The US had lots and lots of clergy cases too even

The sad thing is, that it is only when there is a cover up in a formalised setting like a church is there a chance of exposing it. People have no idea how common this is. In a closed setting like a family, it rarely comes to light. It was estimated to effect 19.7% for females and 7.9% for males, in a 2009 study of 22 countries. It actually makes me want to get sick.

Completely agree with the Hippocrates in FF/FG, and the apologists like David Quinn, having a screwed up moral compass. If society normalised homosexuality, then the repressed sexuality that these, now evil, feckers may have given them a different path in life. I find it hard to correlate the huge percentage of same sex abuse in all tenets of the catholic church – nuns, priest, brothers or whatever other names they use, with the level of sustained abuse in wider society. These young people enter the priesthood with either repressed, or at least fecked up, sexuality. What turns them into monsters?

I would propose a three step strategy to safeguard children, none of them involving an internal church forum:
1) Normalise homosexuality at all levels (equal age of consent, equal marriage rights, equal divorce rights and equal death rights).
2) Remove homophobic ‘ethos’ from education and government services – your religion says gays are bad, that’s fine, but you cannot be involved in a school.
3) mandatory sentencing for abuse of children, suppressing evidence or knowing about abuse and not reporting it.

Without these steps, this will carry on. The figures of ~150 priests not convicted cover nearly every parish in Dublin. Does every local church (parish?) contain a rapist that some bishop knows about, but the local society does not.

I half agree with you. The RC church should lead by example. But on same sex marriage the argument must be that ANY institution can refuse to conduct the wedding if they don’t want to do it. Current proposed legislation could mean that if a church, temple or synagogue refused to marry the couple the institution could be sued. Now we must provide protection for everyone’s civil liberties

What do expect when you have the catholic church investigating the catholic church! What that bunch of whitewashers have published probably isn’t even the half of it.

81% of abuse has been on boys. What is the Government doing to warn parents who often assume girls are the main target

you are right!

Families put down ‘catholic’ as the default choice for a large number of people who associate the group catholic with ‘not Protestant” and “not atheist”. Out of my family (of 22), only 2 have been to church in the last few years, yet all but 6 put catholic on the census. Go to a church, and think – is this 80% of the area in the few masses here.

I wouldn’t use the census to see how many people support the catholic church, anymore than I could use the census to find out how many people can hold a conversation in Irish.

‘Fraid Government policy is based on census data… The arrogance of the Roman Church hierarchy may also be.

I resigned from the RCC so they could no longer claim to represent me or my views. Write to your local bishop and resign from the RCC now!

Expel a whole organisation for the action of 147 people? Maybe fix the organisation and ensure this never happens again and allow practising Catholics practice their religion.

Dot he father ted math: 150 ‘known’ rapists out of how many priests? About what 2000 priests in total- that’s 13% and very conservative. That is a huge reason to state that this is a child abuse supporting, or at least allowing organisation.

And for raping children, you do not get a second or third chance. Just go.

But it’s not just the action of 147 people. It’s the actions of their superiors, and their superiors’ superiors, right the way up to the pope himself. The organisation can never be fixed because it’s intransigence, conservatism and bigotry is controlled from within.

Ah vinny, you could be an Apologist for the Church and their ignorant views! Prevention is better than cure, out with the whole lot of them!

I’ve been advocating the expulsion of this evil church for some time, I’m also a member of FF, so please don’t assume all FF members support this organisation

There can be no fixing an institution which on one hand wants to influence all our everyday lives in this Country while at the same time seeing itself as above the common law we must all abide to. They can’t have it both ways and should be removed from any area of public life where they have influence or input.

@ Stephen Kearon, Are you a TD , Senator or Councillor? If we ever do find the courage, to expel the Church? Then we could get FF/FG/Labour and sinn fein to go with them, that’d be called progress! Bertie Ahern tried to get the taxpayer, to pay for most of the Church’s abuse. That’s FF for you, they bankrupted the country and we are suffering again!

Ailen it’s 147 individuals, not all priests and nuns but some lay people. Every single person without fail should be prosecuted to the letter of the Law no exceptions.

That does not change the fact that going by your figures the majority of priests are honest descent people and do not deserve to be labelled child abusers because of the actions of a minority.

Are we honestly saying here that every nursing home in the country should be closed down because of the scandals of the last few years and that everyone who works in a nursing home either abused of covered up abuse?

I have no love for the Catholic Church and couldn’t say when I was last at mass but to call for it to be taken from people who do attend because of the horrible actions of a few is over the top

I wouldn’t blame Bertie Ahern for taking the decision on paying for abuse claims, that seems to be down to Michael Woods and his extreme catholic civil servants – who were responsible for obfuscating the referenda on abortion to include so many conditions that, again, both children and young raped women, are the least protected in all of their decision.

Oh, they are still there. Still going to mass every Sunday and making biased decisions on behalf of elected representatives every day.

Feckers.

Dear dear Stephen, one brush covers all. Why use terminology like “holy joes” I would assume that 99% of Christians, Catholic and Protestant as well as Anglican would support rooting out these people and punishing them accordingly. But religion is not the problem it’s people who use their position in these organisations to abuse vulnerable people. By all means support finding and dealing with these people but lay off good God loving holy people.

Martin- Take off your blinkers and open your eyes, The Catholic church are an evil and ignorant organisation. I left the Church years ago, I suppose you were educated by a Catholic run school and therefore you were brainwashed!

I respect what you are saying, But Ireland is stuck in a Time Warp in relation to Religion and Politics!

Given that the vast majority of clerical abuse cases in this country involve the roman catholic church the difference in the level of media coverage is hardly surprising. That is not to say it hasn’t gone in protestant institutions and there are plenty of cases reported in the U.K.
However I think you will find that its the popes brigade who have been doing all the sweeping under the carpet and worse when it comes to abuse carried our by its members.

Nothing to do with the ease of access that our constitution has given to give potential child rapists access to schools and previously detentions centres and CBSs, and laundries. As these reports come out the government is still glad to say “at least they are reporting this, steady as she goes”. Why does no one (from our politicians) say: no church will have direct access to children, children in schools, children in hospitals, children in detention or children in care. Because they are all cowards to stand up to anyone, and should be treated like Brady and his ilk, who do the minimum required, not what they SHOULD do. Ill take a bet there will be another report in 10 years time, blaming the “reporting mechanisms”, “society in general” and they’ll appear with sullen faces looking for sympathy and say “at least we’re making progress with reporting”

Well why don’t you do something to clean up your church. As long as you are supporting an organisation that abuses children, you yourself are part of the problem. Your actions endorse theirs.

@Andrea I appreciate and respect your religious views and somewhat agree that Institutions don’t make paeophiles. However, the Catholic Church actively and purposely sheilded these criminal individuals from the law. In some cases they even moved the perpetrators and in turn put a whole new pool of children at risk. This series of reports shows that even up to recently (last year for instance) their own child protection guidelines were not being fully adhered to – reporting of allegations to the gardai simply did not take place or were delayed. This is the very definition of institutional and it is inexcusable. As I have mentioned in another post, the evil perpetrated and the institutional cover-up far outweighs the good that is done by genuinely fine priests.

@Doc, And how exactly should or could a lay person “clean up” the church, have you any brilliant suggestions or is it just that vacuous comment? I made it quite clear in my comment that I was disgusted by what has happened in the church, it doesn’t mean that I shouldn’t be allowed to practice my religion in my country anymore. That was my point in relation to other comments about removing the church entirely from the country.

@Irish, I know the cover ups and reshuffles were outrageous, I have never claimed otherwise. I was saying that it shouldn’t tarnish the great work done by brilliant priests or mean that practicing catholics should not have a church to go to anymore.

Well @Andrea I’m sorry but it does tarnish the good work- it’s the same hierarchy afterall.

oh so if they die its “lets be respectful to the family bla bla” but for children that were just abused then the HSE is more important?

Resel are you stalking me,i won’t ask you to read my comment and use your limited intelligence.But your still angry because you couldn’t get to say all you wanted to say about the death of a child yesterday.
You have some serious iusses and i feel you are in need of help, which i’ll be honest i hope you get.
Btw the type of love you have for an animal,well its just not right.
I would strongly suggest you stopping commenting to me and i will do likewise.

Stalking you?? Don’t flatter yourself!

It’s time to ban this shower of perverted bastards! Why would anyone that’s anyway decent and god fearing want anything to do with the catholic church? Surely enough’s enough!

So a report on the sexual abuse of children should take a back seat?

Are you serious?

dont bother damian – he has no logical arguments and when you do make a valid point he will just get abusive and accuse you of stalking. the red thumbs on his comments say enough.