Suffer little children
Grandad May 21st, 2009
As we all now know, the Child Abuse Commission Report is out.
Listening to the news last night and to various other programmes, I was left with a feeling of revulsion and deep deep sadness.
Today I feel revulsion, but I am also very very angry.
For decades, institutions in this country systematically abused infants and children physically, emotionally and sexually. What is worse, the abuse was not random but was endemic in all the institutions all the time. I heard for example of a case where a boy was abused for 364 days a year. He got a day of rest at Christmas, simply because the Brothers were too drunk to abuse him. I would say that is typical of hundreds of cases.
Children were systematically beaten, raped and tortured. They were told lies about their parents to quench their spirits. They were sexually abused on a daily basis. They were inadequately clothed and fed. They were treated as commodities to be used and abused.
So who is to blame?
The government knew all about it, but did fuck all. In those days, McQuaid ruled Ireland from the Archbishops Palace, and what he said, went.
The prime culprit is the Catholic Church. Note the use of the present tense? They are still guilty up to their rotten necks, from the bishops and heads of orders up to and including the Vatican.
Even now, they are issuing their apologies, but you can see from their faces that the apologies are sad attempts at damage limitation. Their apologies are hollow and the words are what we are expected to hear, and not what they feel.
I will accept their apologies on two conditions.
The first is that they do a root and branch pruning of their own organisations and hand all the perpetrators over for justice. They know who are guilty, but they are still shielding them. All the time they are shielding one sadist or paedophile they are as guilty as hell and no apology will wash.
The second is that as a mark of atonement, they take full responsibility for redress payments. The agreement made by that arsehole Bertie Ahern should be torn up, and the orders and the Church should feel the full force of the storm.
What about the government?
For a start they should issue an unreserved apology on behalf of themselves and their predecessors. They should do everything in their power to redress the wrongs.
Most importantly though, they should remove any connection between Catholic religious institutions and the running of any school or institution involving children. They have proven themselves unfit to be trusted, both then and now.
I know there are some religious institutions doing good work, but the power of the Catholic Church has to be severely curtailed in this area.
What really baffles me is that presumably people joined their respective religious orders out of a sense of vocation? They must have believed in the Bible and the teachings of Jesus Christ? They must have believed in love and humility? So how did so many become such depraved, perverted, sadistic little fucks?
I’m baffled.
I’m also still very angry.
-oOo-
Further light reading -
A growing list of other takes on the subject
Another article by Will Knott including video footage
Not very pleasant reading?
Subscribe to audio
