Dublin: Sights and scandal
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Our little onboard intro to Dublin says: Intimate and friendly, compact, relaxed and easy to discover on foot, Dublin is a city full of surprises. It almost looks like a small town with gorgeous architecture left there for safekeeping.And so it is, with winding streets full of little shops, street performers and lots and lots of remarkably well-behaved pedestrians.
But being in Ireland right now also broke my heart.
When we got a long cab ride yesterday, Greg asked our cabbie, Ben, about Irish politics. Ben expressed the usual doubtfulness that any of them do much good, but then added, “And the thing they’ve got to deal with now is this Ryan Commission Report.”
Greg knew what the Ryan Commission Report was, since he had read the morning’s papers, but I didn’t. It was the culmination of a nine-year investigation on over 60 years of institutionalized abuse that would put a chill in anyone’s blood. Children that had been sexually, physically and/or psychologically abused … by Catholic priests and nuns running orphanages and industrial schools.
“It’s like this,” Ben explained. Noting that Greg had mentioned he was adopted, Ben said, “You would’ve gone into one of these Christian schools. You would’ve been raised by the Catholic Church. And there, you would’ve been a slave.”
As these children grew up, they wanted to tell what had happened to them, but no one wanted to listen. People didn’t want to believe that the church would do anything wrong, so they turned a blind eye. It was only when an objective legal entity was brought in to check up on the stories that they began to uncover the truth. Thousands of cases of beatings, rape, habitual cruelty that left scars that couldn’t be healed.
the response of the churches has only added fuel to the fire. The only way the churches would cooperate with the Ryan Commission and tell the truth about what happened is if none of the individuals could be prosecuted for it, essentially saying that clergy, nuns and church staff should be above the laws of decency that govern everyone else. They’ve even worked it so that Irish taxpayers will pay most of the cost for the reparations that’ll be paid out.
The Ryan Commission report had come out May 20 and its effects were beginning to ripple out into the populace. Ben was put in mind of an old expression the Irish had: The British ruled the Irish for 700 years, and then the Catholic Church took over from there.
That’s what broke my heart. Here I had been thinking of finding out why the heck Europeans had turned their back on their faith, and it never occurred to me that their church might have done it first. What the hell kind of church allows systemic torment of children and wants to protect the guilty while punishing the innocent?
Apparently, the Irish are asking themselves the same question right now, and the answer is changing their view of the church and themselves. From an amused, if combative, tolerance and grudging respect, they rightly wonder what animals are in their midst. And they blame themselves for not knowing.
In another cab, a morning radio show was on. The disc jockey noted that some questionable material on the previous day’s show had elicited a disapproving email from a femaile listener. She said that she found the material another offensive attempt to bend the Irish culture toward some kind of liberal ideal and exhorted the DJ to “recover that modest, innocent charm for which the Irish people are known” — exactly the kind of thing I might’ve said.
The voice of the DJ grew dark with emotion as he asked the listener to think of that last sentence in light of the revelations of the Ryan Commission. “Our history tells us, “he said grimly, “that that was all … a bit of a lie.”
Even now, that phrase cuts deep. What else are they supposed to think? How could I possibly blame them?
When I went to the enormous Christ Church Cathedral, I viewed the fabulous stone structure with a heaviness in my heart. Usually I would fall in love with a 12th century cathedral whose arches soared upward, whose tilework and carving showed the committed artisanship of generations (so much so that some carved their faces into its scrollwork — see the last picture). But I couldn’t enjoy it that morning — I felt like a shadow had fallen over it and me. Christ Church isn’t Catholic, but the consequences of this scandal affect them as much as St. Patrick’s Cathedral nearby.I’m not Catholic and I’m not Irish, but I felt affected by it as well. For one of the first times, I can think of, I was embarrassed to be wearing a cross.
All the same, I prayed for the victims, the churches and the Irish people. If you’ve got a minute, please do the same. Somehow, they all have to find a new balance, and the guilty really have to be held accountable.
Related posts:
- Dublin and Belfast
- “Lost” queries
- Amazing roadkill sights on Hwy. 54
- Our tired day in Dublin
- The name-dropping pope
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I am very much enjoying being along for this vacation, thank you!
Lord have mercy. It makes me cringe to think what can be uncovered in ALL of our faiths if people are inclined to dig. How can something that inspires such beauty degenerate into such horror? Sobering thought for my own soul.
s-p:
I think that’s the way I felt, too. The whole thing reminded me of our Catholic priest scandal from a couple years back, but that story built up over the course of a couple months. I got the impression that this Report had hit all at once like a bolt out of the blue, which made the shockwaves all the more dramatic.
I didn’t bother to add this detail into the write-up of Scotland, but the Church of Scotland is going through a difficult period as well, and it’s very similar to what happened in the Anglican Church. One church appointed an actively gay minister, and a split may happen because of it.
These are the things that are in the hands of the clergy and hierarchs. I suppose that’s just another reason to include them in our prayers.