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Irish groups slam Pope Benedict statement on child sex abuse as 'charade'

By
KELLY FINCHAM,
IrishCentral.com Editor
Published Tuesday, February 16, 2010, 3:53 PM
Updated Friday, February 19, 2010, 3:30 PM

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Charade: Christine Buckley dismayed at Pope Benedict's statement
Charade: Christine Buckley dismayed at Pope Benedict's statement


Irish groups have reacted angrily to the statement from Pope Benedict XVI on the Irish child sex abuse scandals.

Christine Buckley, who was raised in the infamous St. Vincent's Industrial School at  Goldenbridge said she was “dismayed” by the statement which she called “a charade.”

Christine Buckley almost single-handedly dragged the darkest secrets of the Irish church out into the open.

In February 1996, a documentary called "Dear Daughter," exploded onto Irish television screens.

It told the story of St. Vincent's Industrial School, Goldenbridge where children were forced to work for their keep.

From the 1940s and 1960s, children made rosary beads according to a strict quota, 60 decades a day during the week and 90 decades on Saturdays.

One of those children was Christine Buckley.

Today, she says the church has failed her - again.

Psychotherapist Maeve Lewis who directs an Irish support group called One in Four said the Vatican should have addressed the role the Irish church played in covering up the crimes.

Lewis said her group was appalled that “the Vatican has accepted no responsibility for its role in facilitating the sexual abuse of children."

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4 Comments

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manhattan | Feb 17, 2010, 03:25 PM EST
Why am I not surprised? What did the vatican ever do to help the Irish there most loyal subjects. I often wondered what did they do to help the starving people during the famine? Did they send ship loads of food and medical supplies? I think they might have said "offer it up".

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Spiritranger | Feb 17, 2010, 11:59 AM EST
The Catholic Church in the USA has never allowed the secular authorities to prosecute these pedophiles to the fullest extent of the law. Protestant, Mormon and Jewish clergy could never get away with these acts the way some priests have. It helps that the FBI is predominantly Catholic. Catholic theology puts Catholic clergy above secular law. This is the real problem that has led to a culture of abuse and perversion in the church. And my Bible still tells me that a Bishop is the husband of one wife (I Timothy 3:2) -- a married clergy would be more "normal" and more Biblically spiritual than the current celibate priest system.

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kickstar | Feb 17, 2010, 03:13 AM EST
Yep but youse keep putting money on the plate thus funding the abuse over and over again.

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KathyCallahan | Feb 16, 2010, 05:30 PM EST
Maeve Lewis is accurate in her assessment... The way in which the Vatican leaders are handling this phase of the pedophile scandal reveals the true nature of the beast and how it was fed and cared for decades on end...And all to the detriment of children, teenagers and adult victims through today.

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