Some absolutely horrifying news is beginning to emerge from Dublin. An inquiry into conditions in Catholic residential facilities in Ireland has found that church leaders knew that sexual abuse was "endemic," but that they did nothing to prevent it. The 'Child Abuse Commission' has determined that physical and emotional abuse and neglect were features of such institutions. About 35,000 Irish children were placed in religious care during a period of 60 years. Some of the children were orphans, others were illegitimate, many were subjected to systematic abuse.
One man reports that he was sexually abused from the age of three, either by the Christian Brothers who ran the establishment, or by older boys. A girl reports that she spent her days doing laundry, getting up at 6.00 a.m. to attend mass. She was locked into her room at night with a bucket and an iron bed; the window was barred, almost like she was incarcerated. Her only 'crime,' was to be the child of an unwed mother. Incidentally, that mother died while her daughter was 'in care.' The authorities did not think it necessary to inform her.
"I have absolutely no faith in the Catholic Church. I am a Christian but I am not a Catholic. I left my Catholic religion at the industrial school gates," said one victim. His reaction to the trauma of abuse is not untypical. How much damage has been done to the Church by this appalling behavior? How many more will leave when the full story is revealed?
Strong words are coming from some Catholic leaders. The Most Reverend Vincent Nichols, the leader of the Roman Catholic Church in England and Wales, said that those who perpetrated violence and abuse should be held to account, "no matter how long ago it happened." He continued, "Every time there is a single incident of abuse in the Catholic Church, it is a scandal." The leader of the Catholic Church in Ireland, Cardinal Sean Brady, said he was "profoundly sorry and deeply ashamed that children suffered in such awful ways in these institutions." At least somebody is showing some integrity.
There can be no excuse for the abuse, and there can be no excuse for protecting those who perpetrated it. Justice must be done, and be seen to be done.
And those who damaged so many lives would do well to heed the grim warning of Scripture. "It would be better for him to be thrown into the sea with a millstone tied around his neck than for him to cause one of these little ones to sin. So watch yourselves." Luke 17:2-3. Whether or not the Irish authorities manage to track down and prosectute those who are responsible, the perpetrators will still have to face the righteous anger of the One who said "Let the children come to me. Don't prevent them, for of such is the Kingdom of God." Luke 18:16
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