Spiritan abuse survivors urged to come forward as independent process to begin

Neyite

In the past, children didn't really have bodily autonomy - you were forced to kiss random aunties and uncles, teachers could hit you and you likely got another wallop at home for whatever reason the teacher had for hitting you in the first place. I remember a neighbour even giving me a haircut when I didn't want one because she took a fancy to it and I happened to be passing - mam was annoyed but said nothing more than telling her to practice on her own kids instead. These days, people would hit the roof if their kid came home with butchered hair, probably call the Guards.

Even when it was age appropriate, sex ed was usually hit and miss, couched in only telling you the mechanics of hetro sex within a marriage and that everything else was sinful. You weren't even really taught consent. As a teen girl in the early 90s in a catholic school the onus was always on us to keep ourselves 'safe' and if anything did happen it was our fault but oddly, the actual instructions on how to spot unsafe situations in time were beyond vague.

One thing that always strikes me when a new scandal comes out is what my therapist said to me many years ago. I was wondering why it took me so long to realise I had been sexually abused as a child, but it was simply down to the fact I didn't know how to verbalise what had happened to me when I was little. You were literally taught that any adult can do what they want with you, that your job was to endure whatever it was the adult wanted to do and be polite about it. I didn't have the language to describe what was doing because I was too young but even when I was older, an adult even, I had to struggle to put it into words what it was really. People wonder why kids don't tell but it's just not in their vocabulary at such a young age.

Compound that by drumming it into kids that Teachers, Priests and pretty much all the adults you know in your life are to be trusted and it was a perfect storm for doing what they wanted to children, gaslighting them about it, and being powerful enough to deflect anyone who had the courage to step forward and challenge them.

cheese sandwich

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119889133#Comment_119889133

She’s a narcissistic idiot at the best of times but that article was revolting.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119889133#Comment_119889133

It appears you’re not the only person to think that way about the article - letters to the editor

https://www.irishtimes.com/opinion/letters/2022/11/18/roisin-ingle-and-blackrock-college/

it has also outraged people enough that it has its own Reditt thread- something tells me she’ll be taking a sabbatical to “pursue other interests” real soon 😛

https://www.reddit.com/r/ireland/comments/yx0mhc/r%C3%B3is%C3%ADn_ingle_turns_out_blackrock_college_was_a/

Mrs OBumble

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119888591#Comment_119888591

Nope.

The apple is still rotten.

And it gets to spread its poison more widely, because there are fewer constraints on it.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119889307#Comment_119889307

That’s only if the apple is moved to another barrel of good apples- just like pedo priests were moved around to other schools.

But if you take the bad apple out, and squish it on the ground, that’s the end of bad appleness

Mrs OBumble

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119889363#Comment_119889363

So a paedophile who doesn't become a priest magically becomes not paedophile?

Stephen_Maturin

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119889133#Comment_119889133

Yeah absolutely awful, what a horrible person she is.

Imagine being so incredibly embittered and self absorbed that you use a child sexual abuse case to get some “last laugh” digs in over the fact that children from the same school as other children that teased you 30 years ago were being raped.

I’m not surprised to see this from her though. Acts the big moral superior to everyone but is clearly a very nasty and spiteful person herself.

Irish Times really has fallen into the gutter

Mav11

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119889248#Comment_119889248

I have contacted the IT and told them unless there is a retraction and apology I'm cancelling my subscription and apparently I'm not alone. An appalling piece of journalism. A bitter, cheap shot by Roisin.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119889407#Comment_119889407

I really don’t have a clue what you’re on about missus

Busi_Girl08

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119889133#Comment_119889133

She's getting ripped to shreds about it on twitter and in this morning's letters to the editor. And rightly so.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119889552#Comment_119889552

I reckon it will get the Joe Duffy treatment this afternoon

ohnonotgmail

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119889546#Comment_119889546

Ignore them. It is their usual shite talk.

Mrs OBumble

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119889546#Comment_119889546

It's not ordination as a priest that turns someone into a paedophile.

Stephen_Maturin

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119889413#Comment_119889413

Yes will do the same - it’s something I’ve considered lately anyway as I feel the quality of their journalism has very much declined in the last few years.

This kind of thing all sums it up really. They’ve departed from serious objective journalism in favour of rubbishy populism laden opinion pieces.

Igotadose

Confiscate the land and turn it into refugee/asylum seeker housing, with a dollop of social housing. I'm sure it's in a nice location with convenient access to shops, jobs, etc. Never mind letting the criminal enterprise known as the RCC promise to pay some huge amount of money (operative word: promise, they rarely deliver). And do it fast. Kick out whatever fossilized child rapists that might be there - either they were practitioners themselves, or complicit. Enough mollycoddling this depraved organization.

Cluedo Monopoly

Taoiseach confirms inquiry over Spiritan abuse allegations

Martin confirms inquiry over Spiritan abuse allegations (rte.ie)

The Taoiseach has confirmed that an inquiry will be set up to examine allegations of abuse and cover up at Spiritan-run schools including Blackrock College.

Micheál Martin said "some form of inquiry would have to be established" and the Government would engage with victims to hear their views on the best approach.

He said the Minister for Education is examining the issue and will work on a victim-led process.

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The Spiritan (aka holy ghost fathers) schools involved are;

Blackrock (Dublin)

Rockwell College (Tipperary)

St Michael’s (Dublin)

St Mary’s (Dublin)

Templeogue College (Dublin)

The missionary order also run schools in Africa and there is evidence perpetrators taught in Sierra Leone and Nigeria.

Igotadose

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119893669#Comment_119893669

Great. A few million spent on whatever to prove, slowly, that the RCC is guilty as hell and has no intentions of doing anything about it. Tormenting the victims again. I noted the announcement from Martin was that the investigation should result in solutions for the past victims. For once, Ireland should worry about past and future victims. There'll be another set of paedophiles found out, it's like clockwork in this country. Make priest paedophilia a crime, with severe sentences and limited appeal. Fines to be paid in cash or forfeiture of real-estate in kind. Things like that.

Wailing over the poor victims is nice, but doesn't solve the problem.

Commoner

I can't believe the dozens of people who are still being refused compensation from the O'Keeffe ruling on the grounds that they didn't take prior action aren't taking this case to the European Court of Human Rights which has the power to force the Irish Government to compensate them, like Louise O'Keeffe did in 2014. Who can afford to take legal action in Ireland due to the excessive legal fees and the un-reformed legal profession which was supposed to become a one-stop shop under the troika but never happened.

It's not like there isn't money available to compensate the survivors. The Government could take the Apple Tax money and use it.

I honestly think this should be a Garda led inquiry.

I'm fed up to the back teeth of these 'scandals' being put into some kind of softly-softly, gentle form of almost parallel justice system involving tribunals and enquires when it comes to dealing with powerful institution.

Cluedo Monopoly

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119896153#Comment_119896153

The Gardai have known about abuse in Spiritan schools for over 20 years.

Wombatman

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119896153#Comment_119896153

Inquiry? WAT?

We are talking about serious crimes here. There should be a robust criminal investigation. If this was any other organisation, a private company for example, who's employees and management carried out, supported and covered up child sex abuse, what would be happening?

The organisation would be barred for trading, their offices would be raided and there would be multiple arrests.

How are the church involved at all in negotiation how all this will be handled? Mind boggling.

Like in any case abuse case, not involving the church, there should be a criminal investigation. Guilty abusers should be prosecuted and punished. The victims should be compensated by the abusing individual estate and by any organisation that supported the abuse, including the state. The victims should have an opportunity to make victim impact statements.

Special courts should be setup the streamline the process. Victims should be offered a legal service with top practitioners funded by the state.

Why isn't this automatic?

elperello

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119897159#Comment_119897159

To be fair a separate criminal category for clergy is quite unworkable not to mention unconstitutional. As is the proposal to limit the right to appeal.

Because it’s somehow acceptable that there’s one rule of law for everyone, except the more important people who just bypass it. So much for our great republican values of equality before the law.

elperello

There is more than sufficient legislation on the statue books to prosecute any case of abuse that should come to light.

Hotblack Desiato

Yet not one parish priest, bishop, or ordinary (head of religious order) has ever been charged with covering up or facilitating these serious crimes, why is that?

Igotadose

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119906657#Comment_119906657

It is interesting that the first outcry of the politicians is to have an investigation. Why? There's plenty of historical justice around these cases. Appoint a prosecutor and let them at it. Tribunals, etc... waste of the taxpayers time. Then, once the convictions are in, the survivors can sue.

As always, with the criminal enterprise known as the RCC and their lackeys in government (here's looking at you, Micheal Martin), it's delay delay delay until they finally don't admit guilt but offer up some payments, that they don't make.

Once the UN should get involved with one of these cases. Just once, keep the Irish government out of it they're massively complicit. Or the EU human rights authority.

VinLieger

Principle is "retiring" at the end of the year after being head of the school since 2000

https://www.irishtimes.com/ireland/education/2022/12/20/blackrock-college-to-appoint-new-principal/

Personally I don't believe a word of it being planned prior to the recent revelations.

For those unaware of the kind of man he is there's a great twitter thread by a previous student to give you an idea

https://twitter.com/leoie/status/1417212124527570951

VinLieger

Completely unrelated to the above post people should read Ivana Baciks Dail comments again.

https://www.thejournal.ie/blackrock-college-abuse-spiritans-ivana-bacik-5922262-Nov2022/

Calahonda52

Is the proposed inquiry/redress/ or what ever it is called restricted to the Spiritans?

Is it restricted to sexual abuse or is physical abuse such as beatings included as well?

Am getting different message from different people about this

Thanks as always

Beasty

Threads merged