Monthly Archives: September 2010

Sinead’s open letter to Benedict

Posted by on 19/09/2010 28 comments

Dear Sir,

Sunday September 19 2010

Your remarks of September 16 and yesterday concerning church authorities’ handling of child rape complaints give the impression that neither John Paul II nor yourself knew of how these complaints were being managed.

Can you please make clear exactly who has been running the church since 1979?

You have said church authorities did not act quickly or decisively in dealing with complaints. This is entirely dishonest.

In fact authorities acted extremely quickly and decisively, but in protection of priests and the church, not of children.

In your letter to Irish mass-goers you said the Irish hierarchy in transferring abusive priests had acted with “a well-intentioned desire to protect the reputation of the church”.

If there is now any such well-intentioned desire on your part then why have you not in outrage fired every employee of the church who contributed even in the remotest of ways, consciously or unconsciously, to the murder of Christ as made manifest in those children who were ravaged?

It looks extremely bad that you have not done so. And that you continue to set up lies and smoke-screens and treat us as if we are stupid.

Spokespeople on your behalf keep saying, falsely, that hierarchies acted independently of the Vatican, when countless pleading letters from bishops to the Vatican show that is not the case. As do the specific instructions issued by the Vatican in 1962 to all bishops for dealing with complaints of rape. Those instructions required the victim making complaints, as well as the cleric taking complaints, to sign an oath (the Brady oath) of silence under threat of excommunication.

Your letter of 2001 to all bishops confirms the 1962 instructions were in operation until 2001.

Why do you allow your representatives to lie?

Do you not deserve better from your employees?

We deserve better.

As long as the house of The Holy Spirit remains a haven for criminals, the church’s reputation will remain ruined.

The Holy Spirit deserves better.

Which reminds me. You have terrible PR people.

If I were you I’d give them the boot too.

Sinead

Sunday Independent

Victims condemn pontiff’s ‘PR stunt’

Posted by on 17/09/2010 8 comments

By Paul Melia

Friday September 17 2010

VICTIMS’ groups last night criticised Pope Benedict for claiming that revelations of child abuse by the clergy were a “shock” to him.

His comments were “disingenuous” and “utter rubbish”, survivors said, particularly as the Pope was in charge of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith — which dealt with allegations of abuse — for 20 years before becoming pontiff.

“I’m very taken aback that the Pope is shocked at the level of abuse,” said Maeve Lewis of One in Four.

“He was managing those allegations for 20 years, so he was fully aware. I find his comments disingenuous.”

Christine Buckley of the Aislinn support group, which helps victims, described the Pope’s comments as nothing more than a public relations stunt.

“This is utter and absolute rubbish,” she said.

“The Pope was aware of paedophiles within his own church. As head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, he was well aware of what priests were doing.

“Is he a hypocrite? That’s too kind a word for him. This is a complete public relations exercise. It’s dreadful, absolutely dreadful.

“I just hope he doesn’t have a soft time in England and Scotland, but they wouldn’t have the hurt that we have.”

- Paul Melia

Ryan report saves €15m in legal bills

Posted by on 17/09/2010 3 comments

C&AG Report: Education
By Niall Murray, Education Correspondent

Thursday, September 16, 2010

THE publication of the Ryan report on institutional child abuse has led to savings of €15.4 million on legal bills last year.

The Commission on Child Abuse chaired by Mr Justice Seán Ryan published its landmark report in May 2009 but Department of Education accounts show that its total spend last year came to just €3.5m out of an allocation of almost €19m.

The variation was explained by the fact that the commission was unable to finalise as many legal bills of third parties because of the resources diverted to finalising and releasing the report, as well as dealing with its aftermath.

The department saved a further €55m on the planned €150m spend of the Residential Institutions Redress Board, mostly from a fall in the average award paid out and fewer awards being processed as not all the necessary documentation was provided.

This story appeared in the printed version of the Irish Examiner Thursday, September 16, 2010

Victims deserve truth on testing

Posted by on 16/09/2010 1 comment

Tuesday September 14 2010

It seems quite extraordinary that it should fall to a Dail committee to demand that the Department of Health and multinational pharmaceutical companies release files relating to vaccine trials on Irish babies in state care.

If someone in the department is concealing relevant facts, it is a disgrace. Two weeks have passed since this matter of considerable concern was brought into the public domain, yet the response from the department has been minimal.

The Committee on Health and Children chairman has said that the content of the files, when examined, may make a formal inquiry necessary.

An Irish Independent investigation revealed details of vaccine tests carried out on very young children in state institutions without their mothers’ consent. The nature of some of the tests was known but, more alarmingly, some of the drugs being tested remain a mystery . . . or perhaps a secret.

The vaccine trials were discovered years ago by the Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse and confidential “discussions” about them are known to have gone on behind closed doors.

A number of questions now need to be answered by the relevant government agencies — and they ought to be voluntarily forthcoming. What was the nature of all the trials? How many children were subjected to them and what consent was sought?

These are living, breathing citizens and they have a right to know what they were subjected to.

Hand over vaccine files, State and drug firms told

Posted by on 16/09/2010 2 comments

By Patricia McDonagh

Tuesday September 14 2010

A Dail committee has formally asked the Department of Health and all multinational drugs companies to hand over files relating to controversial vaccine trials carried out on children in state care.

The Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health and Children has written to the department and firms such as GlaxoSmith-Kline to extract information “as a matter of urgency”.

The move follows revelations in a recent Irish Independent investigation into vaccine trials carried out on vulnerable children in the 1960s and 1970s.

The decision to officially search for information about the controversial trials was decided during a brief private meeting last week.

Committee chairman, Fianna Fail TD Sean O Fearghail, said members may call for a formal investigation after a detailed examination of the files.

The move was broadly welcomed by victims and opposition politicians last night.

However, they criticised the Department of Health for failing to launch its own investigation into the trials — and for its refusal to apologise to survivors.

More than 211 vulnerable infants and babies — 123 of whom were in the care of the State — took part in three confirmed trials to test new vaccines between 1960 and 1973.

The trials were carried out by the Wellcome Foundation, a company that later merged with other firms to create GlaxoSmithKline.

However, it remains unclear whether the parents or guardians of the children had consented to the trials, or if the company had complied with Irish licensing legislation.

As well as these tests, details of further, previously unknown, trials were also handed over to the Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse by GlaxoSmithKline.

A brief — and unreported — paragraph in the commission’s Third Interim Report, published in January 2004, confirmed the receipt of relevant documents.

It is, so far, not known how many people were involved, whether children in state care were used for the trials or what medicines were tested.

And — as revealed by the Irish Independent — despite the publication of this report six years ago, the Government has refused to investigate this new evidence.

Mr O Fearghail said the committee was anxious to obtain as much information about the issue as possible.

“We want to fully brief ourselves on the issue. We are looking for that information as a matter of urgency and will decide what course of action to take when we examine the information,” he added. “One of the options would be to launch an inquiry.”

The committee received a formal request to probe the issue from Fine Gael health spokesman Dr James Reilly three weeks ago.

Welcoming the latest development, Dr Reilly said he was “delighted” the committee was looking into the matter.

Fianna Fail TD Charlie O’Connor, who is also on the committee, called on officials to ensure all information was disclosed.

Truth

“The Department of Health should cooperate with the committee,” he said

However, Adoption Rights Alliance spokeswoman Susan Lohan insisted the move by the committee should just be the start of uncovering the truth.

“It is astonishing that it has taken the initiative from an Oireachtas committee to drive this investigation forward,” she said. “The move is a welcome one, but even if a formal investigation is launched by the committee, this should be followed by an independent inquiry.”

Author and campaigner Paddy Doyle added: “An investigation into vaccine trials on children in the care of religious orders and the State must happen, and urgently.”

“The matter is too serious to be kept away from the many people who are worried that they may have been used as guinea pigs.”

The Department of Health last night again insisted that Health Minister Mary Harney would not open an inquiry into the trials.

The department said it was unable to confirm if it was aware of further vaccine trials conducted by other drug companies.

- Patricia McDonagh

Irish Independent

Making amends for Bethany Home

Posted by on 15/09/2010 3 comments

The Irish Times – Tuesday, September 14, 2010

IRRESPECTIVE OF how awful the budgetary situation facing the Exchequer, the Government must find the words and the money to compensate the victims of religious/State care at the Protestant-run Bethany Home in Dublin. Likewise, the Church of Ireland has a moral obligation to respond to this matter by acting in a generous fashion.

An unwillingness to vindicate the rights of children and vulnerable adults in religious-run institutions during the early years of this State amounted to a gross failure of responsibility by political, administrative and religious leaders. Eleven years ago, in a gesture of atonement, a formal apology was issued on behalf of the State. A system of compensation was subsequently introduced, mainly for Catholic-run religious institutions. Now, as new horror comes to light in connection with Bethany Home, the Government has retreated to a defensive, legalistic position. It is not good enough.

The Ryan report confirmed that terrible things were done in these institutions in the name of religious beliefs and social conformity. The State was complicit in facilitating religious/social control. When things went wrong and children died, or when physical, psychological and sexual abuses took place, its inspectors generally looked the other way. In the case of the Bethany Home, the government inspector appeared more interested in preventing proselytising than in reducing infant mortality. At that time, illegitimate children had few legal rights and no social status. They and their mothers were regarded as an embarrassment to those around them and were normally removed from public view.

So far, attention has focused on the very large number of infants and young children who died at Bethany Home in the late 1930s and mid-to-late 1940s. There were 219 child deaths over a period of nearly three decades and these children were buried in unmarked graves at Mount Jerome Cemetery. Complaints of inadequate healthcare and the neglect of infants were not pursued by the State.

Bethany Home opened in 1922 and finally closed in 1972. It was run by an independent evangelical Protestant group and operated as a maternity home, a children’s home and a place of detention for women convicted in the courts of theft, prostitution, infanticide and birth concealment. Initially, it was actively involved in proselytising. But the Church of Ireland has denied any responsibility for the home itself or for anything that went on there. The Department of Education insists that inmates were admitted to Bethany Home on a “voluntary basis” and therefore do not qualify for compensation. A similar, dismissive approach has been taken to former inmates of the Catholic-run Magdalen Laundries by categorising them as “employees”.

It is time to abandon such defensive, legalistic responses and to treat these unfortunate victims of State neglect and religious abuse with the kindness and respect they deserve.

Abuse victims to demand inquiry

Posted by on 14/09/2010 5 comments

Tuesday September 14 2010

Clerical child sex abuse victims from across Ireland are to demand an independent inquiry at a conference in Belfast.

The Amnesty International meeting on October 7 will bring together campaigners, counsellors and politicians.

Among the speakers will be Andrew Madden, who in 1995 became the first clerical abuse victim to go public in Ireland, and Bernadette Fahy, who experienced abuse at Goldenbridge orphanage in Dublin and went on to found the Aislinn Centre for survivors of institutional abuse.

Also addressing the conference will be Norah Gibbons and Marian Shanley, members of the Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse, which produced the Ryan Report and found that institutional child abuse in the Republic of Ireland was “endemic and widespread”.

The report accused the Irish government and religious orders of failing to protect children or properly investigate complaints.

Amnesty’s Northern Ireland programme director Patrick Corrigan said: “Amnesty is very focused on the need for long overdue justice for the many children – now adults – who suffered abuse in institutions in Northern Ireland.

“The need for an independent, impartial and effective inquiry into this historical abuse now rests with the Northern Ireland Executive for decision.”

First Minister Peter Robinson and Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness said they wish to deal with the matter quickly and effectively. They met the victims earlier this year.

Margaret McGuckin, spokeswoman for the Survivors and Victims of Institutional Abuse group, welcomed the conference. “This event demonstrates that we are becoming more organised and that we have people like Amnesty International on our side. That says that we are not going away and we are not going to give up our fight for justice,” she said.

“We want more people to join us in our campaign and for more victims and survivors to come forward to tell their stories and be ready to deal with an inquiry.”

A Labour Party response to Statutory Fund

Posted by on 13/09/2010 27 comments

Dear Paddy,

I have sought legal advice on the matter.

The position of the Labour Party is as follow:

First, there was no change of mind by the Labour Party on its Institutional Child Abuse Bill 2009, which was debated by the Dáil on the 7th and 8th July 2009. Nor was there any all party agreement.

Labour’s Bill was put to a vote and was defeated by the Government parties.

Second, there is a limited degree of all party agreement as to the disbursal of the additional contributions due from the religious congregations.

All parties agreed unanimously to a motion which: “notes that both in the meetings with former residents and the congregations support was expressed for the proposal that the use of a further substantial contribution from the congregations should include a form of independent trust to be set up by the State which would be available to support the needs of survivors for general education and welfare purposes”.

However, we await further details as to the manner of proposed operation of this independent trust.

Best regards

Joan Burton TD.
Deputy Leader of the Labour Party.

Another Papal Scandal

Posted by on 10/09/2010 16 comments

Priest forced siblings to abuse each other

Posted by on 05/09/2010 5 comments

O'Grady - a serial paedophile title=

ex Fr. O'Grady - paedophile

Brother and sister receive $2m compensation for sexual assault by paedophile Oliver O’Grady
Ali Bracken, Crime Correspondent
Defrocked priest Oliver O’Grady has cost diocese in California over $30m in abuse compensation

DEFROCKED Irish paedophile priest Oliver O’Grady forced a brother and a sister to perform sex acts on each other after he raped and sexually assaulted them in California over a number of years, the Sunday Tribune can reveal.

The brother and sister, who were aged seven and eight respectively when O’Grady began to abuse them in Presentation parish in California in the mid ’80s, were awarded $2m (€1.5m) in compensation in recent weeks.

The diocese of Stockton in California settled the case after a number of pre-trial hearings. In total, it is estimated that the diocese of Stockton has paid out over $30m (€23.3m) to victims of the convicted sex abuser.

Attorney Anthony De Marco, at the law firm Kiesel Boucher Larson in LA, took the civil action on behalf of the siblings.

“The abuse was as awful as you can imagine. O’Grady used to go into their classroom and take them out of class; they attended a Catholic elementary school. It was attached to a church and he would take them into the church to abuse them. He would abuse them in front of each other. He forced one child to watch while he abused the other. He even made them do things to each other. He coerced them to abuse each other,” De Marco told the Sunday Tribune.

“The abuse went on for a few years. He also abused them in their family home. It was rape and sexual assault in both cases. The abuse was horrific. They are coping as best they can, they have obviously had a lot of therapy. I think coming forward helped them and getting resolution is helping towards their healing. But nothing will take away the images in their minds. I have dealt with over 400 victims of sexual abuse in southern California and come across some truly horrific offenders. But when I read the Oliver O’Grady file, the level of callousness and disregard for children appalled me.”

O’Grady was deported to Ireland in 2000 after spending seven years in prison in the US for sexually abusing two boys. He still lives here. He has admitted to sexually abusing many children in depositions, but has only been convicted for abuse against two boys. Dozens of victims of the former cleric have since come forward.

The former priest obtained notoriety when he agreed to feature in a documentary discussing his sexual abuse of children. Deliver Us From Evil, which was nominated for an Oscar, was released in 2006 and many of O’Grady’s victims also featured in it, discussing the impact his abuse has had on their lives.

The documentary also explored how high-ranking clergy in California moved O’Grady from one parish to another over several years when allegations of sexual abuse began to emerge.

September 5, 2010 – The Sunday Tribune