Speeches
Ferns Report Speech on November 9th 2005
November 9th 2005
Ferns Report
Ferns report does indeed teach us much. It is essentially a damning chronicle of the appalling abuses inflicted on young children of the most depraved kind by priests who held positions of trust and authority in communities. It chronicles the wholly inadequate and thoroughly reprehensible response by the Church to abuses when it was informed of them.
And it highlights the inner workings of the church and how it felt itself above or separate from the laws of the state. It also points to the collusion on the part of the state authorities that allowed this misapprehension develop, that the church was above reproach.
The state’s failure to pursue priests for sex crimes against children over many years is truly shameful. It is evidence of the all too cosy relationship that has existed between the church and the state in this country. A relationship which I believe persists to this day, and one which if we are to act on the lessons from the Ferns Report a relationship which must be dismantled thoroughly.
Preservation and protection of the church was the primary concern of the hierarchy when the abuses became apparent. For an association or institution which purports to offer moral and spiritual guidance the response of the church to the allegations of sexual abuse against members of its community was wholly morally bankrupt. It promoted and transferred paedophile priests, permitting them to continue their vile practice unchecked and it sidelined honourable priests who sought to have the matter addressed.
And indeed it must be stated that there are many honourable members of the church who are as appalled as the general public by the tolerance on the part of the hierarchy or the institution of the church of the perpetrators of such evil sex crimes. These are people who are in danger of being isolated further from communities in which they have made a positive contribution because of a tendency of tarring all with the same brush. The hierarchy has let these honourable members down badly by its failure to bring errant members to justice.
Had the same efficiency with which Bishop Comiskey and others sought insurance to indemnify themselves against claims of sexual abuse back in 1989, been applied to rooting out of this cancer which was left to fester within the clergy, many, many children would not have suffered the pain and trauma of violation by people whom their parents and community revered. And this is what is so reprehensible. Back then children were not believed. Given the status of the priest in the community.
The Ferns Report is interesting also on the question of Canon Law versus State Civil and Criminal law and how the church places itself somewhat outside or above the laws which govern our nation.
The early part of the Report documents how the hierarchy grappled with the tensions between these sets of rules to which they were bound.
The first Code of Canon Law dealt with, amongst other things, how priests who abused children were to be treated. The Inquiry noted “…a high degree of secrecy was imposed on all church officials involved in such cases. The penalty for breach of this secrecy was automatic excommunication…” This is totally at odds with our criminal code. The conduct of the Hierarchy in dealing with sex abuse allegations demonstrates that it’s loyalty was first and foremost to it’s own code of canon law. The laws of the state came a poor second.
This Report, if it were needed, should demonstrate to the Catholic Church or any church or organisation that its own code of conduct is subject to national law and it is by those standards that one’s conduct will be judged.
Does this Report represent a Rubicon? Only time will tell. Can we confidently claim that the horror and pain inflicted by priest will never happen again?
If we are to make such a bold claim our response to this Report will make all the difference. This response will require many changes.
Chief amongst them is the level of influence the Church still enjoys in our schools. The Ferns Report notes the easy access depraved priests had to a steady supply of children through schools.
Mary Raftery, who has done invaluable service to Irish society by her persistence in exposing institutional abuses in Ireland, has raised this issue recently in the Irish Times. She highlights the fact that over 95% of national schools are directly managed by the Catholic Church. Often priests will control the boards of management. Sean Fortune chaired such a board while he conducted his crimes. What we need to ask ourselves is this. Can we, in all faith continue to leave the care of children in the education system in the hands of this institution? An institution which has shown itself to be wholly inadequate in its response to the safety of children when abuse was identified?
Equally, we have seen recent scandalous attempts by the Catholic Church to interfere with clinical trials for cancer patents in the Mater and Vincent’s hospitals. There is the ongoing objection of CURA volunteers to disseminating the Positive Options leaflet on behalf of the Crisis Pregnancy Agency.
A leaflet which documents all options facing a woman with crisis pregnancy. This, despite the agreement entered into by the bishops on behalf of CURA to do so. An agreement which is worth over €650,000 to CURA. These instances point to an all too powerful influence on our society by the Catholic Church. An influence that has no place in a Republic.
A survey conducted last year by the dept of Education backs up this opinion the majority agreed with the proposition that schools should not be denominational - granted they should provide for religious instruction. It is time we as politicians for a pluralist republic provided this option for our citizens.
I want to conclude by commending Judge Francis Murphy, Dr. Helen Buckley, and Dr. Laraine Joyce. They have done the State, society and the Church a tremendous service and their work is a important step in dealing with this horrific issue.
Go raibh maith agat.