tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28040139.post1352484251590309552..comments2023-07-25T09:25:34.293+01:00Comments on The Voyage: The Catholic Church in IrelandSharon McDaidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13550156204691696968noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28040139.post-65864866165722156362009-05-28T13:42:57.607+01:002009-05-28T13:42:57.607+01:00I have a question...my grandparents came over from...I have a question...my grandparents came over from Ireland(early 1920's)-they were DEVOUT-super catholics-(they could have worn capes!) I was always led to believe that in Ireland, the church held incredible power-Is this factual-and if so, does the church still have the same amount of power today. There was something that Mr. O'Brien had said...that keeps coming back to me..@Grannymar-thank you for sharing your experiences...and for publicising this case.It has very much affected me.kathleenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07648854807234137885noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28040139.post-14691194138075340812009-05-27T22:40:57.504+01:002009-05-27T22:40:57.504+01:00Grannymar. Thank you for being brave enough to des...Grannymar. Thank you for being brave enough to describe what you had to endure at a Sisters of Mercy day school. The same order ran the 2 schools I attended but by then they had managed to end that type of treatment of children. In fact, that they were able to run my schools with zero corporal punishment (there was the odd light tap on the hand in my early years) shows up the lie they told that such abuse was needed to keep order. I was lucky, the nuns I was taught by were all delightful, committed women. I can't help but wonder now what those nice women knew about what their sisters were up to in the industrial schools, especially the older nuns. I know too that my mum had it harder when she went to the other convent secondary school (for those who didn't get into the grammar.) She told me a bit about the taunting and slaps she suffered and she would have been at school at the same time as you.<br /><br />I am so sorry for the pain of all those children, and the damage it has done to them as they have grown up too. The past few days might make it possible for some to speak up about what they suffered for the first time and to know that they will be believed and listened to. But like you said, I worry about those for whom all of this triggers feelings they would rather forget and that might drag them to renewed despair. The needs of the victims are of prime importance. <br /><br />I hope that when the memories of those vile taunts and beatings piled onto the younger you come back and threaten to hurt you again, you can shout at them in righteous anger that those bitches were wrong, they got you all wrong. They got a lot of people all wrong. Take care and lots of love.Sharon McDaidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13550156204691696968noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28040139.post-23678450990196115102009-05-27T22:15:36.784+01:002009-05-27T22:15:36.784+01:00Sharon that should read 1996 and not 1966.
For re...Sharon that should read 1996 and not 1966.<br /><br />For reference purposes I am 62 years of age - the nightmare never really went away. How much worse must it be for those who were raped!Grannymarhttp://grannymar.com/blognoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28040139.post-72051076519844840052009-05-27T22:09:41.670+01:002009-05-27T22:09:41.670+01:00For so many it is an opportunity to now openly and...For so many it is an opportunity to now openly and for the first time accept and talk about what happened to them in childhood. The report this week does not cover abuse by diocesan clergy who are not members of a religious order, that is separate and yet to come.<br /><br /> In 1966 the Congregation of the Sisters of Mercy, a Roman Catholic religious order, apologized unconditionally for the ''physical and emotional trauma'' its nuns inflicted on children raised in its orphanages and schools. <br /><br />I attended one of their day schools in Dublin for five years. It was new. They called it a College in order to charge greater fees. I was a slow learner, a fact I constantly admit to. On a daily basis I was caned, belittled, invited to remove my shoes and socks to use my toes for counting! I was told I was stupid and would N-E-V-E-R make anything of myself. I was extremely thin (6st 12ozs by the time I reached 21!) and this was remarked upon regularly in class, it was considered a cause for amusement.<br /><br />Alas, the past week has upset me as I think of those whose lives were ruined; and for myself I feel the pull of the dark clouds dragging me back to the darkness of those early years.<br /><br />@Kathleen, It is receiving world wide coverage. I have many followers in the US, Canada, India and Australia who are talking about it.Grannymarhttp://grannymar.com/blognoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28040139.post-48820332728474635542009-05-27T17:32:18.848+01:002009-05-27T17:32:18.848+01:00Kathleen, it is very hard to watch, To witness suc...Kathleen, it is very hard to watch, To witness such a terrible pain on another person can only make us feel a portion of their hurt. Michael O'Brien might not want to be called a hero, but for a man of his age to speak up on national TV about what he endured, took a hell of a lot of courage. I think the perpetrators would want him and the other abuse targets to shut up and to be too ashamed to tell what they are suffering still. But I hope they will scream it out so we can't ignore them and sweep this shame away.Sharon McDaidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13550156204691696968noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28040139.post-30949426572328423932009-05-27T17:28:24.038+01:002009-05-27T17:28:24.038+01:00That was very difficult to watch-I sincerely hope ...That was very difficult to watch-I sincerely hope that Mr. O'Brien and all of the others who have lived through this..(there really isn't just one word to adequately describe their ordeal ) can eventually find some peace.<br /> Try as I might, I simply can not understand such heinous abuse of power at the expense of children-or of anyone. Had I not read your original post, I wouldn't have known of this....It scares me that something this terrible and enormous is not world wide news. Especially when I think of how many priests have been prosecuted here in the states for similar crimes. This is outrageous. A way must be sought and found to change this. This can not get swept under the rug.kathleenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07648854807234137885noreply@blogger.com