The Irish Church: The Gift That Keeps On Giving

Things are not going so well these days in the Emerald Isle. The real estate bubble popped and the banks cratered with the real estate implosion. If that wasn't enough, there has been the troubles over an investigation of the treatment of the inmates at a reform school run by The Christian Brothers. The investigation, known as The Ryan Report, details the ill treatment dished out to children in this notorious reformatory. The Irish Times had an opinion piece by Jim Beresford (6/18/09) calling The Ryan Report a whitewash for failing to engage the issue of institutionalized psycho-sexual violence routinely practiced by The Christian Brothers Order. Mr. Beresford was, at one time, an inmate of the reformatory that was the subject of the report. The impact of The Christian Brothers teaching order on the Irish national character was profound; they were sanctioned by the state to education the youth of Ireland for generations. Read the piece, especially, if your a recovering Catholic.

The cover up that Beresford speaks about in the Irish context is quite the same on this side of the pond. The passing of the dramatic sex scandals in the American Church never addressed the sadism and brutality of the various teaching orders; the violence (discipline) was especially acute in schools for working class children. In 1950's America, there was no child abuse because it was known as discipline...a rein of terror existed in many classroom, unrestrained by the authorities and supported by parents who had been battered by the same thugs when they were children.

Things have changed; many of the sadists are dead and lay teachers are doing most of the teaching in Catholic schools today. Still, it is a shame that the Church in America has this dirty little secret that is still shrouded in silence. When I hear people say to me that I must have gotten a great education; I ask them what they mean. The ones over 50 always talk about discipline and self control. Had I gone to Attica Prison, I could have gotten better treatment and my parents would not have been burdened with the tuition and fees.

In general, the physical brutally was aimed at the boys; however, that was not always the case. Still, the overall atmosphere of psychological and physical intimidation was pervasive. There should be a truth commission in this country that talks directly to the issues raised by Jim Beresford in the Irish context. American Catholicism needs to come clean; as they say, confession is good for the soul.

http://www.irishtimes.com.newspaper/opinion/2009/0618/1224249067622.html