhile, Bishops have welcomed his words, RTE reports.
Dr Magee had told RTÉ he apologised unreservedly to victims and that he took “full responsibility for the failure of the diocese to effectively manage allegations on child sexual abuse”.
The Irish Examiner also states that victim support group One in Four were not happy with the apology.
And its chief executive, Maeve Lewis, told victims who may take up Dr Magee’s offer to meet that such meetings could be “quite intimidating” and advised them to bring a family member or therapist with them.
Too little too late, – I’ll meet the victims on my terms- does he not understand what penance is?
Agreed, he’s extremely late to the party here and now its clearly evident hat he’s only issuing an apology because he’s been pushed into it. He waited to see if things would blow over and they didn’t.
If any apology should have been issued it should have been immediately or at least within 2 days of the report being issued (that gives him time to read it)
Magee’s sex life exposed him to blackmail but being the ambitious coward that he is he made the wrong choice at the expense of innocent kids.
An apology. Tainted with the arrogance that he deserves to be left alone left alone after presiding over the rape of children in his diocese. He ignored it. He turned away and let it continue. And now, as good Catholics he wants his victims and the public to turn away and leave him in peace? This is a disgusting, vile and ignorant attempt to show remorse.
I always wondered how people like Magee walk upright when they obviously have no spine….a miracle no doubt.
It is the power of the state to arrest a bishop of they have obstructed justice and yet we wait. Why?
Ask Gay Mitchell
If anyone else felt responsibility for the rape and abuse of small children, they’d quit their jobs.
I don’t think he fully realises the repercussions of his lack of action.
What annoys me is that the most severe punishment he’ll get is to maybe resign. These sick Peados and people who help protect them should be jailed for decades!!! Why do they think they are above the law.
David these people were the Law.
One big pedo ring is all that church is. Scum of the earth being protected by the power of organised religion, for which I’ve no time.
Humility is vital in every situation dealing with other s most especially when one is in the wrong.A sincere person cannot lay down conditions.One has to accept whatever is coming with fortitude.A genuinely prayerful person is in tune with the sufferings of Christ and happy to follow in His footsteps.If priests and bishops had been more prayerful and humble in their own lives these awful scandals would never have happened.
Very well said, he can talk the talk, but will he walk?
As the song goes “Do as I say but don’t do as I do”. Those simple words from a Phil Collins song sum up religion perfectly.
He’s only sorry for himself, sorry he got caught and sorry he had to resign from his princely lifestyle. Like you say if he was sincere he would not be laying down conditions. His hiding away for the past six weeks has given him plenty of time to be coached by the church lawyers who will no doubt have told his to say as little as possible and the ‘apology’ is the minimal required to take the heat off him in their eyes, they’ll do a Brady on it now and brazen it out, it worked for him he’s still in his job despite what he did and the fact that as primate and ‘leader’ of Irish catholics he should have known all about what Magee was up to.
He should be in prison
This whole affair shows up how entirely unsuitable it is to leave the bulk of state schooling under the patronage of religious actors of whatever persuasion. In the aftermath of the Taoiseach’s lambasting of the Vatican, clerical management of primary and second level schools funded by the state is quite simply untenable. If Kenny has lost faith in the Vatican and the Roman Catholic hierarchy, surely the next move under Quinn is to move them out of education?
We have a religious fanatic running for president. Our children are still being brainwashed by catholic dogma in schools. There are statues of a half naked man bleeding and nailed to a piece of wood. This is the first thing most four year old children see when the enter a catholic school. If people need a religion then it is a private matter but should not be supported by the state and tax payer. church and state should be totally separated.
They talk about truth
And they talk about light
But they don’t like it
When it shines too bright
Statement by Peter Isely of Milwaukee, national board member of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (414-429-7259, peterisely@yahoo.com)
It’s convenient but disingenuous for Magee to use words like “failed.” “Failure” suggests a momentary ‘slip up’ or oversight. That’s not what happened here.
Day after day, week after week, month after month and year after year, Magee and his top staff deliberately and repeatedly choose to protect predators, endanger kids, maintain secrets and deceive others.
You can’t “accept full responsibility” for intentional self-serving decisions if you’re pretending they were just “failures” to “comply with guidelines.”
It’s fine to admit you “contributed” to the “distress” of adults. But Magee should also admit he “contributed” to the abuse of kids.
We agree with Magee that there is nothing he “can say now which will ease the pain” of victims.
So the question remains: What will he do now to better protect kids and heal victims? That’s what every caring individual citizen or Catholic, in Ireland or elsewhere should insist on from Magee action, not words.
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