One quack clinic goes, another springs up

I just discovered a new site, Homoeopathy Ireland. It's for a clinic in Wexford claim to specialise in the "leading childhood epidemics of our time: Autism, ADD/ADHD, Asthma and other allergies."

Clearly these are all conditions in which homeopathy has been shown to have no effect whatsoever. But then this form of "medicine" has been shown to help many who have "a vague sense of unease or a touch of the nerves or even just more money than sense" then the homeopaths will be "there for them with a bottle of basically just water on one hand and a huge invoice in the other."

It's rather spooky that I learn of the existence of this clinic claiming to be able to heal the body of autistic children and hence their minds (gak) on the same day I read of the closure of a USA clinic promising much the same kind of quack nonsense and similarly intent on fleecing the well meaning parents of disabled and sick children. The quacks just love to get a bit of that autism pie. Brüno knows that autism is "in" now, but not because its funny, but because it's a great money spinner for people with all sorts of agendas.

The good folk at Homeopathy Ireland have a post up detailing their philosophy of autism. I've left a comment which has to be approved and which I'll repeat here.

Autism rates are not increasing. Changing diagnostic criteria, broadening of the autism concept, diagnostic substitution, improved services and awareness have all contributed to a perceived increase.

There is no evidence that autistic children have been successfully treated biomedically, and absolutely zero evidence of homeopathy having any kind of benefit in autism or any other non self limiting condition.

“Here, at Homeopathy Ireland we believe that vaccination injury among other variables play a part in autism.”
Your scaremongering about vaccines is not backed by any evidence either, some parents may have a “belief” that vaccines damaged their children but that is not enough. Do you at homeopathy Ireland welcome increased numbers of children suffering the ill effects of preventable infectious diseases also?

Where are these “Studies [that] have shown that 80% of these children have symptoms that suggest gastrointestinal disease”?

Autism is not curable, certainly not with homeopathy/magic water. Autistic children can learn, develop and benefit from sensitive parenting and appropriate education.

“By healing the whole body; the source of the problem, we then heal the mind.”
Prove it.

I have looked further at the effects of homeopathy on autism here.

The Catholic Church in Ireland

I wrote about the release of the recent report into the decades long, systematic, extreme and abhorrent violence, abuse and neglect. I have read more of the report and news and opinion articles on blogs and in newspapers. I have witnessed the pathetic response of the Irish Catholic church spokespeople, and even worse, the religious orders that perpetrated these crimes and who have no idea what true sorrow and repentance means.

Then via John's blog I heard this man. I witnessed his anguish and his righteous anger. I do not know how those in power in government and church can allow this man, Michael O'Brien, and all the others like him who were abused in those places, to continue to suffer.

This is outrageous. It is our national shame. We can't allow this to just hold the headlines for a few weeks and then move on to something else. There has to be a fundamental change in Irish society.

You will not be able to watch this without crying. There might be a subtitled version available soon which I can embed instead. However, Will Knott has kindly provided a transcript of the video which is copied below.

(Edit, the video is now subtitled.)


Transcript:

Mr. Chairman, I’m surprised at the minister there now.

First of all Mr Minister (directed at Minister Noel Dempsey) you made a bags of it in the beginning by changing the judges. You made a complete bags of it at that time, because I went to the La Foy commission and ye had seven barristers there, questioning me and telling that I was telling lies, when I told them that I got raped of a Saturday, got a merciful beating after it, and then stuffed…

… he came along the following morning and put holy communion in my mouth.

You don’t know what happened there. You haven’t the foggiest, you’re talking through your hat there. And you’re talking to a Fianna Fáil man, a former councilor and former mayor you’re talking to, that worked tooth and nail or you, for the party that you’re talking about now. Ye didn’t do it right, ye got it wrong.

Admit it.

And apologize for doing that. Because you don’t know what I feel inside me. You don’t know the hurt I am.

You said it was non-adversarial.

My God.

Seven barristers.

Throwing questions at us.

Non-stop.

I tri.. attempted to commit suicide, there’s the woman who saved me from committing suicide, on me way down from Dublin, after spending five days at the commission. Five days I spent at the commission. They brought a man over from Rome, ninety odd years of age, to tell me I was telling lies.

That I wasn’t beaten for an hour, non-stop by two of them.

By two of them.

Non-stop from head to toe without a shred of cloth on my body.

My God minister.

And could I speak to you (comment directed to Leo Varadkar, Fianna Gael), and ask your leader, would you stop making a political football of this.

You hurt this when you do that.

You tear the shreds from inside our body.

For God’s sake, try and give us some peace.

Try to give us some peace and not to continue hurting us.

That woman will tell you how many times I jump out of the bed at night with the sweat pumping out of me. Because I see these fellas at the end of the bed with their fingers doing that (gestures) to me. And pulling me in to the room, to rape me, to bugger me and bate the shite out of me. That’s the way it is.

And you know what?

You know what, sometimes I listen to the leader of Fianna Fáil. I even listened to the apology. T’was mealy mouthed, but at least t’was an apology.

At least t’was an apology.

The Rosminians said in the report, they said they were easy on us. The first day I went to them. The first day to Rosminians in my home which is Ferryhouse in Clonmel, ’cause its the only home I know. He said “you’re in it for the money”.

We didn’t want money.

We didn’t want money. We wanted the pr… someone to stand up and say “yes, these fellas were buggered, these people were ra…”

Little girls. My daughter, oh sorry, my sister. A month old when she was put in to an institution. Eight of us from the one family, dragged by the ISPCC cruelty man. Put in to two cars, brought to the court in Clonmel. Left standing there without food or anything, and the fella in the long black frock and the white collar came along and he put us in to a van.

Not a van, a scut truck, I don’t know what you call it now. And landed us below with two hundred other boys. Two night later I was raped.

How can anyone…

You’re talking about constitution. These people would gladly say “yes” to a constitution to freeze the funds of the religious orders.

This state, this country of ours, would say “yes” to that constitution if you have to change it.

Don’t say you can’t change it.

You’re the government of this state. You run this state. So for God’s sake stop mealy mouthing. ‘Cause I’m sick of it.

I’m sick of it.

You’re turning me away from voting Fianna Fáil which I have done from the first day that I could vote. Because. And you know me. You know me Mister Minister. You’ve met me on a number of occasions. So you know what I’m like.

Entrenched evil-doing in Ireland

We all knew what to expect. It is still shocking though when you read the report, or, as much of it as you can stomach. The people of the church carried it out, they covered it up. Generations of children had their lives ruined, and in some cases, taken. The state conspired with the church leaders to hush the suffering children and to ensure that their pain wasn't made known beyond the cold stone walls of the orphanages, reformatories, "care" homes for disabled children and industrial schools. What was done to these children was brutal, far worse than the accepted level of child abuse tolerated at almost all schools in the country, the run of the mill beatings and canings by teachers which were legal and known as corporal punishment. These were an expected part of education in those not far gone days. What happened to these children, taken from their families or who had no families, was far worse. They were abused in every way. They were beaten, bullied, raped, neglected.

Reading Nick's blog today I learned of the chapter of this massive document dedicated to the abuses perpetrated in Special Needs Schools and residential services. A table is used to show the 11 combination of types of abuse the witnesses endured. It is a long list of heart breaking tales, examples of hurts, lives destroyed, families torn apart. To pick a random example:

"I was locked in the washroom overnight. ......( named religious staff member)... would walk out and close the door, you’d have your ...night clothes... on and you could stand at your basin and do what you liked but you had to stay there, no blankets, mattress, sleep on the bare floor. We used to get together in a corner and try to keep each other warm, it was scary, you’d hope that nothing would happen, you could also be there on your own. ... You could be there for more than a few nights in a row, freezing cold."

For these disabled children, the report describes how they;

"generally reported having great difficulty in finding ways of disclosing their abuse to anyone. In all instances the witnesses’ particular disability was described as a barrier to communication and disclosure, both at the time and subsequently. A number stated that this difficulty was particularly highlighted when addressing such a sensitive topic as sexual abuse."

The report also details ways in which the appalling start these people had in life has affected them as they've grown up. I do not excuse or forgive this brutalisation of the vulnerable. I cannot. I want to see a revolution. The people who did this and the others who colluded in the cover up cannot be allowed to continue to wield the power and influence over so much of Irish life any longer. We ,must stay away from their churches and ceremonies. We must freeze them out. We must take back control of our schools and hospitals, care homes and residential facilities. They cannot be allowed to get away with this. They have bullied and impeded our lives for long enough. The children who suffered in the Irish gulags are owed a duty by all citizens to stand up against the vile creatures who harmed them. It is no longer good enough to point to all the good some of the clergy and others in the religious orders have done and to say that many of them are not abusers, that the majority are decent men and women of faith. That is true, at least I think so, but then I haven't read the full report. But the leaders are up to their necks in their culpability for allowing this to happen and as such have tarnished the whole show.

There must be trials and prison sentences. The guilty must be named and sent down for their crimes. The incoming leader of the Catholic church in England and Wales was wrong when he described the people who have admitted some portion of their crimes (and only when absolutely forced to do so as their cloak of concealment was finally dragged away) as "courageous".

I remember being a child and how powerless I was, and I had a very safe and happy childhood. I can’t imagine living in fear every day like generations of my country people have. I look at my own children, exasperating, joyful, vulnerable, hopeful and the idea that little people like them can be harmed for the perverse pleasure and convenience of religious orders fills me with fear and anger and unfortunately, hate. I am ashamed of my nationality and of my abandoned religion.

Other posts:
Bock
Nick
Paddy Doyle

Ten years ago today.

Lady was 5 days old. One of Gordon's best friends and his mother visited our home to meet the new baby. The sun was shining and the world seemed to be a kind, good place.

Then there was a call from home, a small town in county Tyrone not far from Omagh. For the first time, I heard about the bomb. I couldn't understand; why would there be a bomb going off in the middle of Omagh on an ordinary, sunny Saturday? The Irish people in the north and south had recently voted in huge numbers to accept a peace deal and in Northern Ireland, voters had elected First and Deputy Ministers for the devolved assembly. We had made it clear to the thugs with guns and bombs that we wanted an end to their rule of terror and that we were willing to accept compromises and make deals with our neighbours for the sake of living in peace. (The above photo shows the town minutes before the bomb, hidden in the red car, exploded. Several of the children on the left were killed.)

But the dissident republican murderers didn't care about what the people clearly wanted. They decided to plant a bomb in a town full of shoppers, children out getting school uniforms, day trippers and workers. They deliberately gave false information in the phone warning, so people were moved towards danger not away from it. In the end 29 people including 9 children died. In addition 2 unborn children died when their mother was killed.

A few of my family members were caught up in the carnage. One of them, only nine years old, was very badly injured and though he has thankfully recovered, he had to endure multiple major operations.

So that horrible day passed and the extent of the death and suffering was made known. Today, I want to pause to remember those who lost their lives, those who were injured and disabled, and the families left to grieve. I remember that no-one has ever been held accountable for the crime, and hope that those involved suffer for it, in some way, some day.