Tag: bishop murray

Categories
Crime

Mental Reservation in Bishop Murray’s Resignation Statement

I thought maybe we might have a closer look at the resignation statement of bishop Donal Murray to see what he really said.   Maybe we could try and tease out some of those unspoken mental reservations these fellows are so fond of.

Here’s what his statement said, with additional  interruptions by me.

____________

I have heard the views of many survivors, especially in the days following the publication of the Murphy Report.

Sorry, Donal, just let me stop you there.  You heard the views of survivors.  What does that mean?  Are you saying you actually spoke to survivors  face to face, or are you saying you heard their views from somebody else?  When you say “many survivors”, how many exactly?   One, ten or a hundred? What sort of survivors?  Were these people personally abused?

Some expressed the wish that I should resign; others asked me not to do so.

Donal, I have to stop you again there.  Who exactly asked you not to resign?

I know full well that my resignation cannot undo the pain that survivors of abuse have suffered in the past and continue to suffer each day.

What pain are you talking about Dónal?  The Murphy report wasn’t about abuse.  It was about how you and the other bishops handled complaints.

I humbly apologise once again to all who were abused as little children.

Donal. The inquiry wasn’t about abuse.  You have no business apologising for that.

To all survivors of abuse I repeat that my primary concern is to assist in every way that I can, on their journey towards finding closure and serenity.

Donal, when are you going to talk about your own negligence?

A bishop is meant to be a person who seeks to lead and inspire all the people of the diocese in living as a community united in the truth and love of Christ.  I asked the Holy Father to allow me to resign and to appoint a new bishop to the Diocese —

Donal, he sacked you.  You hid in Rome while Naughton was being sentenced.

—  because I believe that my presence will create difficulties for —

Donal, you’re resigning because because the Murphy report described your lack of action as “inexcusable”.

— some of the survivors who must have first place in our thoughts and prayers.

Only some of the survivors, Donal?  Are you saying that other survivors are delighted to have a man in place who betrayed their trust?

Let my last words as Bishop of Limerick be those I spoke in St. Joseph’s on 29th November last: ‘We are people who believe that God’s mercy and God’s healing are without limit. We are meant to be bearers of that hope to one another and especially to people whose trust was betrayed when they were just little children —

Their trust was betrayed by you, Donal, and not just by the deviants who abused them.

— and who endured the terror, helplessness and suffering inflicted by a frightening and dominant adult.

Sorry to interrupt you again, Donal, but you keep talking about the abuse.  The Murphy report wasn’t about child abuse.  It was about your handling of complaints.

They should always have a special place in our prayers.

They had no place in your thoughts, never mind your prayers, when they tried to tell you what was happening.  Are you going to say anything about how you handled their complaints?  Are you going to say anything at all about the Murphy report?

Donal?

Donal?

Hello?

Categories
Crime

Letter from McCloskey Family to Mary Harney

The following letter to Mary Harney, Minister for Health, was sent to me by the McCloskey family.

_____________________________

Ms. Mary Harney TD,

Minister for Health and Children,

Department of Health and Children,

Hawkins House,

Hawkins Street,

Dublin 2.

Sent via Registered Post & Email to Minister’s_Office@health.irlgov.ie

Dear Minister,

A copy of the McCloskey Family Statement as issued on 3rd December 2009 is enclosed. I would be delighted if you could do me the courtesy of taking some of your time in reading same.

Following on that, on behalf of the McCloskey family, I formally request that in your capacity as Minister for Health and Children, you deploy an urgent audit into the Limerick Diocese. The name of Dr. Donal Murray is spotlighted in the Murphy Report; a logical next step is to examine the tenure of his dealing with similar cases as a fully-fledged Bishop.

Adding to the urgency of this audit is the Report written by Mr. Ian Elliott, on whose findings Cloyne is at present under audit. That same report notes the inextricable linkage between both Cloyne and Limerick. These two dioceses shared the same Joint Case Management Advisory Committee. The Report is severely critical of all involved in the process and says the following:

“Any meetings that were convened by the Diocese, such as the Child Protection Management Committee, are apparently focused on the needs of the accused Priest. There is no documentary evidence that the ongoing risk to vulnerable children was discussed or considered at any time by them.”

The Cloyne audit stemmed from Mr. Ian Elliott’s Report. Then it seems imperative in the light of the Murphy Report, and the above highlighted linkage calls for swift action by you. If the accused were a priest, he would immediately have to step aside until fully investigated. I now suggest that Bishops be held to the same Standards.

I accompanied my brother Peter on that fate-filled day when he met The Joint Case Management Committee. The Chairman Mr. Diarmuid OCatháin and another committee member Fr. Gerard Garrett had acted for Bishop Magee. Both acted for Dr. Murray when Peter attempted to articulate his experience of “abuse as a child” by a Priest of the Diocese of Limerick. This triumvirate of Bishop, Solicitor and Canon Law prompted the Cloyne Audit.

The revealed story I am certain you are cognisant of given the media coverage. To honour Peter properly we as a family want you to launch an immediate audit into the Diocese of Limerick. This audit will acknowledge the untold story of Peter and hopefully bring closure to a bereft family.

Yours sincerely,

_________________

Joseph McCloskey

Categories
Crime

The Priestitute

So Donal Murray slithered off to Rome in the middle of the night, did he?

After two weeks of denying he had a case to answer, and after a pathetic rallying of his sheep to defend him, (65 intimidated priests and 15 religious zealots), even an old priestitute like Murray realised that people didn’t believe him.  So he decided to take his story to Ratzo.

History rewritten.  Murray as victim.

Never mind that he facilitated child abusers and covered up crimes of rape.  Never mind that he redeployed people he knew to be child-rapists to parishes where people didn’t know about their previous activities, and where they went on to rape more children.  Never mind that his callous disregard for a victim in Limerick ultimately led to that man taking his own life.

He didn’t understand child abuse, according to Murray,  but here’s the strange thing.  In theory, neither he nor his fellow bishops were supposed to know anything about sex between consenting adults either, but that didn’t stop them pontificating about a bit of rubber on the end of your dick, and it didn’t stop them telling women how to use a thermometer for contaception, the dirty old priestitutes.

Murray is still playing the victim.

Pray for me, he said.

And what about the victims? he was asked.

Oh, of course, well pray for them too.

But guess what?  In one way Murray doesn’t have a case to answer. The questions have already been asked by Judge Yvonne Murphy, and they have been answered.

We know that he covered up these crimes.

We know that he colluded in facilitating the rapists.

What more do we need to know?

This man – and others like him –  controls our primary schools.   This man, bizarrely, is exempt from the provisions of the Employment Equality Act, and can fire a teacher on a whim if he thinks that teacher fails to agree with his own religious beliefs.  This man is in charge of our children’s safety.

He’s completely discredited, but he isn’t alone.  All the other bishops mentioned in the Murphy report are equally compromised.  Priestitutes every one.

Take it a step further.   Who gives a flying goddamn whether Murray and his buddies resign as bishops?  I couldn’t care less if they stay where they are, waving their crooks at their sheep.

What I want to know is this.  Why the hell is any priest, anywhere, in charge of schools?  Why is any religious order in charge of a public hospital?  Why is any cleric sitting, ex officio,  on any board of the national university, except in his capacity as an academic?

If this country is ever to achieve the status of an independent republic, we need to prise the fingers of the priestitutes off the levers of power but I’m afraid the grovelling, obsequious  response by our prime minister was not an encouraging start.

Nevertheless the momentum has started now, and no desperate last-minute denunciations by Diarmuid Martin and Seán Brady will close the eyes that have been opened.

At last, even the most fervent believers are able to see clearly the consequences for this country of generations of priestitution.

Time to end it.

___________________

The Ballad of Bishop Murray

Foreign Agents Cover Up Child Abuse in Ireland

McCloskey Family Statement

Mental Reservation

Irish Catholic Bishops Need To Be Collared

Bishop Donal Murray and the Death of Peter McCloskey

Dublin Archdiocese Commission Report Published

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More on the Catholic clergy

Categories
Crime

McCloskey Family Statement

This is a statement received from the family of Peter McCloskey.  It has been reproduced here without alteration.

____________________________________________

McCloskey Family Statement on 3rd December 2009

Issued by Peter McCloskey’s parents, Aidan & Mary, his brother Joseph and sister Aida.

Peter McCloskey is our son and brother. United with common purpose we speak now on his behalf.  As a family, we have found the events of recent years deeply traumatic. In common with many families, who have had similar experiences, we are familiar with “The Silent Episcopal Wall” that leaves us torn apart, above all wounded.

The publication of the Ryan Report, and more recently the Murphy Report concerning the Dublin Archdiocese, has resonated deeply within our family. It crystallises for us, that Peter’s search for truth and justice in approaching the Limerick Diocese, to expose his experience of clerical child sexual abuse, was as innately corrupt as that of the Dublin Archdiocese. The cover-up is endemic and country wide in the Catholic Church.

We are broken hearted in the wake of so much human suffering. The Dublin audit gives us a “Map”. It reveals how so many individuals affected by childhood sexual abuse, met the “Wall of Silence”. The audit has sent ripples of pain into every parish community. The pain of all victims, the named and unheard, their partners and families, indeed Church itself, will not be healed for a long, long, time.

This family has been steadfastly loyal to the Catholic Church and our Christian belief throughout all that has happened. We are certain that our observance of Religious Practice must have been difficult for Peter to endure, given what he had suffered as a child. As a man, he came forward and experienced another form of abuse when he began processing his experience of childhood clerical sexual abuse, by bringing it to the attention of Dr. Donal Murray and his team.

It is clear to us, from the findings of the Murphy Report, that Dr. Donal Murray learned his craft well, while working as an Auxiliary Bishop in the Dublin Archdiocese. The reward seems to have been a Diocese of his own. Regretfully, the Murphy Report highlights the name “Dr. Donal Murray”. In fact, the report “Red Flags” him in particular, for his failures, and duty of care, to protect children while serving in Dublin.

Dr. Donal Murray, once appointed to Limerick Diocese, became Commander in Chief and autonomous without any scrutiny. The question then arises as to how did he hone his skill set and honour his responsibilities? In particular, his modus operandi when dealing with child protection issues, and the adult survivors of childhood sexual abuse, cries out for an immediate audit. We testify that the reality of Peter’s experience, at the hands of Dr. Donal Murray and his legal team, is not reflected in the public persona that Dr. Murray portrays. Peter, once he encountered his advisers behind the closed doors of interviews met the same “Wall of Silence” and “Bullyboy Tactics”.

At this time, our desire is to be constructive. At present, all Priests are subject to a policy of “Stepping Aside” from ministry where there is even a suspicion, or any concern, of a child protection issue. We believe that the same policy which an ordinary Priest is governed by; the Murphy Commission should implement a similar policy and apply it to all Bishops, Archbishops and Cardinals.

In light of the findings of the Murphy Report, the “Red Flagged Name” of Dr. Donal Murray warrants an immediate intervention by the Commission of Investigation. We believe this is of the utmost urgency. The “Map” should spur the Commission to meet, and if necessary increase their resources to audit the Limerick Diocese immediately. In this respect, it may mean that that the “Red Flagged Man” should stand aside and be subject to the discipline he, and his fellow Bishops, impose on all Priests.

Sadly, the Murphy Report has come too late for Peter. However, through the establishment of a formal audit in Limerick Diocese, the full facts of how Peter was treated will emerge in time.

Peter’s determination to achieve justice was based upon a belief that those who perpetrated, or covered-up child sexual abuse should be accountable for their actions. The “Map” we propose calls for a deployment from the Commission to audit the tenure of Dr. Donal Murray, and the Limerick Diocese in its totality. It is the least that Peter is owed by the Church, which so terribly failed him.

The suffering must be acknowledged. The evil corruption must be purged, so that every man, woman and child can safely move forward in the Ireland of today.

Categories
Religion

Defection from Catholic Church

I haven’t believed in any form of religion since I was twelve and even then I thought it was all nonsense.

But yet, until recently, I thought it was sufficient simply to walk away.

I was wrong.

The Catholic church is not something you just walk away from, because the Catholic church clings like old chewing gum to everything it touches.  It abuses  our children and our sick.  It owns our politicians, and it takes our money.

It hates us.

Therefore, to walk away is not good enough.

We must brush it off as we might remove something distasteful from our sleeve.

There’s a web site called countmeout.ie that will automate the process for you if you happen to be a collapsed catholic, but I felt it would be more appropriate to write out the documentation by hand.  It seemed like the right thing to do.

I wrote two things: a letter to the local  catholic bishop, Donal Murray, and a formal declaration of defection.  I made some modifications to the wording on that web site because I wanted to convey slightly more emphasis, and show considerably less respect to a debased and discredited institution.

To Bishop Donal Murray, I wrote this:

Please remove my name from the baptismal register for the diocese of Limerick.

I enclose a declaration of defection completed and signed, together with my personal details.

I have no confidence in the Catholic church, nor any belief in it, and neither do I have any confidence in you personally.

Yours sincerely,

Bock

Then I wrote out a formal declaration.

Declaration of Defection from the Roman Catholic Church

(Actus formalis defectionis ab ecclesia catholica)


I, Bock, give formal notice of my defection from the Roman Catholic church.  I do not wish to be regarded as a member of the Roman Catholic church.

I am aware of the consequences of this act regarding the reception of the sacraments of the church, including the sacraments of the eucharist, marriage and the sick, and with regard to burial.

I will make this decision known to my next of kin and ensure that they know of this decision in the event that I become incapacitated.

I make this declaration without any form of mental reservation, evasion, duplicity or deception. I further make this declaration under solemn oath, being of sound mind and body, and in the presence of a witness who can testify as to the validity of this document.


Signed Bock

Address Bockschloss


Witness, Friend

Address Friend’s place

Date 2nd December 2009

____________________

That’s it.  Quite simple.  They have to accept what I tell them, and suddenly they can no longer count me among their statistics.

Why do I do this?

Because it isn’t good enough any more to slink away from these bastards.

Categories
Crime Religion

The Ballad of Bishop Murray

I just thought I should write something silly, so here’s …

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The Ballad of Bishop Murray

Out here in the West, where a man does his best

To survive in the rain and the snow,

It’s always been told that you’ll never strike gold

If you don’t know the places to go.

—

Now the Last Chance Saloon’s always full before noon

And the whiskey runs free as a river.

Never let it be said that a man went to bed

Without tryin’ to pickle his liver.

—

When the sun starts to fade and and the tables are laid

And the gals with their beaux come along,

The old piano-man stands and starts wavin’ his hands,

He says, “Boys let me talk you a song”,

—

And we shudder in fear at the story we hear,

It’s a tale of deceivin’ and lies,

How a man came to town in a cape and a gown

With a dangerous glint in his eyes.

—

The storm was a-howlin’, old-timers were scowlin’.

Such weather they never did see.

And the hailstones were tappin’ like Satan was snappin’

His knuckles and laughin’ with glee.

—

Then one-eyed old Nell rang the grubbin’ up bell

But the diners went all of a scurry

When in from the dark came a man with a mark –

The hombre they call Bishop Murray.

—

gunslinger3

Out here in the West there are names that are best

Never spoken out loud or in song

And the Bishop is one you don’t talk of in fun

If you plan to be livin’ for long.

—

Now they told in times past of a gun-hand so fast

It could out-strike a rattler snake.

He won many a bet, and fifty men met

Their demise in a mustang-tail’s shake.

—

Some people would joke when he came to be spoke

Of as Bishop but yet it felt right.

He was raw, he was mean, he was vicious and lean,

He could stand like a dog in a fight.

—

He could quote Holy Verse, but in whiskey he’d curse

Like a sailor out paintin’ the town,

He could doctor a sheep, and put children to sleep

He could argue a duck from its down.

—

And though nobody knew where he came from, it’s true,

They could all see a man who was clever

And they knew by the grip of the gun on his hip

That the time to resist him was never.

—

Now there stood at the bar a man with a scar

All darkened and hidden in shade.

His red hat was pulled down, it was bent at the crown.

On his belt hung the tools of his trade.

—

“Two fingers of rye”,  said the Bishop, “I’ll buy

You a whiskey, now pilgrim sit down.

For I’m anxious to know how a stranger might blow

Like a tumbleweed into my town”.

—

The stranger stood back and unfolded his pack

And he spread it all out on the table.

“There’s a deputy’s star, a bible, a jar

of gold dust, and a bill from the stable.

—

“You skedaddled that night and you left me to fight

Do you recognise these for your own?”

Then he threw off his hat, “You despicable rat,

Make your play, for your cover is blown.”

—

Well the Bishop was fast and the crowd was aghast.

His hand flew so quick it was blurry,

But the stranger was quicker, his action was slicker,

And he outdrew the dread Bishop Murray.

—

“I’ll give you one final chance”, said the stranger, askance,

“Though you made us look bad. I should kill.

By my grace you’re alive,  and this Colt forty-five

Is what stands between you and Boot Hill.”

—

Then he turned his back and he shouldered his pack

And he pushed through the crowd for the door.

“Dermot Martin’s the name, trouble-shootin’s my game.

So get gone.  I’ll be back here at four”.

—

Never known for a fool, Bishop Murray stayed cool,

This wasn’t the time to draw down

On a stranger with eyes that could see through the lies

Of a man in a cape and a gown.

—

When the stranger rode out there was no-one to shout,

For they’d all seen the Bishop outdrawn.

His name fell to dust.  It was gone in a gust

Like the smoke from a pistol at dawn.

—

Well he stood there a while, then he cracked half a smile

And he dropped a gold pouch at his feet.

He said, “This is my lot.  All the killers I shot

Are standin’ out there in the street.

—

“So it’s whiskey all round, I’ll be eastern-bound

To account for my bad-livin’ habits.”

Then the piano was plinkin’ as the crowd set to drinkin’

And dancin’ like crazy jackrabbits.

—

Any man who was there would be willin’ to swear

That the Bishop was startin’ to pray.

And the piano man knew of the shadows that flew

Through the window and took him away.

—

gunman2

Now nobody talks of the creatures that stalked

On the boardwalk. It isn’t a worry.

There was only one man that they had in their plan.

The hombre they called Bishop Murray.

—

Categories
Crime

Irish Catholic Bishops Need To Be Collared

It doesn’t matter if bishops resign.  It doesn’t matter what  club they stay in or what club they choose to leave.  It doesn’t matter if they look into their rotten consciences.

That’s their own business.

What matters is the real power they still wield in their positions as patrons of schools; the power, for example,  to hire and fire a teacher whose beliefs do not accord with their own.

The State must not consult these men.  It must take all power away from them.

As we have seen from the Murphy report, these people have only one allegiance: to their private club.  Not to the children in their schools, nor the patients in church-owned hospitals.  Not to you.  Not to me.  Not to this so-called republic that has given them so much influence.

It’s time to stop talking to these people.  It’s time they were sidelined, removed from all positions of influence, and arrested where necessary.

It’s time every single one of their institutions was nationalised.  Just like the corrupt bankers, these morally-corrupt, debased, cynical men have no place running any institution of this State.

These clerics care nothing for the people. They care nothing for the children. They care nothing for ethics.

They exist solely to protect the power and the wealth of their organisation and they will never voluntarily reform.

If one bishop resigns he will simply be replaced by another old cynic.

There is a man in this town, Donal Murray, who was found by the Commission to be grievously derelict in his responsibility to the victims of sexual abuse while he worked in the Dublin diocese.  He learned nothing from that experience, and went on to dismiss the pleas of an abuse victim in Limerick, who felt so intimidated by the way Murray’s hired pit-bulls treated him that took his own life in despair.

This man, Donal Murray, controls many primary schools in Limerick and is ultimately responsible for the safety of children in those schools.  It doesn’t matter if he resigns as a bishop.  That’s irrelevant.

Ther only solution is to remove all churchmen from positions of power within this republic and let them go back to being humble priests as they were meant to be.

The State is the appropriate body to control all our schools and all our hospitals, not a bunch of unqualified, cynical, power-mad old men who covered up the most appalling crimes against children and will continue to do so because they are incapable of learning anything.

Forget about appeals to these guys’ consciences.  They have no consciences.

It’s time for the State to act in an adult way, step in and remove these people and their organisations from power.  And it’s time for a policeman’s hand on some of their collars to do the job their consciences are incapable of doing.

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Murphy Report Part 1

Murphy Report Part 2

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All Bock posts on the Murphy Report

Categories
Crime

Bishop Donal Murray and the Death of Peter McCloskey

Bishop Donal Murray, former auxiliary bishop of Dublin and now bishop of Limerick since 1996, came in for severe criticism in the Murphy report for  inexcusably failing to investigate  complaints from sex-abuse victims.

Yesterday, Murray made a statement in which he rejected this finding by the Commission and refused to resign.  But 0f course, indifference to the suffering of a victim is nothing unusual for Donal Murray.

In 1980 and 1981, a priest called Denis Daly, who had formerly worked in Australia, raped Peter McCloskey on multiple occasions. Peter was an 11-year-old child when he was raped.  More than 20 years later, in 2002, Peter McCloskey approached Murray about his experiences at the hands of his rapist, but was met with hostility and aggression.  Instead of listening to a victim’s suffering, Murray hired a highly aggressive lawyer, a specialist in protecting the church against such claims, and issued terrifying legal threats against Peter.

In 2004, McCloskey went to Australia to examine the file held on his abuser by the priest’s former diocese. The file contained documents covering 30 years of sexual abuse by Daly, and included correspondence between the Australian church authorities and those in Ireland.

When he came home, Peter McCloskey again aproached Murray but encountered further evasion, denial and hostility from the clergy even though these men knew perfectly well that Daly was a sexual abuser. The legal threats were repeated: if Peter went public with his accusations, the church would crucify him in a court of law.

Peter became depressed by Murray’s dismissal and rejection of his experiences.  In March 2006 he attended what was euphemistically described as a  mediation conference with the Limerick diocese, but which turned out to be a full-scale mental and legal assault on him.

This was the sensitivity Donal Murray showed to a rape victim.  This was Donal Murray’s way of investigating a complaint against a priest of his diocese.

Two days later,  Peter McCloskey took his own life.

Donal Murray is still in his bishop’s palace.

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Also:

Statement from Mary McCloskey

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UPDATE

A recent comment had to be removed because it contained defamatory statements.

On further reflection, it has been decided to close the comments on this post, which is a most unusual thing for Bock, and therefore some kind of explanation is needed.

Without going into details, it seems that there is a dimension to this story outside the scope of the original post.

After discussion, a decision has been made that allowing further comments on this post would not be in the best interests of the McCloskey family.

____________________

_________________

Murphy Report Part 1

Murphy Report Part 2

_________________

All Bock posts on the Murphy Report

Categories
Crime

Dublin Archdiocese Commission Report Published

The report of the Commission inquiring into the Dublin Archdiocese was published today, with some details omitted but before I go on, let me just say something.

You probably know that the report has torn the Irish bishops to shreds, called them a bunch of lying hypocrites and exposed them for the miserable, pathetic, cynical, self-serving inadequates they are.

Well, let me just draw your attention to one aspect of the report, which is the bit that deals with their claim that they didn’t really know much about child abuse.  Their famous “learning curve”.

This is what the  Commission’s report says:

Officials of the Archdiocese of Dublin and other Church authorities have repeatedly claimed to have been, prior to the late 1990s, on a learning curve in relation to the matter. Having completed its investigation, the Commission does not accept the truth of such claims and assertions.

Do you remember kindly old Cardinal Cathal Daly who, after Fr Brendan Smyth was exposed as a serial rapist, explained that he didn’t understand such matters, and that was why he didn’t try to stop the rapist from  raping children?  It struck me as deeply dishonest of old Cathal at the time, because he seemed to know a great deal about sexual relationships between consenting adults. Enough, in fact, to pronounce from on high about things that were none of his business and even attempt to influence the law of the land.   Just as his fellow bishops did.

Never forget that these guys who are the subject of a report exposing them as collaborators and accomplices in child abuse are the same people who saw fit to interfere in the legislative process and sought to influence the outcome of referendums on matters in which they had no competence. Of course, we now see that they have no competence in anything, and the question has to be asked.  What are they there for?

The Commission concludes that the Catholic hierarchy lied when they claimed not to understand the seriousness of child sexual abuse.  In fact, far from not understanding it, the diocese cynically took out insurance in 1987 to protect itself against claims, while at the same time denying every claim and accusing victims of inventing false stories.

The report says that the bishops systematically covered up sexual abuse and were more concerned about protecting their organisation’s good name and looking after the criminals who abused the children than they were about the welfare of the victims.  According to the report, the welfare of children, which should have been the first priority, was not even a factor to be considered in the early stages.

The Commission finds that every Archbishop of Dublin since World War II has either covered up the crimes of abusers or obstructed investigations by the civil authorities.  It finds that senior police including a Garda Commissioner and two chief superintendents,  colluded with the bishops to conceal crime and protect the criminals.

The connivance by the Gardaí in effectively stifling one complaint and failing to investigate another, and in allowing Fr [name deleted] to leave the country is shocking. It is noteworthy that the Commission would not have been aware of the Garda activity in question were it not for the information contained in the Church files.

The commission  finds that many victims who went to the church authorities with complaints were dismissed, intimidated and lied to

.…  the focus was on the avoidance of scandal and the preservation of the good name, status and assets of the institution and of what the institution regarded as its most important members – the priests.

The report shows that some individuals, including the much-revered Archbishop McQuaid, and Donal Murray, the current bishop of Limerick, were an absolute disgrace in the way they treated complaints of abuse.

Bishops did their best to avoid applying the law of the State.  They failed to act on complaints, even appointing abusive priests as chaplains in children’s hospitals and concealing details of abusive behaviour, resulting in more children being abused by the same people.  They dismissed and trivialised the suffering of victims. They lied. They cheated. They perverted justice. They sheltered known criminals. They misled police.  They withheld information.

The report finds that in many cases, clerics believed that their own private rules, Canon Law, were superior to the law of the land, and that certain public officials seemed to believe the same thing.  The State authorities facilitated the cover up by not fulfilling their responsibilities, the report says,  to ensure that the law was applied equally to all and allowing the Church institutions to be beyond the reach of the normal law enforcement processes.

It indicates that the primary loyalty of the clergy is to Rome and not to this State, or to put it another way, these clerics have relinquished their Irish citizenship through their vows, and now regard themselves as a colonising power.

I think what strikes me most strongly is the complete failure on the part of the entire Irish clergy to comprehend the harm that they have inflicted and continue to inflict, and we have no reason to believe that anything has changed since the investigation started.

To all intents, this Mafia remains intact, disloyal to the Irish State and without respect for domestic Irish law.  Even today, what some people refer to as the HSE audit is nothing more than a questionnaire circulated to the bishops, to be falsified at their discretion, just as they have falsified everything else they submitted to the authorities.  These are the same people who have consistently refused to cooperate with the police, save for the honourable exception of Diarmuid Martin.

The chapter on Discovery is interesting.

In 2006, the Commission wrote to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the  Faith (formerly known as the Inquisition) headed by one Josef Ratzinger. They asked for  information on the promulgation of the document Crimen Sollicitationis, (a document advising bishops on how to deal with sexual abuse,)  as well as information on reports of clerical child sexual abuse which had been conveyed to the Congregation by the Archdiocese of Dublin in the period covered by the Commission.  The CDF did not reply.

The report goes on:  However, it [Ratzinger’s CDF] did contact the Department of Foreign Affairs stating that the Commission had not gone through appropriate diplomatic channels. The Commission is a body independent of government and does not consider it appropriate for it to use diplomatic channels.

According to the report, The Commission wrote to the Papal Nuncio in February 2007 requesting that he forward to the Commission all documents in his possession relevant to the Commission’s terms of reference, “which documents have not already been produced or will not be produced by Archbishop Martin”. The letter further requested the Papal Nuncio, if he had no such documentation, to confirm this. No reply was received. The Commission does not have the power to compel the production of documents by the Papal Nuncio or the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. The Commission again wrote to the Papal Nuncio in 2009 enclosing extracts from the draft report which referred to him and his office as it was required to do. Again, no reply was received.

So much for the Vatican’s concern with clerical child abuse in Ireland.

Now is the time for this country to regain its self respect by investigating the activities of these bishops, each one of them, and bringing them before a court to answer for themselves. These people have no understanding of morality and the  time has come to remove all power from them.  Amazingly, those  who claimed to have the inside track, the direct line to head office, were clearly the ones who simply did not know the difference between right and wrong.

So why exactly would anyone listen to them now?   How could any Catholic parent in this town feel comfortable next year when their young child goes to confirmation and that ceremony is presided over by a man like Donal Murray, who also remains patron of many primary schools?

Why would a man like this be entitled to control any institution in which children are taught?

Forget about leaving the United Kingdom.  This is the true test of Irish independence.  If we fail this, the experiment is finished.

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As ever, Nell McCafferty expresses the anger better than most.

Reports HERE

Previously on Bock

What Is Desmond Connell Trying To Keep Secret?

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All Bock posts on the Murphy Report