Catholic institutions preyed on needy kids

This article was in the International section of the Boston Metro News this morning. It breaks my heart to read about this; how can men and women who supposedly dedicated themselves to God, thus volunteering to help and protect those in need, so abuse the trust of those most in need of their mercy?The outrage is that it's still going on and we close our eyes and ears to their cries.

Priests beat and raped children during decades of abuse in Catholic-run institutions in Ireland, a report said yesterday.

Orphanages and industrial schools in 20th century Ireland were places of fear, neglect and endemic sexual abuse, the report said.

The Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse blasted successive generations of priests, nuns and Brothers for beating, starving and, in some cases, raping children in Ireland’s network of industrial and reformatory schools between the 1930s and 1990s.

“A climate of fear, created by pervasive, excessive and arbitrary punishment, permeated most of the institutions and all those run for boys,” the report said.

The five-volume report, published after a nine-year investigation into institutions now closed down, also slammed the Department of Education for its deferential attitude to the religious orders and its failure to stop the abuse.

The Commission interviewed 1,090 men and women who were housed in 216 institutions including children’s homes, hospitals and schools.

Tom Sweeney, who spent five years at industrial schools including two years at one where the report said sexual abuse was a “chronic problem.”

“Anybody that came into Artane did not come out a happy person and unfortunately there are a lot of people that have committed suicide. You didn’t forget about Artane.”

Yep, it is sad.

Seems to be widespread in religious establishments! do they think they have the right? i mean do they think because they 'work' for god, they can do these things and its all ok?   do we really need these people to work for god, and preach to us all? All they seem to be achieving is showing people just how corrupt most of these religions are. They seem to breed people that think they are a little above the rest of society, yet when it comes down to it, they actually are very devious members of society. But hey is it all ok because they are showing us all they are churchgoers, and look...they pray everyday etc....  it really does mean nothing imo!!  they need to look inside at themselves.

I may be wrong here...but isn't it in the bible about not building temples to worship god??  but of course we still did because it showed how important and rich we were, we also built these big organisations around the religions, and look what they do, hide paedophiles within them!!

Hey i know its not everyone, but how do you tell???  you can't, but it just seems maybe a lot of people are screaming to everyone look at me!! i love god more than you, what are they hiding??

ooh  rant over!!  i'll probably be picked to pieces over this, and i'll hold my hands up if i got things wrong, i probably have, but hey its off my chest now!!

Exactly!!  Who then should intervene? Should it be taken out of the hands of the Vatican?  I say, YES!! 

It's scary. I was raised Catholic and Sammie is now going thru classes at church. I wonder what her opinion is and the opinion of the deacon and the peers at chruch.