Dear Sir or Madam,
Recent disconcerting and heart wrenching exposures of child sexual abuse in faith-run schools have brought back memories of the Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse’s disclosure. Thousands of innocent children were violated and assaulted in Catholic institutions throughout Ireland, spanning several generations. Many of these atrocities were tied to the notoriously grim industrial schools managed and financed by the Catholic Church and the Department of Education, respectively. The commission made clear in its report that these establishments treated children as little more than incarcerated labour.
This brings to mind the 2009 report by Murphy, which stated that the primary concern of the Dublin Archdiocese when dealing with child sexual abuse cases up to the mid-90s was to preserve the Church’s reputation by preventing scandals and protecting its assets, keeping secrets and foregoing child welfare and justice for victims.
Children needed compassion, guidance, therapy, and justice, but they were met with a cold, antagonistic approach from the Church. The latter continually sheltered their offenders, who were often relocated and subsequently committed similar atrocities. The Church also heavily opposed recompensing the victims, pushing the responsibility mostly onto the State. This approach persists to the present day.
It is shocking that such abuse, as well as the corresponding cover-ups, were replicated in Church-run establishments worldwide, including Canada and Australia. Meanwhile, this religious institution holds a near monopoly on primary education in Ireland.
Ireland, it appears, lacks a clear divide between Church and State. What we witness is an unhealthy coalescence of both, which has overseen unspeakable abuse of our youngest and most defenceless citizens on a mass scale for far too long.
In 2009, the then Archbishop Diarmuid Martin conveyed the untenability of the Catholic Church’s near total control over Ireland’s education system and its failure to align with present realities.
A recently commissioned survey by Education and Training Boards Ireland revealed that a substantial 61% of adults favour multidenominational education, while a mere 9% prefer education provided by religious bodies.
These newest disclosures reinforce the urgent need for Ireland to adopt an educational system deserving of a democratic, modern Republic. One that cherishes and safeguard its youngest citizens.
Yours faithfully,
Rob Sadlier,
Dublin 16, Rathfarnham.
Replying in British English, regarding the suggestion by Carl O’Brien for religious education to be moved outside of the school timetable, it reminded me of a scenario from my schooling years (“The secularisation of schools is not successful. It is difficult to imagine it will be”, Commentary, 14th September).
In 1972, as a defiant 17-year-old student, I fervently argued for the freedom to disregard the regular thirty-minute “Bible studies”. The response from the Christian Brother, however, caught me off guard: “Kerrigan, you have let me down. I assumed you were amongst the more intellectual learners and would have deduced that we do not enlighten you about Catholicism during Religious Education. Instead, we integrate it into history, Irish, geography, English and all the other subjects! Naturally, you can exclude yourself from Religious Education… But, if you’re hoping to avoid ‘indoctrination’, well, best of luck.”
His explicit, blunt response left me dumbfounded! – Kind regards,
CATHAL KERRIGAN,
Old Youghal Road,
Cork.