I was educated in a diocesan seminary during the 1980s. I was lucky to have been taught by some priests who were amongst the most dedicated and competent teaching personnel in the country. These people were above reproach of any kind and were and are a credit to their professions. Their colleagues and their superiors have failed these priests and many more like them. Their legacy has been tarnished by a systemic cover-up of crimes of such magnitude that they are the subject of scrutiny and comment all over the world.
Such was the hold the Catholic church had over the country even the authorities were complicit in the cover-ups by their inability or unwillingness to address the issue of child abuse, paedophilia, rape, unbelievable torture and many deaths. The state was afraid to punish the perpetrators of the worst criminal acts of violence in our history. They did nothing, the bishops and church hierarchy did nothing and the suffering continued unabated. All in the name of God.
That the church would not address the issue underlines their personal commitment to maintaining their rigid and authoritarian grip over the people in every walk of life. Their primary motivation was power and money — precisely the same motivations as the worst dictators and megalomaniacs in history. I do not believe it to be a bridge too far to compare these atrocities and the mindset of the perpetrators to that of Nazi Germany or other corrupt, torturous tyrannies around the world. They engaged in torture and death on a massive scale with the support of the relevant authorities. Striking parallels with many elements of the Catholic Church in Ireland.
That these people espoused Christian values and professed a doctrine of love thy neighbour makes this issue all the more poignant. The hypocrisy of the Church and the acquiescence of the state in the rape, torture and worse bring a shame on the Ireland of the time and on all involved.
That we today do not make the perpetrators pay a price that is owed by criminals such as these brings a shame on the Ireland we now live in. These people are not priests of God; they abdicated the right to that title long ago. They are violent criminals, rapists and killers. They have destroyed lives without care for their victims, without care for their colleagues and without care for God.
Nor are they men of God; they are men of evil and should bear the same responsibilities and punishments as other men of evil. Rapists and murderers are rightly reviled by the general population and when caught face the full rigours of the law. It should be no different in this case.
Why is it that we have accepted the insincere apologies and the payment of a paltry stipend in lieu of serious punishment for the offenders and those that colluded in the cover-ups as acceptable? It is simply not enough.
This was a systemic, powerful and organised paedophile ring. Nothing more and nothing less. Paedophile rings are the subjects of intense investigation around the world and when a ring is broken the culprits are severely punished. This is as it should be.
We in Ireland have been duped for years by a paedophile ring of enormous proportions, facilitated by its superiors, supported by the state and financed by the public. It has compromised the entire Catholic organisation in this country and the Church will in all likelihood never recover. Nor should it, as it too must be held accountable as an organisation.
These evil people have undermined all the good works undertaken by a large number of people such as the priests who taught me. It is not just the abusers themselves but the people who facilitated in the cover-up that are criminals. If justice exists in our society all of these people must pay a heavy personal penalty. Their victims deserve this justice, the innocent public deserve justice and their honest hard working colleagues who had no part in the abuse or cover-up deserve justice. They deserve to have their good names restored and their vocations to be untainted by this horror.
Accountability and serious personal punishment is the only place to start. Evildoers must be punished. After as someone once said, all that it takes for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing.
Pearce Flannery, founder of acclaimed business advisors Pragmatica is widely regarded as Ireland's premier business consultant, business coach and motivational speaker. He is a board member of Autopolis, leading international automotive consultants. His blog www.grabbingtheoyster.com is hugely popular having a reputation for straight talking and innovative thinking on socio-economic and political matters.
Contact Pearce: [email protected].
