A moderate response to the Ryan Report
Below is a letter a few friends and I sent to the Irish Times on the Ryan Report. We accept that such a report shocks Catholics into a shame filled silence but it is important that something be said through this forum so for now, here is the letter.
Dear Madam,
We are writing this letter as we feel that the views on the Ryan report by moderate Catholics in Ireland, which we hope make up the majority of our Church, have not been properly represented through the ongoing debate in these pages.
As active and practicing young members of the Catholic Church we are deeply saddened by what the report has shown and we are deeply horrified to think that such actions could have been perpetrated by men and women who claimed to be living out a relationship with God. These actions and the ensuing debacle over the apportioning of blame in no way represent us, our faith or the Church we hold to be built on such a faith. As Catholics we would like first to ask all other outspoken Catholics to refrain from downplaying or whitewashing the full extent of the horror which has now proven to be a very real part of our most recent history. Furthermore, we abhor any culture of self-preservation which exists within the Church and argue that it is incompatible with the faith we profess.
The fact that it is uncomfortable in no way opens the doors for us to continue to insult the abused by minimizing their suffering for our own peace of mind. It is too late to change what has been done. We can only move forward in the hope of a new approach. What has emerged from the Ryan report has been referred to as the ‘Irish Holocaust’ and the widespread and systematic abuse of our nation’s most vulnerable members by those in positions of authority and trust can only make all men and women of good will stand to attention and shudder.
The Ryan Report identifies eighteen Catholic religious orders involved in the abuse of children. To date, the response of most of these orders has, in our view, been entirely inadequate. The report identifies in particular the Christian Brothers as the order responsible for a system where abuse was considered acceptable. The Christian Brothers seem not to have recognized what it is they have done. They continue to veer away from admitting liability and seem only to move in that direction when forced to do so by external pressures. We believe that a debate with regard to the continued presence/survival of the Christian Brothers in Ireland should be initiated both within Church circles and State. It is, after all, within the State’s powers to expel the order.
The orders concerned should accept nothing less than full liability in these abuse cases and there should be no cap on their acceptance of culpability.
How, one might ask, can we remain active members of such a Church? As young Catholics we were not complicit in a culture of secrecy and do not wish to be associated with arrogance, egotism and self-preservation. Yet we believe in a God who is Love and we also believe that this God is active through the community of faith which we call the Catholic Church. It is however a Church filled with and run by sinners. The song is beautiful but the singers are off key. We remain members of the Church in the hope that a humble and, ultimately, more Christ-like future may emerge.
To this end, we, as the future of the Church in Ireland, must ensure that children feel safe and welcome. This requires full, uniform and rigorous implementation of the civil and ecclesiastical guidelines. As concerned and frustrated Catholics we intend to write a letter to His Holiness, Pope Benedict XVI, in Rome, imploring him to force the religious orders to accept full liability, whatever the cost. We exhort other Catholics, who are determined that this can never be allowed happen again, to do likewise. – Yours, etc,
Conor Gannon, David Cleary, Iva Beranek, Christine Santisteban, Ronan McCoy and Majella Moloney
Responses are currently closed
Dave Says:
Ronan,
While I find it applaudable that you have chosen not to ignore the issue, you have, understandably and quite naturally, decided to distance yourself from it. There is, it would seem, a divide between those who ‘claimed to be living out a relationship with God’ and the young faithful of today who abhor arrogance, egotism etc.
In a hierarchical institution, it is unfortunately not up to the masses to decide who represents the Church or not. The abusers were, and still are in many cases, men of God. To disown that fact is to disregard the Papal authority that made them so.
I understand your frustration, and do empathise with you. However, I need to point out how hollow your conclusion rings. We are all sinners, yes. Is that the excuse for what happened?
The Church has dropped the ball so many, many times in this State that the ‘we are all sinners’ approach is something that clangs painfully in the ears of any hearer. By now it is a pathetic sentiment – a meaningless shrug of the shoulders.
Remove the theological weight from the word sinners, and you are effectively saying, to sum up any given atrocity – ‘Sure, we are only human. Hopefully things will get better’.
Again, I applaud the obvious sentiment behind your words. We need to cultivate a positive, healing environment. However, whether the Church should or could be involved in this is the ultimate question. I think that while the Church will inevitably persevere, this will see the beginning of a much needed systematic divorce from State and authority.
Dave
June 6th, 2009 at 8:56 am
Ronan Says:
Dave,
I would disagree that these men and women are living out a relationship with God. Were they when they beat, bullied and abused innocent children? Are they when they continue to inflict and exacerbate such suffering by refusing to take responsibility for the suffering they’ve caused.
They may remain priests and religious but without this relationship with God, which is clearly missing, what does it mean to say ‘men of God’….in that sense, we are all men and women, children, of God.
When we mention sinners it is to say that we remain members of one Church which is not perfect. A part of this Church is the abusers, we must accept that when we choose to remain in the Church, and yet it still is the Church of God which strives to be His voice and heart in our world. We accept that this is often not achieved because of the sins grasp on her members but it continues to hope and so do we. It is not in any way a defence of the individual abusers but it is an acceptance that the Church misrepresents it’s God and beliefs sometimes and so it is a plea that people not judge God by the abusers.
I hope that the Church will be at the center of efforts to create ”a positive, healing environment”. The Church still hopes to be a voice of love and compassion in our world and so if it turns back to this and re-embraces this emphases, disregarding ego and self-preservation, then I feel it can be an invaluable addition to the table- especially if it has gained much needed humility from this experience, as it should.
Thanks Dave,
Ronan
June 6th, 2009 at 11:49 am
shay Burke Says:
O k I’ve read your letter and I believe you are genuine believers.
Now, take a moment to imagine a loved child in your family being raped by a stranger, really visualise it.
Nice it ain’t.
OK that’s too nasty, lets instead imagine a child from 4 to 5 years of age being subjected to ridicule, arbitrary punishiment , and the whims of agressive and sexually repressed teachers. what would you call that.
Yes, it’s called a CATHOLIC EDUCATION in Ireland in the 60’s. (Yes we are still , here , some of us at least. We do still matter.
Result: suicide: 4 classmates, depression 10 that will admit it, Underperforming in life , career etc, : all of us.
Do you think that any of the priests, nuns brothers responsible for raping and abusing children believed in christianity. Do you think that they feared retribution in the afterlife.
They didn’t, because they knew that THERE IS NO AFTERLIFE. THERE IS NO GOD. THERE IS NO PUNISHMENT FOR THOSE WHO RAPE AND ABUSE CHILDREN. But there should be. You are assisting the rapists. STOP IT.
Go and download Zeitgeist and at least understand that you are supporting a cult created by the roman emperor Consantine.
He understood that the best way to control vastly different cultures was to create a common culture of religion. He was right. the roman empire declined but the culture of religion still survives. Wake up. It’s all LIES.
evil people are using it for their own ends. Stop supporting evil.
June 13th, 2009 at 4:27 pm
Dave Donnellan Says:
I recently produced a short video on the demonstration to remember the victims of clerical abuse (available at http://www.vimeo.com/5158744). What struck me while I was editing it was that there is no way around the darkness that was created by the abuse that happened and continues to happen in our midst. I believe we need to enter into that darkness and share the suffering of the abused if there is to be any hope of coming out the other side as a community of faithful.
June 25th, 2009 at 4:01 pm
G.P. Fitzpatrick Says:
Shay, my friend, there was a common religion in Constantine’s time. Emporer Worship. Christianity predates Emporer Constantine. The fact is child abuse is alive and well when it is hidden. Worldwide, that includes the USA, where I live, Priests only account for less than 1% of abusers. Most abusers are males, they (more than likely) have been abused also, regardless of what they believe. Regardless of your beliefs, know that there are standards to follow, enlightened or ignorant. The very fact of your writing the way you have shows me that you have high enough standards to not be abusive. Keep it up!!
June 30th, 2009 at 8:08 pm
Gráinne Says:
It is comforting to read the views of other young irish catholics. I must say that since its publication and the ensuing media coverage the Ryan report has been laying heavy on my mind. As a proud irishwoman and catholic, it makes me deeply ashamed and upsets me every time I think about it. To think that my ancestors could have been involved in such abuse, either as perpatrators or victims, fills me with horror. We should all hand our heads in shame for the actions of the irish church and state.
July 2nd, 2009 at 10:19 am
Dave Says:
G.P. Fitzpatrick,
It is saddening that all you can seem to offer someone who has suffered abuse is an oversimplified history lesson, some defensive statistics, and a rather baffling clap on the back that they have not, in turn, become an abuser.
July 4th, 2009 at 9:27 am
Miriam Says:
The Ryan report not only exposed all the horror of the Church’s past and horror it was but the media coverage of it has led to further horror. My children lost their father and I my husband the week of its publication to suicide. A victim of abuse and surrounded by abuse he just couldn’t handle the reporting of it. Prior to that week things were functioning as normal and suicide was never ever imagined in our household. Honestly I didn’t listen to the reports myself but my husband told me of it. Unfortunately alarm bells did not ring for me. What about all the turning of blind eyes in households because there was plenty of that too and again religion played a big part in wives protecting husbands etc. There has been a spate of suicides in our country in the past month and I wonder how many more are connected.It’s a constant cycle really. I dread the day I have to explain to my children who are almost too young to remember their father, why he did it. In the meantime we are all just heartbroken and missing a wonderful loving person who unfortunately was preyed on by evil as a child.This country has an awful lot to answer for and broken hearts are everywhere because of its darkened past.The media coverage was just awful and I think without the publication of this we’d still be a happy young family.
A heartbroken wife and mother.
July 8th, 2009 at 8:20 pm
Thelma Says:
Dear Miriam,
I just read your comment and my heart goes out to you and your family. I am so sorry for the loss of your husband. It is heartbreaking that you are left to pick up the pieces and you and your children will grow up without a loving father and husband.
It is so frustrating, the evil still lives on.
I have been finding the horrors of it all so hard to imagine. I cried coming out of mass the other day, feeling so frustrated at how inadequate I felt the churches response is. How far from Jesus did these institutions go? And how much further we have to go to get rid of this abuse… It seems this is just the beginning of the journey of eradication. We need to act now to protect our youth, elderly from abuse and to support these victims and their families…
Dear Miriam, there is not much I can say, I will keep you, your family and your husband in my prayers. May God surround you with his Infinite Love and give us all hope. Once again, I am deeply sorry for your loss.
July 13th, 2009 at 11:02 pm
Kevin Says:
I grew up in Connecticut, USA, and attended nine years of Catholic school, kindergarten through eighth grade. I was “educated” by the Sisters of Mercy and, though my experiences were nowhere near as horrific as those described in the Ryan Report, I can relate to those who allege a terroristic atmosphere in Catholic institutions. Though I graduated after completing the eighth grade, my parents opted to send my younger brothers to public school instead because of what I went through.
I am now director of music at a Catholic church here in the states. Perhaps the next revelation will be the extent to which priests are abusive to their musicians. Church music and playing the organ are what I was born to do, and, sadly, all I’m equipped to do. I’ve been mistreated myself and hear horror stories from colleagues on a regular basis. It all happens under the radar, with no recourse, no justice.
What is it about the church that makes it attractive to abusive personalities? Is “sadism” too strong a word to use in connection with all of this?
July 18th, 2009 at 2:32 pm
Sister Says:
No; abusers are in no way Christian. Period. The Vatican should excommunicate all abusers without delay and without hesitation. Any priest or religious especially so. Orders which have fostered abusers should be disbanded; Rome has the power in Canon Law to do this. The fact that the Church in Ireland is putting on a “business as usual ” display is the worst abuse of all. We have stopped attending mass; rather than take communion from someone who has abused children – or who has known what was going on and said nothing. There has been no penitence shown. One Bishop ( Leo O’Reilly) issued a statement recently that the abuse was “an exception and an aberration.” And that is common thinking. God has spoken, as neither religious orders nor the priesthood is renewing. NB look at the nationalities of the few entering Orders; mostly non-Irish.
September 10th, 2009 at 10:54 am
Robert Castiglione Says:
Hi,
I am a former Catholic who for various theological and other reasons decided that I could no longer call it home. Interestingly, it was my brush with the Christian Brothers which was one of the reasons I left the Church behind.
When I first read the title to your blog I was concerned. A “moderate” response to the Ryan Report? Moderation is not what is actually required to such a report. However, having read your response i would actually describe it as quite radical! My god, you are saying actually accept some real responsibility for you have done with all the implications that that has. Now that is radical. I really wish you good luck because I think that only this kind of honesty is going to lead to the revolution that the Catholic Church really needs if it is to live again.
Rob
September 29th, 2009 at 5:44 am
Eric Conway Says:
Self-pitying, self-indulgent drivel. As a member of ” Proud to Be Catholic “, each day as I discover the wonderful work of countless Catholic religious involved in helping humanity of all religions & none, my respect for the Church increases. When the Church’s hypocritical enemies start doing 1% of the charitable/caring work carried out by members of the Catholic Church, I might consider listening to their criticism. There’s no chance of that happening ; these ignorant bigots are purely interested in using the Ryan Report to bash the Church. As for the historically ignorant comments of previous contributors, the work’s of Prof. Rodney Stark ( an agnostic ) bare ample testimony to the enduring/civilising contribution of the One, True, Church.
October 7th, 2009 at 11:43 am