Hi Paddy,

Just logged on to your site and was amazed to read the correspondences from the L.O.V.E. (Let Our Voices Emerge) group. I would like to contribute the following,

In the 1970’s I was raped and abused by a sadistic Christian Brother. It took many years for me to come to terms with the crimes inflicted on me as a 7 year old child. When I did come forward and detail these crimes to the relevant and responsible authorities, like many of fellow survivors I met a brick wall.

Finally after 10 years of dogged persistence the DPP (Director of Public Prosecutions) preferred charges on Brother Jack Kelly aka Patrick Joseph Kelly with 153 charges of indecent assault and 2 of gross indecency.

This represented 11 of his victims and spanned 3 counties. On arrangement and plea bargaining Br. Kelly pleaded guilty to 53 of the first charges and two both of the gross indecency. When sentencing Br. Kelly Judge Frank O’Donnell stated “The Machiavellian machinations indulged by you make this one of the worst cases to come before me. When confronted with the truth you denied this and of which that you now plead guilty to and there by rubbing salt into the wounds of your victims”

His reason in my believe for this was the behaviour of Br Kelly and his order in their complete denial and abdication of responsibility to the fact that was later pleaded as guilty of the charges.

So can I say to L.O.V.E. that in any Christian or religious society consideration and compassion should be at its first too its victims. Any people and their society should be judged on how they treat their most needed. I do agree with my heart that all should be protected against crime. This I believe for those wrongly accused of a crime. That said then more must be considered and compassionately given too those who prove and rightly claim the abhorrence as victims of child abuse.

Again I just want to say to about LOVE their representation is faltered and misguided in open condescension in which they challenge true facts from the larger and of the true hurt of victims. I have the real difficulty in reasoning with them as to their position of what they claim to represent. Do they have a policy? Mandate? If so what part of these represent acknowledgement what is the truth that paedophilia is part of society and part of all our collective responsibility to deal with. LOVE have no right to subjugate over what is fact.

Paddy you and I have met on occasions in regard to the matters across the wide range of abuse, I continue to support and admire your work that never allows the subject to be marginalised or become distorted. More for me Paddy is your respectful defence of all our stories.
Derek Power Dublin

 

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