The Pope's apology seems hollow

[mgc1961]

When I was a child, Ireland was a Catholic theocracy. If a bishop came walking down the street, people would move to make a path for him. If a bishop attended a national sporting event, the team would kneel to kiss his ring. If someone made a mistake, instead of saying, "Nobody's perfect," we said, "Ah sure, it could happen to a bishop."

The expression was more accurate than we knew. This month, Pope Benedict XVI wrote a pastoral letter of apology -- of sorts -- to Ireland to atone for decades of sexual abuse of minors by priests whom those children were supposed to trust. To many people in my homeland, the pope's letter is an insult not only to our intelligence, but to our faith and to our country. To understand why, one must realize that we Irish endured a brutal brand of Catholicism that revolved around the humiliation of children.


Sinead has more to say at http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/03/25/AR2010032502363.html?hpid=opinionsbox1

[hlthe2b]

1. Gee, ya think?

This level of understatement baffles me.

[Double T]

2. The Catholic Hierarchy is totally corrupt.

Benedict should resign his position immediately and there needs to a housecleaning of all the Catholic pedophiles throughout the world; they know who and where they are.

[tekisui]

4. I agree. It is sick and everyone should be held accountable.

From top to bottom, clean house.

[customerserviceguy]

11. Since that's not going to happen

I decided decades ago to just resign from being a Catholic. If enough people were to do that, then they'd be out of power in a couple of generations.

[tekisui]

3. He called it 'petty gossip'. I hope the dam is about to break

on the catholic pedophile crime ring. Fucking asshole pedophiles.

[Happyhippychick]

5. First clue was when I couldn't understand it because of the tremendous echo

[Fumesucker]

6. I think it's time that some people apologized to Sinead O'Connor..

The horrific abuse in Ireland is only fairly recently becoming widely known in America but it has been known in Ireland for far longer.

[Warpy]

7. Having grown up in the Irish church in the US

I knew damned full well she had a point. I hadn't known about the kind ministry of the An Grianan until now and I realize why she's been so outspoken about it so long. I would be, too.

I'll say it again, I love Catholics. I love their openness, their willingness to listen, their sense of fun, and the way they thumb their noses at all the stuff from Rome that doesn't make any sense while keeping their essential faith.

Once you get to the level of the Bishops, the church turns rotten, rotting from the head down and that head is Rome.

Sinead O'Connor has been right all along. Those of us who experienced an Irish Catholic childhood, especially as girl children, know she has.

[Fumesucker]

8. A lot of people work remarkably hard at denying the obvious..

Particularly when it comes to ignoring the dark side of some beloved and comforting cultural artifact, such as a church.

[FunkyLeprechaun]

13. I grew up in a fairly Irish Catholic family

My parents moved to the US (from Northern Ireland) in the late seventies and rarely went to Church unless my grandparents came to visit. I loved my grandparents but often dreaded the visits because it meant going to Church (I thought it was boring).

My mother is Catholic (my father is Protestant) and went to a Catholic boarding school in Northern Ireland. The nuns often threatened to send her to the laundries (because they thought she was too pretty) so she was frightened of that happening to her.

There is (or was) a lot of power over people in Catholic Ireland. You should see the movie The Magdalene Sisters in order to understand the situation. If something happened, no one would believe you (if a priest did something to you) because the priest was considered the top of the pole in Irish society. My family and I are very glad that this is coming out in the open because it's something that we have known for a long time. Hopefully it changes the politics somewhat: abortions are banned in Ireland/Northern Ireland (women travel here to the UK if they make the choice). I would never bring up my daughter (if I have one) in Ireland unless it gives women the right to choose.

It really puts the tearing up of the photo of the pope in perspective.

[snake in the grass]

14. May I also suggest...

...the documentary 'Sex in a Cold Climate'? There are several great but heart-breaking interviews with former victims of the RCC in Ireland.

[mgc1961]

15. Agreed.

[ninjanurse]

9. Irish American

So true. When nuns and priests are slapping kids around, it's easy for an abuser to hide in plain sight.
I think the Pope himself is scarred by his childhood. In fact his autobiography is a radical change of heart-- or will be, when he writes it.
I like to be ahead of the curve, so I've reviewed it already, 'My Life in Hitler Youth' by Pope Benedict XVI

http://kmareka.com/2010/03/27/pope-benedicts-confession/

[salguine]

10. Most hollow things seem hollow.

[Nothing Without Hope]

12. Some are so in denial that they are un-recommending this post.

My rec put it back on the Greatest Page with +5. Sometimes the truth can be threatening, but hiding from it is part of what has led to this horrible situation.