Pedophile priest Tony Walsh face is slashed in jail

I was VERY upset to find out today that this man was a student of mine on a course in 2009. I didn't recognize him at the time, but has attended the school I teach in for a period of 2 years, and would have been able to mingle freely with other students, some of whoare under the legal age of consent. Since the Murphy Report came out in 2009, I don't know how this situation could have been allowed to happen. To add insult to injury I was told to write a reference for Tony Walsh, and did so without being given any clues as to what sort of person he was known to be, or any option to opt out of writing it. I probably helped that swine to get a shorter sentence, because of my glowing reference which pointed out what a 'trustworthy and reliable' person he is. I am very annoyed at the school authorities who put me in that position, and will never again write a character reference for any student.

SingleDonald - sin seperates us from a Holy God - it doesn't matter whether it's sexual fantasy or committing an act outright; both violate God's moral law. If you believe the Scriptures, you will find that God is yes, a God of love and mercy, but he is also a God of justice. And, His justice requires Him to punish sin, however insignificant WE may believe that it is. He sent His Son as a penal substitute for sinners - the righteous for the unrighteous. If you want to quote Scripture, take a look at James 2:10 - "For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become accountable for all of it." You cannot keep the law because you are a sinner and God WILL judge you for ALL sins you committ, unless you repent and turn to His Christ, who is the ONLY one who is able to make you clean.

Sorry, 2BorNot2B, but Jesus Christ NEVER promoted coverups in His Church! The "Dark Ages" were "Dark" because men, like Augustine, promoted their own ideas, like Purgatory and Limbo, instead of the Word of God, which always leads to liberation, through TRUTH. During the same period, the sanctity of the clergy was elevated, beyond sanity. Why could the Church get away with doing so .......... because the majority of the populace was uneducated, and could be told to believe anything, or risk the pains of Hell for not doing so. The Roman Catholic Church is finally reaping centuries of Her unspeakable sins. It would take centuries for them all to be revealed, but what most of us have learned has sickened us for life, so much so the billions have left the Church and found their need for discovering Christ and His holy Word, in other denominations. Here's a prophecy for you......... More and more will wake up and LEAVE!

@SingleDonald -- I think you're letting your hormones (or do we call them 'hornyones'?) run away with your ability to reason. -- Where exactly did you learn that the CC took its mores from the Dark Ages? --- You might be in dire need of a refresher course on where the Church came from, and where it took its theology and teachings from. -- Unfortunately for you, the teachings were handed down by Jesus Himself,the Church has no authority to change them; and while you may scrutinize and endorse away while growing into adulthood which of those teachings you like, find convenient or practicable.. to think that what Jesus said may be accommodated to suit the likes or dislikes of any individual on any particular epoch is to have a shallow and impossibly superficial knowledge of the faith. --- No one forces you to believe, but to think that for instance I can choose to be a communist and yet decide it's OK to play the stock market and enrich myself, is to be deluded. -- The Catholic Church took its teachings from the bible. It would be a poor excuse of a religion if it were to change its theology to suit convenience and the demands of those who cannot accept them. -- It would be called protestantism if it did so.

The Church may take some of its mores from the Dark Ages, but its members scrutinize dogma they were taught in Catholic Schools. Some things are wholeheartedly endorsed, as we grow into adulthood. Other things, like the demonizing of sexual fantasies, are nearly universally rejected. Human beings, be they male or female, don't accept a god who keeps a scorecard on our thoughts, to the point of saying that anything sexual, prior to marriage, is a "mortal sin". We all follow our hearts & common sense to do what is right, in this world. That is what any just & benevolent God should accept. So should the Church. Lines outside the confessionals are shorter now. I have previously explained why: Modern Catholics happily don't feel so guilt ridden after looking at Playboy/Playgirl, or imagining a close encounter with Jennifer Aniston/Brad Pitt. They are concerned with far more important things than that hogwash.

@SingleDonald -- Sorry you choose to brand me as a 'fundamentalist' because I happen to read the bible and have what I would consider an 'adequate' knowledge of my faith, something which, in view of the words you've posted here, seems you could use a good dose of. -- You know, the Church did not take its theology and mores from the prevailing winds in the culture, from pundits advising it on what type of behaviors would be more acceptable to 'the folks' in order to appeal to all, and not 'lose' the more adventuresome-in thought, the lazy and less inclined to learn why, or what we believe, or the more progressive-thinking ones. -- Hate to break it to you, but it has NEVER been a matter of 'what we were taught as kids.' The Church started first, with Christ's intent to build ONE CHURCH, and His command to 'go preach to all nations,' and then with the words of the bible itself which dictated what we MUST believe if we are to call ourselves 'Christian/Catholic.' -- It was the Cath Church that gave the bible to the world some 17 centuries ago. In her 2000 years o existence she has taught ONLY the words Jesus gave her, she has spoken with one voice and one theology, she has NEVER wavered despite attacks from within and without... cont'd

To Niall & Others, I wish to offer a mild disclaimer, concerning my last 2 comments directed at 2BorNot2B. I do go to church regularly, but sometimes get agitated when I come across a fundamentalist position. This position, which holds that any transgressions, or even non transgressions (such as sexual fantasies) are "damnable offenses", unless we beg God's forgiveness, drives me crazy! As most know, there are dozens of ways to interpret the Bible. I believe that it is wrong for men to harbor rape fantasies, against women. However, the notion that any thought, involving mutual pleasure with a woman is a "serious sin" is just not acceptable. The same would apply to close dancing, necking, petting, or even pre marital sex, as I believe most would now agree. Having run to confession frequently, as a teenager, hardened me to the old fashioned way of looking at human sexuality, considering all the guilt it brought about. I will try to "cool it" from here on in, about challenging Christ, on this board. I only hope most people accept my position that some of what we were taught as kids was completely off the wall!

Reserved Sin?? I first learned of this term on this website. Knowing what we now do, I think it would have been an honor to have slugged, or kicked a pedophile priest, while being abused. Then, the victim could have said, "Reserved sin?-I'm so proud! It is YOU who are headed for Hell, not me, unless you change your ways!"

I have no sympathy for the man; even if he had been murdered. What he did is so disgusting- it makes me feel sick to my stomach-reading even one more report of abuse. These evil men have dealt a death blow to the Catholic Church from which it is unlikely to recover while destroying the lives of thousand and thousands of children and their families all over the world.

Ah. Life in prison for child molesters = pain.

(Continued)2BorNot2B, You spoke of the All Powerful God. Well, I can't believe that a just God would be an ego maniacal control freak, who holds that any deviation from his (note the lower case pronouns)autocratic stances should entitle people to "eternal damnation". That is not "free will", it is cosmic blackmail! This autocratic "god" does NOT love humanity, he is merely using mankind as his pawns, to suit his egomania! I would LOVE to question Jesus,about Matthew 5:28. I would ask Him if he really meant that, for me to fantasize about a close encounter with Jennifer Aniston, or a woman to do the same about Brad Pitt, that we would face "eternal damnation", unless we begged His forgiveness? If he answered that it was, I would call him an ego maniacal control freak, who was not worthy of my respect, let alone my adoration. I would then declare my permanent non compliance, and lack of repentance, for "violating" Matthew 5:28, and boldly challenge him to make good his threat, concerning me!! I firmly believe he would have NO POWER to send me to "hell", as I have lead a decent life.

2BorNot2B, Yes, I too learned the conditions of forgiveness. There comes a time, usually during the teen years, that the Church's ridiculous stance on all things sexual, outside of marriage, are "mortal sins", is to be considered to be purely fiction. So too is a literal interpretation of Matthew, 5:28, concerning the normal "lusting" for women. Presumably, this "prohibition" includes women "lusting" for men, as well. So what does a literal interpretation of the scriptures lead to? I'll tell you: guilt, self mortification, and denial of a natural human desire. It may also lead to, as it did in earlier days, a desire for premature marriages. In the desire to experience sex, free of "sin", men & women often hurried into marriages that were ill advised. In some cases, this type of repression could have lead to pedophilia. I read one theory that pedophilia is caused by people having repressed their sexuality, at an early age. They therefore seek out those who were their contemporaries, at a time when this repression began. This is hardly condonable, but it is all the more reason to allow priest to date & marry. To be continued

Nobody can imagine the horrors what these children suffered if they were not in that position themselves. How could these people justify what they did with the teaching that they had. I know you are supposed to forgive sinners but this kind of stuff can't be forgiven, it is just to horrendous. (cuculin) when I read about your father and that he had gone on to have a family and live a good life in the face of what he had suffered i'm sure it gives hope to people who have suffered the same thing. I am glad he had you in his life and hopefully it made up for some of the horrors he suffered.

To bad the church left the dirty work to others who are already incarcerated for crimes. They covered for this perv for decades. Talk about the worst form of nepotism, deceit and scandal. Now it's up to another "lost soul" to complete what the church should have done to begin with.

To bad the attacker missed his throat.