Letter : We should be grateful to Survivors who have spoken out.

A Chara,

The recent arrests of three men accused of sexual abuse of children at Carrignavar Boarding School reveals what has been studiously avoided by so many, that abuse was just as prevalent in fee paying boarding schools as it was in Industrial Schools. I know, as I attended five 'elite' fee paying Catholic boarding schools for 12 years.

Perhaps the reasons for this avoidance are two fold.

There are some who went to those schools, who were abused, though not sexually, and who to this day would claim that the experience made them the men they are today.

The second reason might be that some of these alumni of the 'better sort of boarding school' have been or are still in positions of power and prestige, and their lack of self empathy might affect their willingness to face the truth of their own experience, let alone the truth of Survivors testimony.

Perhaps it also affected and still affects their decision making in other areas, especially with regard to Governance, in that a lack of self empathy runs concurrent with a lack of empathy for others.

It is clear to all and sundry that Irish Governance has demonstrated a clear lack of empathy for the people of Ireland for a long time.

Perhaps the courage of Survivors who have spoken out, even when others have refused to accept their testimony, might be seen as part of the healing of Irish society, leading us all towards greater empathy.

We should be grateful.

Kindest regards

Corneilius

Do what you love, it's Your Gift to Universe

Letter to President Michael D. Higgins

Dear President Elect,

I urge you, as President of Ireland, to be a constant and energetic voice for the Survivors, and for all the children, past, present and future, to bring empathy and clarity to bear on Irish Governance, to be fearless in this, to use your privileged position to help Irish Society to undergo changes that are healthy, that are geared towards the long term, that are nurturant of life and that make the abuse of Power a thing of the past.

You used the term 'Historical Trauma' in one of your speeches. You must now bring this phrase and it's meaning to the fore, because it is this that has driven the dysfunctional behaviour of so many, inside of politics and outside for centuries.

Greed is a learned behaviour. Abuse is a learned behaviour.

The psychology of any given Society is both revealed and perpetuated in how that Society treats it's children. To change the Society, we MUST change how we relate to and treat all our children, for they are the future..

Kindest regards

Corneilius Crowley

Do what you love, it's Your Gift to Universe

The Irish Presidential Candidates Curious Silence

A Chara,

The most troubling thing about this 'race', Presidential this election is that NONE of the candidates inspire confidence or hope.

That one of them will get the post, by default, is the reality.

Not a word from any of them about the Institutional Abuse of Children that has been deeply embedded in Irish Society for most of the Republics existence..... be it by the State or by the Church(es) or anyone else.

Indeed no-one is talking (yet) about the abuse which occurred in the 'better' schools - Clongowes, Blackrock, Newbridge, Rockwell et al where the scions of Irish elites were 'educated' in preparation for their future positions as the 'good and the great'. Is there a link between that silence, and the views of some who might, in private, claim that their experience in such schools ‘made a man of me’?

Of all the Political and Statuary posts in Ireland, surely it is the role of the President to be the voice of all those children, given the failures of the past, starting with Dev himself, who clearly ignored and suppressed the horrific truth from the word go, an omission that led directly to my own trauma as a child during the 60s and 70s.

Apparently not. I am appalled at the behaviour of Irish Society in this regard. I do not blame the candidates alone, for they are simply a part of that culture, and it is, in truth for ALL people in Ireland to think long and hard about this and to gather some courage and act as empathy, decency and justice suggests!

Kindest Regards

Kindest regards

Corneilius

Do what you love, it's Your Gift to Universe

Open Letter to ALL Irish Presidential Candidates

Open Letter to ALL Irish Presidential Candidates

info@michaeldhiggins.ie

mary@marydavis.ie

info@danaforpresident.ie

together@seangallagher.com

admin@thepeoplespresident.ie – Martin McGuinness

Gay Mitchell, via his website email

Info@davidnorris4president.com

October 2011

A Chara,

One of the most important issues for Irish Society as a whole, a thread that runs through almost every issue, is the welfare and safety of our children.

I write as an interested Irish Citizen and as a Survivor.

The question is this : Is Ireland a safe place for ALL the children, and are their futures being protected and nurtured in ways that will meet all their natural needs as growing people, who will in turn become the adults who craft their society?

With this in mind, we can consider the following issues : Institutional Abuse, Historical Trauma, The Environment, State Education, Spirituality, Ethics….

The story of Institutional Abuse is no-where near resolving itself. Out of 26 Dioceses, over a two decades of Survivors witness Testimony and action in the courts and elsewhere, only 4 have ‘reported’ on this, and none of these have been fully comprehensive, nor have we seen a full and frank disclosure by the State or by The Church as to the extent of the abuse culture, the identification of perpetrators nor are there reliable support services in place with a proven track record of healing trauma.

Even still there is resistance to what is needed here, from the Church, from within various State Institutions and from within the community at large, especially those who have allegiances to the Church, and those who in one way or another share some responsibility for the neglect of Survivors.

Historical trauma (HT) is cumulative emotional and psychological wounding, over the lifespan and across generations, emanating from massive group trauma.

Sinead O’Connor alluded to this in her song ‘Famine’. There is clear evidence that suggests the corruption and dysfunction in Irish Society has some of it’s roots in Historical Trauma. This is not to provide and excuse for abuse, though it is a call to evoke an understanding of the dynamics and roots of dysfunctional behaviours so as to heal and to prevent further dysfunction.

The Office of Irish President is a public voice from which this element of the story of the Irish people could be advocated, indeed it ought to be a primary concern, given the massive failures of DeValera, and subsequent Presidents in this regard.

As regards the Environment, that is to say the space within which our children’s children will live, it’s clear that there is much work to be done to bring to an end the massive use of pesticides, herbicides, pollutants, NKP fertilisers, the use of non-renewable ‘resources’ and the re-habilitation of land use and occupation. To the degree that all these affect the welfare of children, such as the presence of DDT in mothers breast milk, the presence of pesticides in the foetus these activities could be described as child abuse.

As regards State Education, we have to look at the homogenisation of childhood experience, the processes of indoctrination, secular or religious, and the fact that whilst many do benefit, so many more do not benefit, because Compulsory State Education is not geared to respond to the natural variation and diversity of children’s behaviour and perception, and that it undermines their natural autonomy by refusing to afford them opportunities to develop that autonomy. The use of Ritalin and other similar ‘medications’ is clearly adverse to children’s welfare.

To tell an adult what to think, with sanctions applied for any reasonable dissent, is rightfully felt or sensed by all adults as abusive. Why then is it the case that this is considered appropriate for children?

And with regard to Spirituality and Ethics, unless empathy lies at the core of both these areas, they become adverse to the health of any community.

The behaviour of the Church reveals this to be the case. There are, of course many other examples of this adversity – fraud, corruption in politics, war as a tool of State policy etc etc…

I write to you to ask that you declare your views on these crucial matters, aware that you will have no statuary power as such, compared to the Dail and the Legislature, yet nonetheless you will have a platform from which to urge change, to inspire a deeper and more relevant discourse, and that this ought to be your primary concern and responsibility in your role as President of The Irish State, as a statesperson representing the hopes and concerns of the Irish people at home and abroad, noting that you will of course, be remunerated by the Irish taxpayer.

Yours sincerely

Corneilius Crowley
3 Sherwood Road,
South Harrow

London HA2 8AW

The Congregation of The Faith's 'guidelines' are a criminal failure.

This is an open letter. sent to media, politicians, activists in the UK , Ireland, Australia, USA, Canada and elsewhere.

Concerning the latest set of 'guidelines' issued by the Congregation of The Faith in Rome, to all Bishops worldwide....

http://www.independent.ie/national-news/victims-furious-over-new-vatican-abuse-guidelines-2648496.html

to the Editor...

and to all concerned citizens, irrespective of your beliefs.

When an Institution, that has been shown to have failed miserably to meet the legal and moral duties of care to those who have been, for whatever reason, placed in it's care,  which does not, above all else, place the needs of those people who as children were abused, traumatised, physically and psychologically harmed by officials of that Institution, in such manner that adversely affects the Survivors entire life times in the aftermath, and which do not and can not be deemed as adequate with regard to the prevention of further abuses, and after so many years of heart breaking requests by Survivors for honesty,  accountability,  empathy and justice, offers 'guidelines' such as the latest set issued by the Congregation of The Faith, that are not directly informed by the needs of those they have failed, then it becomes clear that the adverse nature of this Institution, as it stands, is a serious threat to the common well being of all those communities it is connected to and ministers to.

Be it State or Church, the same applies.

It is now time for the Irish State to act, as a humane and just Institution, to take the Vatican, the Irish Churches and The Pope, to the International Criminal Courts as part of it's own Institutional healing process, to face charges of Crimes Against Humanity. 

It can do this, and admit it's own past failures, as a measure of it's courage, empathy, honesty and commitment to the well being of all citizens of the Irish State.

What is also important to note is that this applies not only to Ireland, but to many States across the World, that this is a global issue.

The first step in true reconciliation is the admission of wrongs done, acknowledgement of harms caused, full transparency and a realistic commitment to end all such practices that enabled the abuse and harm to occur.

Not so much to punish, but bring about a full accounting, to bring to an end these repugnant machinations of denial, obstruction, intimidation and power play which have typified the response to Survivors from the very first days, so many years ago, that Survivors brought their testimony before the community.

That is not to say that those who have committed serious crimes should not face the legal consequences of their actions. They must. Children have to be protected. Society has to know that our children are safe.

And, importantly, it is long past time to bring about such fundamental changes within the State and the Church as Institutions, that they might become less about Power over people, than about the well being of those people who subscribe to and fund these Institutions.

In essence this is about ensuring that the full meaning and intent of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child be fully and materially implemented without reservation.

This is the call of our times. This is the message of all great sages and spiritual teachers. This is what the future of all our children requires. This and nothing less.

Yours sincerely

Corneilius Crowley

Corneilius

Do what you love, it's Your Gift to Universe

Letter to Media : The 'Troubled' Church

To the Editor,

Regarding an editorial in the Irish Independent, dated May 12th, entitled "A New Day of Shame for Troubled Church" your opening line was as follows: "FEW institutions have taken as severe a battering as the Catholic Church"

I would like to point out that the 'battering' the Church has taken is nothing compared to the harms, assaults, batterings, humiliations that so many children have suffered for such along time.

Let it be that that is NEVER forgotten or minimised in any way, wittingly or unwittingly.

The willingness, of The Church as an Institution, and of it's officials, even still, to mask and deny, to obstruct and suppress the truth says it clearly.

The recent audit of their Child Protection process which revealed that over 290 cases were obscured from view reiterates what I am saying.

If the ethics of Jesus were at all alive in The Church, (and elsewhere) there'd be whistle blowers aplenty, bringing forth evidence so that the accounting was well under way, and Survivors would find comfort and succour in that the necessary steps towards Restorative Justice were being taken.

Kindest Regards

Corneilius Crowley

This letter is in response to an editorial in The Irish Independent, dated May 12th, entitled "A new day of shame for troubled church"

http://www.independent.ie/opinion/editorial/a-new-day-of-shame-for-troubled-church-2644552.html

Kindest regards

Corneilius

Do what you love, it's Your Gift to Universe

Irish Childline reports 2,300 contacts per day

Irish Child Line, a charity that receives calls from distressed children, released it's figures for 2010, and quotes an average of 2,300 calls or messages per day, from children all over Ireland.

This was reported in Irish Media. It's meaning, however, has not been addressed as of yet.

I wrote the following letter to Irish Media to suggest that it must be addressed.

-----------

To The Editor,

The release of the child-line figures demonstrates, once again, that there are endemic, long term problems within Irish Society which reveal an almost cultural lack of empathy, for children, for the vulnerable, and for the distressed.

The manner in which successive Irish Governments have indemnified both itself, as The State, and the Church, with regard to the horrific abuses perpetrated within State and Church Institutions, and outside, demonstrates that lack of empathy.

The North Cork Ten case and the DPP's unwillingness to prosecute demonstrates that lack of empathy. Happily, the campaign by 'ordinary Irish Citizens' to demand that the DPP prosecute demonstrates that there are some people in Ireland whose empathy is intact.

The Christy Smith case demonstrates yet again a systemic lack of empathy in many State Institutions.

Rachel Peavoy's death, earlier this year, and the inquest into her death, and it's 'findings', reveals this systemic, institutional lack of empathy.

The 'rape' jokes by 4 Corrib Bay Shell Gardai last month, and the mistreatment of the people of Corrib Bay that has continued for so many years, reveals that lack of empathy.

The willingness of the Irish Government to force the Irish People to pay the Debts of the Gambling Bankers shows that lack of empathy.

There are people all over Ireland who will tell you, were you to give them an ear, that the beatings and humiliation they experienced in school did not, and does not strengthen their character.

And there are those who will tell you, that yes, 'it made a man of me', there are people in positions of Power who will say that their school experience of 40 years ago was character forming, and who will find it difficult to empathise with those whose experience was traumatic.

Only when honesty and empathy prevails in all institutions of Power, and thus flows forth throughout Irish Society, and is met by the same at the grass roots, will the Irish People be in a position to provide for their children a future that is decent, abundant, balanced and above all psychologically healthy.

It's a worthy cause, indeed it's the only worthy cause.

Kindest regards

Corneilius Crowley

London

The facts are that the vast majority of abused children never tall anyone, and it is often only in adult life that they reveal what they have been through, after years of trying to just live day by day, tormented by the trauma, the shame, the self-blame .... often it is only when things have broken down to such an extent that the adult Survivor seeks 'professional help' which leads to their disclosure.

What makes it more difficult,if it wasn't already intensely difficult, for Survivors is this sense of isolation, of failure, of being judged by others,that comes from not 'performing' according to Societies messages - jobs, money, goods etc etc.....

There's also the fact that Childline says that 1/3rd of the calls went unanswered. We need more data on this. Childline should provide that data to those who can properly analyse it.

The figures will not go down until there is 100% honesty, and with that empathy, for survivors and also an understanding of the dynamics of intergenerational trauma patterning amongst the general population. This is what I am working for.

My first concern is always with the survivors, and that requires that the general population gain more understanding of the dynamics of abuse, of survival, so that the understand when Survivors 'present' symptoms that they must not judge the survivor..... when that is in place, and is deepening with Society at large, then we can deal with the full implications for those Institutions and for those who abuse children, whatever the manner or form that abuse takes.

I fear that too much attention is focussed on the institutions, be it to confront them or to protect them, and that the first duty is to make safe those who have been harmed.... I also feel strongly that there are some 'activists' whose work on the face of it appears to support Survivors, yet in reality fails to address the points I have made above, and if anything polarises the issue, driving people away from a deeper comprehension.

This worries me muchly. That is not to say that the confrontation must not proceed, but that it needs to be fully complemented by that which makes safe the survivors. It is not OK to me, at least, that Survivors are suffering whilst the arguments rage back and forth. Some will die, often by their own hand, out of sheer frustration and desperation ....

And many more will continue to live fragmented, broken, pain filled lives and this grieves me deeply.

I am in my self reasonably happy, and can to a certain degree, bear this grief, I refuse to shut myself off from it. It's there, it's real and it informs my work as much as my anger and my love....

Do what you love, it's Your Gift to Universe

Garda Rape 'Jokes' and the Abuse of Power: An open Letter to Media and Dail Eireann

 A Chara,

I wrote about the pervasive abuse of power in November 2009, in a letter published in the Irish Times.

This is part of what I wrote:

“the problem is best described as the abuse of power, in all its forms, from the personal to the institutional, for control or profit. Resolving this will protect children, and much more, in the future. It is linked in essence to all struggles for liberty, and must be at the heart of and visibly resolved in any decent, healthy society that dares to call itself decent.”

That call remains as clear today as it was when it was published.

The recent reports of Gardai ‘joking’ about raping a protestor are yet another warning sign.

Time and time again, we are seeing people in positions of Power and Responsibility engage in behaviour that fundamentally undermines their right to that position of power, that denies the meaning of the word ‘responsible’, that breaks asunder the sacred trusts inherent in positions of responsibility, that indicates that the issues this ‘incident’ highlights are still largely unresolved, and furthermore, that places all of Irelands people at risk.

Ireland cannot call itself a decent Society, until the denial stops, until the work of honesty, integrity and of restorative justice is underway. This is a matter of duty of care.

This the people of Ireland must recognise, and if those in positions of power and responsibility will not act, then the people have to. Or we too lose all credibility amongst the children of Ireland.

Yours sincerely

Corneilius Crowley

etc etc..

Do what you love, it's Your Gift to Universe

‘No record’ of how Cork charity spent state funds : Irish Examiner, my response

http://www.examiner.ie/ireland/politics/no-record-of-how-cork-charity-spent-state-funds-136526.html

A Chara,

With regard to Right of Place, we are seeing a problematic lack of transparency similar to that of the Catholic Church Bureaucracy, past Irish Governments, and others involved in the Residential Schools horror story.

...

This is in stark contrast to the open-ness of many Survivors, who have had to deal with an unwillingness to believe them, fear and ridicule, intimidation and, not least, the adverse affects of what they endured.

Let it be said that those who deny, turn their backs on the story, or for whatever reason feel fearful of facing the truth, have not and will not suffer anything like the Survivors themselves if they face the truth.

Right of Place and others in similar positions must be made 100% transparent and be subject to adequate oversight.

Their staff must be subject to the same oversight, and also rigorously checked for their backgrounds and expertise in this area of supporting Survivors.

Failure in this is an abdication of duty of care, and will inevitably lead to the totally avoidable re-traumatising of those who need all the support and nurturance that Irish Society can generate.

Yours etc

Corneilius Crowley

Do what you love, it's Your Gift to Universe

Letter published 19th March 2011 : http://www.examiner.ie/opinion/letters/church-must-be-open-with-abuse-survivors-148683.html

On recent developments re: The Irish Residential Schools Abuse story

On recent developments re: The Irish Residential Schools Abuse story, Statuary Funds, Cover-ups and a few words to the incoming Irish Government

To whom it may concern.

There are many problems that we as Survivors face, problems are individual and collective.

This means that there are individual solutions and collective solutions. It's not an either/or situation.

These problems are the after effects of the abuse we suffered, which are physical and psychological trauma.

The effects of not having been able to tell others, be they family, friends or support services about our experiences. Loneliness, isolation, fear.

The effects of denial or mitigation or dismissive-ness of our community when we do speak out. Anger, fear, isolation, paranoia.

The effects of holding our wounded-ness for so long, that we develop secondary psychological problems.

The effects of being unable to hold long term relationships, jobs and careers.

The effects of not being able to trust others.

The effects of knowing that the abuse was and is being covered up, the story and history being 'managed' to protect both Church and State and other bodies who held and hold responsibility.

The effects of knowing that abuse is still common, that others are being abused, even to this day, and that the roots of the abuse are not being addressed, and in spite of evidence and plenty of very good scientific understanding (out of which healthful practices have emerged to prevent further abuse) the media and State and Church still avoid promoting these learning’s.

None of these will be resolved by money alone.

They will be resolved by providing adequate support for:

Telling the truth : open forums to tell our stories, open forums to examine who abused, who cover-ed up and why they covered up; criminal prosecutions for all abusers, and detailed inquiries into the actions of all those who covered up, for whatever reason, so that the dynamics of cover-up are understood, so that 'good' people who cover-up understand the impacts of their actions and understand that they must not cover-up.

Providing for our health : by providing best possible health care, best possible community interaction and understanding of the issues and dynamics of abuse.

Providing for our sustenance : Pensions separate from all other benefits are a useful idea.

Prevention: This is REALLY important. Apart from child protection legislation with real teeth, there needs to be a wider understanding of the dynamics of abuse, within families, and within all situations where adults have responsibility and power over children. Schools, care systems, sports training, etc etc.....

There also needs to be a wider understanding of the dynamics of intergenerational trauma patterning, which is how adverse behaviour patterns are passed from generation to generation in spite of peoples best efforts as they 'cope' with the effects (above) of abuse without proper support or understanding.

For all of this there needs to be State Funding of appropriate organisations (led by Survivors, informed by Survivors) PLUS awards to individual Survivors, not as compensation or reparation, but as offers of genuine support, to nurture Survivors for what remains of our lives.

These are my thoughts on this at this time.

Finally let me say this : we have seen how two prominent Survivors, from different perspectives, have in the very recent past, engaged in public disputes that have revealed unresolved behaviour patterns : That one of these Survivors should label and judge other Survivors in adverse ways (from a position of being one who offers 'care' ) speaks of the profound misunderstandings that still dominate the discourse, speaks of the ways in which wounded people can re-wound others, and can be manipulated or 'triggered' by those who perceicve that they have the 'most to lose' in all of this - The State and The Church.

That ANYONE sees it thus - that they have something to lose - speaks volumes of the psychology of the inadequate responses to the abuse story.

There is still so much to do in all of this.

Kindest regards

Corneilius Crowley

London

Do what you love, it's Your Gift to Universe

21st Century Democracy and Ireland

Letter sent to Irish Media folowing the election in Ireland..

A Chara

The mandate of the People of Ireland is not necessarily the mandate upon which Fine Gael will form a Government.

Enda Kenny’s declaration that the ‘Irish Revolution’ is a Democratic Revolution, unlike that of the Revolutions sweeping North Africa and elsewhere, which he typified as ‘taking to the streets’ was more PR than a reflection of the Irish People’s genuine concerns for their past, their present and their futures.

Fine Gael  has not been given a majority, and their success is less a mandate, than a vote of no-confidence in Fianna Fail.

This is not successful democracy. Successful Democracy, in 21^st Century terms, is when the will, intent and decisions of the people are expressed in the daily actions of Government, when the people lead the Government.

As we have seen in the past, Irish Political Leadership, be it the ruling parties or the opposition parties, has lacked the courage to hold the Irish State, The Church and Corporations such as Shell to account.

If those who form this next Irish Government do not act so as to demand that accountability, if they do not move forwards in the just and reasonable demands for Restorative Justice from Survivors of Institutional and Clerical abuse, and others who have been oppressed and neglected by successive Irish Governments, such as the people of Corrib Bay, the children who were exposed to Vaccine trials in Institutional settings, the elderly placed in privatised and ill-regulated for-profit ‘care’, tax payers coerced into paying the gambling debts of investment bankers, and many, many more, then what will be left to the Irish People except to take to the streets?

Enda Kenny’s leadership MUST be as a spokesman for the Irish people, and not as a Ruler.

Irish eyes will be watching, very closely.

Kindest regards

Corneilius Crowley

Do what you love, it's Your Gift to Universe

Irish Bishops : Symbolism or Action?

This is a letter I sent out today to Irish and UK Media.

To the Editor,

Regarding the THE CATHOLIC Archbishop of Dublin Diarmuid Martin and the Cardinal Archbishop of Boston Seán O’Malley, who washed the feet of a carefully selected group Survivors of clerical child sex abuse in “an act of humble service” at Dublin’s Pro-Cathedral, this Sunday February 20th.

This is nothing less than a Roman Catholic Version of 'green-washing'; only direct action by the Church to hand over to the Public Prosecutor all abuser priests, all files relating to allegations made by Survivors, all files related to the Churches private canonical 'investigations' (redacted as required to protect the interests of Survivors, subject to their approval), all files related to various private agreements between the Church Officials and State, Health and Welfare Officials, and Police Officials, and to offer up their wealth and resources to help Survivors, and finally and importantly to let Survivors speak out, as freely as required, that and nothing else.

Action is required, not symbolism. Once the action has been complete, let the symbols of that action be created to inspire a future where the rights of the child, as enshrined in the United Nations Convention on The Rights of The Child, are, in material terms, at the very heart of our Society.

Kindest regards

Corneilius

Do what you love, it's Your Gift to Universe

Here's a  video of The Silent Protest by Survivors outside the Catherdral in Dublin, after the Mass...

The Letter was published in the Irish Independent on 27th February 2011... 

Are we a grown-up, responsible people .......... Letter to Irish Media.

Are we a grown-up, responsible people capable of managing ourselves with integrity and intelligence?” is the key.

(this piece was written as a response to some of the more divisive, angry and potentially abusive postings on the net with regard to the current situation in Ireland. I beleive it appplies across the Earth...)

If we are, then we don’t leave it to others – WE get involved, at the local level, and we reject the concept of being ruled, of Governance being in POWER.

We take our responsibilities towards OUR Society seriously.

We find ways to discuss, to... share information, we find ways to avoid squabbling and acting out our anger, wats to utilise that anger so it’s energy is directed towards creativity, we find time to create understanding, empathy and common ground that includes diversity, that finds ways to integrate the diverse as a pool of information and insight towards the goal of managing our country together.

Some might say it’s a lot to ask for. Well it’s not going to be easy, that’s for sure, Not as easy as voting, and sitting back, doing bugger all and handing over taxes as payment for services – we cannot afford to be mere consumers of political ideologies, of our favourite and most liked personal prejudices….

We need to mature.

We need to start and we need to be courageous enough to do this, knowing that while we don’t have all the answers, we can find them, test them and move forwards as a Society.

I am saying that we have to be aware of how our own anger and our vulnerability can be used against us; how we can be triggered by the abusers, who KNOW our vulnerabilities well.. and do exploit them - look at the Redress Board and how they took an adversarial approach to witnesses - that adversarial approach was designed to exploit known vulnerabilities of Survivors, to create hesitation in their statements and thus to sow doubt about their testimony.

Look at how unresolved anger is triggered by propaganda. These processes are known and understood by Power and used to great and unfortunately lethal effect - eg: Afghanistan and Iraq and anti-muslim propganda, or anti-imigrant propganda.

Forgiveness, if it is to occur, can only be on the basis of true remorse on the part of the perpetrators, with reparations and restorative justice actualised, in material terms, and can only be offered by those who suffered as individuals, and is more importantly to be seen as a way of enabling Survivors release themselves from the pain, shame, confusion and anger they feel.

A shorter version of this was also sent out to Irish Media, and was published in the Irish Independent on February 1st 2011.

Kindest regards

Corneilius

Do what you love, it's Your Gift to Universe

Ireland, the World : Litany of Abuse, Litany of Shame : more to come

Ireland, the World : Litany of Abuse, Litany of Shame  

Here are links to on-line copies of the reports thus far from investigations of Institutional Abuse in Residential Schools, clergy abuse in parish's in Ireland.

• Communique At Beginning Of Apostolic Visitation To Ireland
• Vatican Response (12/12/2009)
• Dublin Report - Part 1 (Beginning)
• Dublin Report - Part 1
• Dublin Report - Part 2
• Dublin Report - Appendices
• The Ryan Report (In Totality)
• The Ryan Report - Executive Summary
• Ferns Report (in Totality)
• Ferns Report - Executive Summary
• The Murphy Report Part 1
• The Murphy Report Part 2
• The Murphy Report Chapter 19 Father 'Jovito'

There are  26 dioceses in Ireland, and reports for three have been completed, with two having been released to the public domain. A third has been completed, but has yet to be released. 

   

This is the tip of the iceberg, not just in Irish terms, but also in worldwide terms.. these patterns of abuses have occurred in Canada, United States of America, Germany, Italy, Spain, Belgium, Australia where there are ongoing investigations, and in many, many other countries, in particular those lands colonised by the European powers during the last 400 years.

Strategy

These abuses also include the world-wide 'assimilation' processes of the 19th and 20th Centuries in Colonised lands, aimed at undermining the traditional cultures of the colonised, whereby Native Aboriginal children were taken by force under the juridstiction of Law and placed in Residential Schools, to be educated in the ways of the Colonist.  
 
There is clear evidence, well documented, of legislated processes whereby Aboriginal Children were taken from their families and forced into residential schools, evidence from the USA, Canada, Australia and many, many other places... 

What those children, so many, went through!

Here's a propaganda film from the 1950s in Canda concerning these Residential Schools 


Here's one of the foundational documents outlining the philosophy behind these programs.

What I am describing here amounts to a world wide, and long-term, intergenerational pattern of systemic Institutionalised abuse, with clear political and economic aims, and, subsequently as the facts have been revealed, a world wide pattern of cover-up - an a cover-up that is tactical, mediated, strategic; that reveals a clear intent, and worse a clear understanding of the vulnerabilities of Survivors, vulnerabilities which are exploited to protect the Institutions and individuals involved in abuse, neglect or denial.   

What trauma did those children suffer? What of their families and communities? Why? What of  the Poor, those people who have little, whom nobody wants to be,and  yet so many are, so many?

Tactics

This exploitation of Survivors known vulnerabilities can often re-traumatise, and that in and of itself is a criminal act, in that the exploitation is intentional, mediated, known, understood in terms of it's potential effects. 

There are many cases where questioning by defendants adversarial legal teams and investigators is directed not at the issue, but at the person, in what are attempts to trigger the claimant.  

One example that occurs all too frequently is that survivors of pedophile priests are asked, during cross examination, whether or not the priest in question was circumcised! 

In most cases, this is difficult to determine in an erect penis, especially if the survivor is young, and considering that usually such an assault involves huge amounts of stress..... (a common response in situations like this is for the victim to shut of awareness, to look away, anything to not have to face the full impact of the situation.)

This of course is understood by the defendant legal team, and thus the questioning of this sort is a tactic to try to 'punch holes' in the witness testimony. Any hesitation on the wintesses part could then be used to undermine the reliability of the witness, in the court.

At the very least this is cruelty. It re-traumatises the Surivor. As this video shows clearly. 

It is certainly an utterly repugnant practice, though common in criminal and civil actions in courts all over the world. It is called 'destroying the witness'. 

This pattern of exploitation of claimants vulnerabilities is similar in nature to the approach and methods of errant Corporations and Banks. They use their resources to tie people up in courts, in order to drive the claimants towards 'out of court' settlements which usually demand secrecy or silence on the matter therefater, which block further civillitigation, and criminal prosecution and which the defendant can use to to deny the original charges.

There are examples of this kind of exploitative behaviour from Social Services as well. 

Alternatives

And it doesn't have to be this way. Empathy is not an airy-fairy hippy dippy concept. It certianly can and should be integrated into any process of restorative justice, and can be taught to those involved the the administration of restorative justice (which is the prime responsibility of The State, and should be the primary concern of The Vatican). And it certainly ought to be the bed-rock of ALL social services training. And school-teaching for that matter. Certainly the Police could also benefit from it.

There is NO excuse for the apparant lack of empathy on the part of State or Vatican in this matter. They certainly cannot claim that they are unaware of these dynamics as the professionals and researchers who have helped develope the understandings concerning empathy and restorative justice have communicated, in very clear terms, with the Vatican and most, if not all Justice and Health System Ministeries around the Earth.

Something inspiring to listen to :

Here's a revelatory radio show, from Why Radio at Radio Times : "As the worldwide call for accountability grows louder, we talk about what state and federal governments can do to protect children against sexual abuse by clergy. Our guests are law professor Marci Hamilton and Sister Maureen  Paul Turlish, an educator and victims advocate".

The discussion is amazingly clear, compassionate and honest. Utterly unflinching. Highly reccomended.

Kindest regards

Corneilius

Do what you love, it's Your Gift to Universe

Letter Published Examiner Ireland 24 January 2011

Here's a pdf file of letter published in The Examiner, and Irish Daily Broadsheet, based in Cork, Ireland.

The text is as follows :

THE residential school system story and all that goes with it is a far greater crime than the IMF story.

It is a crime in which the Irish State and the Vatican are equal partners. No party in Ireland at present can say it has dealt with this issue decently, honourably. What is it that stops the Irish people from defending the survivors, from demanding that those who protect the Vatican, who indemnify the Vatican and themselves from civil and criminal liability, be brought to account?

One thing I have noticed is the absolute silence on abuses within the elite fee-paying boarding schools which occurred — I know I was there. I am a survivor.

Ireland and its people need group therapy and fast. Without looking at the psychology, the intergenerational patterns of abuse and their effects, without understanding how the abused are forced to 'adapt'  to a situation where abuse is constant, no future Irish government will do any better.

"The ordinary response to atrocities is to banish them from consciousness. Certain violations of the social compact are too terrible to utter aloud: this is the meaning of the word unspeakable.

Atrocities, however, refuse to be buried. Equally as powerful as the desire to deny atrocities is the conviction that denial does not work. Folk wisdom is filled with ghosts who refuse to rest in their graves until their stories are told."

Remember what Judith Herman wrote: “Remembering and telling the truth about terrible events are prerequisites both for the restoration of the social order and for the healing of individual victims.”

Kindest regards

Corneilius

Do what you love, it's Your Gift to Universe

Let's make this simple.

The UK Government (and others, such as The Irish Government) has tried to draw a comparison between a family running it's household budget and the current Governmental Policies in it's communications to the the people.

Any family that does not look after the welfare of all it's members equally is a dysfunctional family.

So it goes with any given Society

There is nothing more to say on the matter other than  that this dysfunction must be acknowledged and confronted, especially by parents, on behalf of their children.

Indeed, it is the responsibility of an entire Society to do this, and that includes all those who are not parents.

So the question is simple.

Whose side are you on? 

Who are you 'with'? 

The rest follows. 

The same psychology that generates abuse within families, within Istitutions, is at the root of the question of Power, and Power Relationships. It lies at the very core of the System we have been born into.

It is THE REAL ISSUE = all the single issues are symptoms of that socio-pathic dysfunctionality as it is expressed in material terms...

Kindest regards

Corneilius

Do what you love, it's Your Gift to Universe