The John Terry affair, like that of many other sportsmen before him, was sordid. Not only did he betray his wife and children, he also betrayed his team-mate and friend. He’s not the first footballer to behave badly, and expectations are not high when it comes to the off-pitch conduct of premiership stars.
Where it differed from the morass of adultery, dogging, domestic violence and drug-taking stories that have emerged about others in the past, is the masterful handling of the situation by England manager Fabio Capello. Showing true leadership, he demonstrated the consequences of his actions to Terry by stripping him of his captain’s armband. Higher standards are expected of people in positions of authority. You can’t lead a team while behaving treacherously to a team-mate. Loyalty and decency matter. Some things are just wrong and there is a price to be paid. Capello sent out this message loud and clear.
Morality, like ethics, standards and decency, has felt like a dirty word in recent years. The modern generation must tiptoe through a minefield of dilemmas where there are few certainties. But there have been revelations of such horror that collective judgement has been immediate and absolute.
Last year the contents of the Ryan report into child abuse in residential institutions shocked Irish society to its core. We struggled to find an adequate response as the scale and depth of systematic abuse of children emerged. The acts described in the report were of the most heinous nature – repeated rapes, constant humiliation, attempted destruction of children.
The publication of the report was a powerful moment of awakening. It forced the government to reexamine the contemptible deal struck with the religious orders that offered them indemnity against all legal claims on payment of €128m in cash and property. The arrangement, brokered in the final days of the government in 2002, was on behalf of 18 religious orders. Total liability later ran to €1.2bn.
When the disgusting detail of the Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse came out, the public clamour for more accountability from the religious orders grew to a crescendo. While initially resisting a reopening of the deal they later relented and agreed that it could after all be reopened.
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