As a parent and clergyman, I feel my heart break and my face flush in anger to read the NYT article detailing the final report of the Irish Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse. Established in 2000 after decades of rumors and investigative journalism, the report highlights incredible abuses going back into the 1930s at church-run 'reformatory schools' many of which simply put boys and girls to work in shops (as this picture from the St. Joseph's Industrial School).
Of the more than 1000 who testified anonymously, more than 90% reported physical abuse and more than 50% reported sexual abuse, on top of normal conditions of neglect, emotional abuse, and all done under the auspices of Catholic religious orders running these institutions. The comments section is a study in how bad the public image is for the followers of Jesus today. We are imphatically NOT "known by our love for one another" (John 13:34-35). I don't really know what to say. Explaining it, even by acknowedging the power of sin and evil, don't seem to do justice to the feeling of tragic, irreparable damage such abuse does. Thoughts?
anon, and peace,
Chris
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