Archbishops at centre of cover-up

[lemonbeam]

**Four Catholic archbishops of Dublin have been criticised for covering-up clerical child abuse in a damning report into how the crimes were handled by the Dublin diocese.
**
The archbishops were in charge of the area from the outbreak of the World War II- known as the Emergency in the Republic of Ireland - through to Vatican II and the rise and fall of the “Celtic Tiger”.

They presided over a period of unprecedented social, religious and economic change in the country.

Throughout the decades however, the four men appear to have taken a very similar approach to tackling the issue of clerical child abuse - an issue which would eventually bring down a government and rock the Irish Catholic Church to its very foundations.

Only one of the four, the former Cardinal Desmond Connell, is still alive to witness how their actions have been assessed by Thursday’s report.

Read more: news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/8380844.stm

 

[ltravis]

The interesting thing to me is that this story is very vague about just who conducted this study. The refer to them merely as “experts” and such. For instance ,the Yahoo report:
news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091126/ap_on_re_eu/eu_ireland_catholic_abuse

I followd the referenced link and found this is the group that conducted the study:
The Dept. of Justice, Equity, and Law Reform
justice.ie/en/JELR/Pages/About_us

I don’t know Irish politics. Is this a biased organization? Who are they and what are their motives?

LT

 

[Soler]

@ltravis:

Just a bunch of civil servants: in Ireland, government ministries are referred to as “departments”.

One could therefore say that the Dept. of Justice is biased towards the current government, I suppose.

 

[Ocarm]

I followd the referenced link and found this is the group that conducted the study:
The Dept. of Justice, Equity, and Law Reform

I don’t know Irish politics. Is this a biased organization? Who are they and what are their motives?

This is a ministry within the Irish Government. The new coverage here in the UK suggests that as per other reports on these scandals, this document is also critical of the role of government in past abuses. I don’t think there’s any reason to suspect significant bias.

More generally - not addressed to the above poster, just my thoughts on the subject - obviously this is very painful for all Catholics, particularly in Ireland itself. A religious sister I know said that these abuses were a Passion for our times, with innocent people - both the victims of the abuse, and the faithful who have no responsibility for what has happened but are still hounded or villified because of it - having to pay the price for the sins of others.

Whilst I realise that these matters are sometimes over-reported, I also think that the only way forward is complete transparency and complete ownership of just how terrible these events were. Just like a penitent in the confessional, forgiveness and a fresh start can’t come until a full admission of past wrongs has been made. Pretending that we can move on without accepting what happened and the scale with which it happened won’t work, and pointing to other groups and saying that they were just as abusive or more so than our own ministers is meaningless.

We claim, rightly, that as Catholic Christians we hold ultimate truth as a gift given to us by God. Hiding from the painful truths of the past will not repair the appalling wounds of these scandals.

Just my opinion, and meant with charity to all, not with condemnation.

 

[anode]

Here’s today’s link from the Associated Press to the New York times, in detail:

nytimes.com/aponline/2009/11/26/world/AP-EU-Ireland-Catholic-Abuse.html

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Published: November 26, 2009 (emphasis and italics mine)

Filed at 12:11 p.m. ET

DUBLIN (AP) – Bishops of the Roman Catholic Church in Dublin covered up decades of child abuse by priests to protect the church’s reputation, an expert commission reported Thursday after a three-year investigation.

Abuse victims welcomed the report on the Dublin Archdiocese’s mishandling of abuse complaints against its parish priests from 1975 to 2004.(that is, up to fairly recently). It followed a parallel report published in May into* five decades of rape, *beatings and other cruelty committed by Catholic orders of nuns and brothers nationwide in church-run schools, children’s workhouses and orphanages from the 1930s to mid-1990s.

The government said the Dublin investigation ‘‘shows clearly that a systemic, calculated perversion of power and trust was visited on helpless and innocent children in the archdiocese.’’

‘‘The perpetrators must continue to be brought to justice, and the people of Ireland must know that this can never happen again,’’ the government said, also apologizing for the state’s failure to hold church authorities accountable to the law.

The 720-page report – delivered to the government in July but released Thursday after extensive legal vetting – analyzes the cases of 46 priests against whom 320 complaints were filed. The 46 were selected from more than 150 Dublin priests implicated in molesting or raping boys and girls since 1940.

Eleven priests convicted of child abuse are named in the report, but 33 are referred to by aliases and two have their names blacked out because their criminal cases are about to begin in Dublin courts.

The report rejected past bishops’ key claim that they were ignorant of both the scale and criminality of priests’ abuse of children. It documented how the Dublin Archdiocese negotiated a 1987 insurance policy for future legal costs of defending lawsuits and compensation claims.

At the time, bishops knew of at least 17 priests linked to abuse cases, the report said, and ‘‘the taking out of insurance was an act proving knowledge of child sexual abuse as a potential major cost to the archdiocese.’’

Victims appealed to the government not to let bishops retain the right to decide whether to refer abuse complaints to police.

‘‘Never again should the Catholic Church in Ireland blame others for its own decision to reassign priests (to other parishes) who were clearly a danger to children,’’ said one abuse victim, Marie Collins. She was raped by a Dublin priest as a 13-year-old hospital patient in 1960, but police and church officials declined to pursue her complaint.

Investigators spent three years poring over 60,000 previously secret Dublin church files. They were handed over by Dublin Archbishop Diarmuid Martin, a veteran Vatican diplomat appointed to Dublin in 2004 with a brief to confront the scandal. Among the files were more than 5,500 that Martin’s predecessor, retired Cardinal Desmond Connell, had tried to keep locked in the archbishop’s private vault.

The investigators, led by a judge and two lawyers, said that while it was not their job to confirm the scale of abuse cases, they had no doubt that the 46 priests abused many more than 320 children.

‘‘One priest admitted to sexually abusing over 100 children, while another accepted that he had abused on a fortnightly basis during the currency of his ministry which lasted for over 25 years,’’ they wrote.
**
Three Dublin archbishops – John Charles McQuaid (1940-72), Dermot Ryan (1972-84) and Kevin McNamara (1985-87) – did not tell police about clerical abuse cases, instead opting to avoid public scandals by shuttling offenders from parish to parish and even overseas to U.S. churches, the commission found.
**
It was not until 1995 that then-Archbishop Connell allowed police to see church files on 17 clerical abuse cases kept in a secret, locked vault, though at the time Connell had records of complaints against at least 29 priests, the report says.

Justice Minister Dermot Ahern said the state would renew efforts to prosecute more of the 46 priests in the report, as well as police officers that the investigation found colluded with church authorities to suppress complaints.

Ahern said, however, that the cover-ups reflected ‘‘a different era where there was deference by state agencies to the church. I don’t think that would happen today.’’

The investigators lauded a handful of priests and mostly low-ranking police who pursued complaints and prosecutions, almost always unsuccessfully, from the 1960s to the 1980s.

Senior police officers ‘‘clearly regarded priests as being outside their remit’’ and handed ‘‘complaints to the archdiocese instead of investigating them,’’ the report said.

‘‘A few (priests) were courageous and brought complaints to the attention of their superiors. The vast majority simply chose to turn a blind eye,’’ it said.

---

 

[anode]

This from today’s Catholic News Service:
CNS Story:

IRELAND-CHRISTIANBROS Nov-25-2009 (440 words) With photos posted May 20. xxxi
**
Irish Christian Brothers to donate $243 million to help abuse victims**

By Michael Kelly
Catholic News Service

DUBLIN, Ireland (CNS) – The Irish Christian Brothers have announced plans to contribute 161 million euros ($243 million) for assistance to victims of abuse in government schools and orphanages run by the congregation.

“We understand and regret that nothing we say or do can turn back the clock for those affected by abuse,” said Brother Edmund Garvey, a member of the congregation’s leadership team, Nov. 25. “Our fervent hope is that the initiatives now proposed will assist in the provision of support services to former residents of the institutions as well as the facilities, resources and scope to protect, cherish and educate present and future generations of children.”

Figures reviewed by a government-appointed assessment panel show that the brothers’ total contribution amounts to 67 percent of their assets. The remainder of the assets will be used to continue the congregation’s work educating 37,000 young people in 96 schools around Ireland and for the welfare of brothers.

In May, an independent commission on child abuse issued a report that said a climate of fear created by pervasive, excessive and arbitrary punishment permeated most of Ireland’s residential care institutions for children and all those run for boys from 1940 through the 1970s. The report also said that in several institutions managed by the Christian Brothers, sexual abuse of boys was a chronic problem.

Following a June 4 meeting with the Irish prime minister and other government ministers, the Christian Brothers and 17 other orders agreed to an independent audit of their assets, so that their ability to pay further compensation could be determined. The brothers are the first congregation to announce their new contribution.

The Christian Brothers’ latest contribution includes a donation of 30 million euros to a government trust plus an additional 4 million euros to counseling services for victims. It will also involve the transfer of Catholic schools’ athletic fields, valued at 127 million euros, into the joint ownership of the government and a voluntary Catholic schools trust.

Under the terms of a 2002 deal with the Irish government, the 18 religious congregations received indemnity from being sued by victims in exchange for contributing 128 million euros to a victims compensation fund.

Irish Education Minister Batt O’Keeffe said he would not comment on the offer from the Christian Brothers until all other offers from congregations had been received.

More than 10,000 former residents of religious-run institutions in Ireland allege that they were abused while in care.

END

Copyright (c) 2009 Catholic News Service/USCCB. All rights reserved.
This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed.
CNS · 3211 Fourth St NE · Washington DC 20017 · 202.541.3250
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

I personally feel that this order, the Irish Christian Brothers, should be suppressed, along with the Legionaries.

 

[NPC]

I don’t know Irish politics. Is this a biased organization? Who are they and what are their motives?

As Ocarm said, this is a ministry (a department) of the Irish Government. The department was responsible for initiating the investigations and for the publication today of the findings. However, the investigations were presided over by Judge Yvonne Murphy. It is a very long and disturbing report, but from the small fraction that I’ve read so far, I wouldn’t say that it’s biased. The investigations were ongoing for several years and I think that it is a thorough document.

I have heard someone commenting today that what will be the most shocking revelation of all is the failures of civil society to deal with what was happening - though perhaps this is understandable since the media has been focusing for so long solely on the failures of senior Church authorities. However, this does not diminish the horrors or the reality of what happened. It is a sad day for the Church here in Ireland, but especially for the victims of abuse. It is my opinion that whatever happens in the coming days regarding this report, we as Catholics must not try to make excuses for what happened. I have had enough of excuses & we have to face the harsh, horrific and sickening facts. Thanks be to God that Archbishop Martin has worked so tirelessly since his appointment as Archbishop of Dublin to finally deal thoroughly and compassionately with those who suffered such terrible abuse. We must never try to defend the indefensible - that was the ethos which prevailed for so long, the disgusting fruits of which we see before us today in this report.

Statement of Archbishop of Dublin, Diarmuid Martin, here.
Statement of Archbishop Martin’s predecessor, Desmond Cardinal Connell, here.
The full report from the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform, here.

 

[Yellow_Belle]

The interesting thing to me is that this story is very vague about just who conducted this study. The refer to them merely as “experts” and such. For instance ,the Yahoo report:
news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091126/ap_on_re_eu/eu_ireland_catholic_abuse

I followd the referenced link and found this is the group that conducted the study:
The Dept. of Justice, Equity, and Law Reform
justice.ie/en/JELR/Pages/About_us

I don’t know Irish politics. Is this a biased organization? Who are they and what are their motives?

LT

The Commission of Investigation which produced this report was set up by the Irish government under the Commissions of Investigation Act 2004. The commission began its investigation in 2006 and was chaired by Ms Justice Yvonne Murphy, a High Court judge and included barrister Ita Mangan and solicitor Hugh O’Neill. Its terms of reference with regard to the Dublin Archdiocese can be found here Among those terms of reference was that they:

select a representative sample of cases where the archdiocesan and other Catholic Church and public and State authorities had in the period 1 January 1975 to 1May 2004 knowledge of or strong and clear suspicion of or reasonable concern regarding sexual abuse involving Catholic clergy operating under the aegis of the Catholic archdiocese of Dublin;

The Commission collected information from both church and state files.The files of the Dublin Archdiocese were made available to the Commission by the current Archbishop Diarmuid Martin.

The Irish state made the files of the Irish police, the Department of Health and the Department of Education and other relevant files available to the Commission.

The report indicts both Church and state authorities for their handling of complaints of sexual abuse by clergy within the Archdiocese.

For those with the stomach to read it, the Commission’s report is available here

The Commission is currently investigating the Diocese of Cloyne

 

[NPC]

I personally feel that this order, the Irish Christian Brothers, should be suppressed, along with the Legionaries.

The Legionaries? Legionaries of Christ? What has it got to do with clerical abuse in Ireland, or with the Christian Brothers?

Do you think that the Christian Brothers should be suppressed because some of its members committed horrific acts of abuse? As they say, they cannot turn back the clock and correct what happened, but at least they are actively coming up with means to support victims - which is much more than can be said for many other orders involved in the reports. Anyway, I think your statement is rather reactionary - I mean, suppress an order because of the abuse. How far will you be willing to take that? I want to make it clear that I am utterly disgusted with the findings of this report and the earlier Ryan Report, and there should be reparation made for the victims. However, the sad fact is that such abuse occurs in every facet of life - within seemingly perfect marriages, schools, hospitals. No other Christian denomination can say “no, this would never happen in our Church”. I presume you don’t advocate the suppression of marriage, or every single religious order in the world, Catholic or otherwise?

The fact is - and it’s a well known fact - that abusers seek to be in situations where they will have unrestricted access to children. Some used the Church that they could act upon their disgusting perversions; others, as is well known, take to sports coaching - there have been a number of cases in Ireland over the years involving swimming coaches; the majority of abusers, however, inflict the horrors of abuse on their own family members. Granted, Church authorities and religious superiors often did not react with compassion towards the abused - every facet of society in which abuse may occur must ensure that children are heard and listened to in the future.

 

[anode]

Boy, it must take a lot to shock you.

The Legionaries actually *are *being considered for possible suppression, for the sins of their founder as we as their own disobedience to ecclesiastical authority. There are several threads on this subject, the most recent and comprehensive by JR Education, if you’re interested. Archbishop Chaput of Denver, who is very conservative, is conducting their investigation.

The IRISH Christian Brothers indulged in abuse on an industrial scale. They are the ones mainly responsible for the abuse, who abused, meaning beat and raped, sometimes gang-raped, innocent and helpless boys and girls over decades. The police and innocent clerical bystanders could or did nothing. The reparations, mainly by the Irish Christian Brothers have taken up 2/3 of their entire holdings, the rest by the Irish state, the total, about 1.2 BILLION dollars. However, the destruction to the personalities and souls of the abused is incalculable. Three archbishops tried to cover it up. I congratulate Archbishop Diarmid Martin and others on their fearless and relentless uncovering of the facts.

 

[pigpen]

The Legionaries? Legionaries of Christ? What has it got to do with clerical abuse in Ireland, or with the Christian Brothers?

Do you think that the Christian Brothers should be suppressed because some of its members committed horrific acts of abuse? As they say, they cannot turn back the clock and correct what happened, but at least they are actively coming up with means to support victims - which is much more than can be said for many other orders involved in the reports. Anyway, I think your statement is rather reactionary - I mean, suppress an order because of the abuse. How far will you be willing to take that? I want to make it clear that I am utterly disgusted with the findings of this report and the earlier Ryan Report, and there should be reparation made for the victims. However, the sad fact is that such abuse occurs in every facet of life - within seemingly perfect marriages, schools, hospitals. No other Christian denomination can say "no, this would never happen in our Church". I presume you don’t advocate the suppression of marriage, or every single religious order in the world, Catholic or otherwise?
The fact is - and it’s a well known fact - that abusers seek to be in situations where they will have unrestricted access to children. Some used the Church that they could act upon their disgusting perversions; others, as is well known, take to sports coaching - there have been a number of cases in Ireland over the years involving swimming coaches; the majority of abusers, however, inflict the horrors of abuse on their own family members. Granted, Church authorities and religious superiors often did not react with compassion towards the abused - every facet of society in which abuse may occur must ensure that children are heard and listened to in the future.

Frankly, NPC, I hope we, as Catholics can do better than to simply say “Oh yeah? Well abuse is everywhere, not just in our church”. Maybe you don’t mean it this way, but that is the way I hear it (see bolded portion of your commment) I actually hold Catholic priests to a higher standard than, say, swim coaches.

As for suppression of religious congregations, I believe that a good indicator as to the worthiness of survival of the group is no only what the group says, in general, about abuse, but what they actively do to bind the wounds of those souls suffering as a result of abuse at the hands of one of their members.

IMHO

 

[NPC]

Frankly, NPC, I hope we, as Catholics can do better than to simply say “Oh yeah? Well abuse is everywhere, not just in our church”. Maybe you don’t mean it this way, but that is the way I hear it (see bolded portion of your commment) I actually hold Catholic priests to a higher standard than, say, swim coaches.

As for suppression of religious congregations, I believe that a good indicator as to the worthiness of survival of the group is no only what the group says, in general, about abuse, but what they actively do to bind the wounds of those souls suffering as a result of abuse at the hands of one of their members.

IMHO

If you read my previous post it would clearly show that my attitude is most certainly not such a one as “so what? It happens everywhere”. I wrote:

It is my opinion that whatever happens in the coming days regarding this report, we as Catholics must not try to make excuses for what happened. I have had enough of excuses & we have to face the harsh, horrific and sickening facts.

The point of the post from which you posted was to give my opinion that if one was simply to suppress every organisation in which abuse occurred, essentially we’d all have to live as hermits, since the sad fact is that abuse occurs and has occurred in every possible situation where the abuser knows that they will have unrestricted access to children. I am not immune, as anode seems to imply, from the horrors of what happened in this country - I have been hearing about it for all too long, and one cannot but be shocked.

I believe that anyone who is guilty of sexual or severe physical abuse should have the full rigours of the law applied (Civil and Canon, if applicable), but I would be cautious about making such a sweeping statement that all religious orders where there were abusers should be suppressed. The Ryan Report which was released earlier this year focused on state institutions which were mostly run by religious orders - the stories are heartbreaking. However, the Christian Brothers (as well as most of the other orders) ran hundreds of schools up and down this country. Naturally there are mixed memories of these schools from past pupils - one that I know recalls that the brothers were excellent teachers who never engaged in the levels of brutality which the Ryan Report describes. My own father, who does not recall his schooldays with delight, can, however, speak very highly of some of the brothers - dedicated, gentlemanly, effective teachers. Now, again, don’t take my point the wrong way - I am not in any way excusing the wrongs which were done. However, there were many, many thousands of men and women who joined these orders with the aim of serving God and living up to the honourable ideals of their founders. If it weren’t for people with such great vision as Blessed Edmund Ignatius Rice (who founded the Christian Brothers & the Presentation Brothers), Nano Nagle (who founded the Presentation Sisters), the Venerable Mother Catherine McAuley (the Mercy Sisters), Bishop Daniel Delany (the Patrician Brothers), many millions of Irish children would have been denied an education - these were the heroic people who dedicated their lives to the children of Ireland that they would have a brighter future to look forward to. Thanks be to God for all those who did and do serve faithfully. Shame on those who did not & who did nothing to help the plight of our children.