The Catholic Church needs to repent for brutalizing Irish society
Emer O'Kelly: Irish society must ensure State delivers compensation to survivors
Published Tuesday, February 26, 2013, 7:41 AM
Updated Tuesday, February 26, 2013, 7:41 AM
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Irish society should feel guilty for perpetuating a system that allowed for women to be sent to Magdalene Laundries
Photo by Press.tv
“The women in the laundries had their identities denied: given new names, or merely numbers, never to be addressed as they had been in the world.
“The women were forbidden to speak while at work; and work lasted from the early morning Mass …until they retired, exhausted, malnourished and blue with cold.
“Their slave labor contributed to the coffers of Church and State. And they suffered incessant humiliation and punishment for their very existence.”
O’Reilly states that we are all culpable for our inaction to allow such things to occur.
“We fail to get down on our collective knees and say to those we have hurt and betrayed that every element of Irish society is almost equally guilty: none of us has a right to wash our hands of our history.
“That is why the religious orders are, in my opinion, far more blameworthy than the State itself, or even the families who committed their sisters and daughters, or allowed the church to do so on their behalf.”
O’Reilly concluded that the Irish population must ensure that Magdalene Survivors get adequate compensation.
“We, the people, who are the State, must ensure reparation is made by those responsible for what our society became: the weapon of malignant oppression of the women for whom the Taoiseach wept last Tuesday.”
Read more: Irish leader Enda Kenny issues state apology to Magdalene Laundries survivors - VIDEO
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, Irish Politics
, Irish government
, Vatican
, Irish Catholic Church
, Irish Catholic Priest
34 Comments
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anglo-norman | Mar 01, 2013, 10:55 PM EST
misswhisp-Were you there when he performed these so-called miracles?
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aloistmartin | Mar 01, 2013, 10:08 PM EST
" When the truth is is that youse hang onto the notion that youse belong to the imbred Royal Family of England,A family so steeped in mass murder an child abuse i begs the question,How are the unionists to society super leaders,When your people find it so hard to let go of the Royal aprin strings of the past,Those very aprin strings that helped your people try an turn the catholics into second class citizens??honestly you should look at your own peoples past before you look at mine,Lets face facts here the Royals have used your people just to cause division in my country,Now they are finished with youse as your role is coming to an end,An as for the unionists running the show,will ye come on,for godsake sure the unionists will be in the minority in the north in the not to distant future,Youse should jion a UI an become irish citizens an loose all your superiority complex about been better than other people,Because i tell you one thing youse are not better ... The Catholic Church needs to repent for continuosly brutilizing youg innocent children " ... ? Peace, Prosperity, and Reform ? Doh !
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falconflash | Mar 01, 2013, 07:59 PM EST
Want money? Get a job.
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IrelandNorth | Mar 01, 2013, 02:59 PM EST
RTÉ's new breakfast time TV programme "First Edition" had Niall Meehan of the Survivors Group of the Anglican run Bethany House Mother & Child Home in Rathgar, Dublin 6. He was left there as a child of 18 months in 1960. Fostered out to abusive parents, and left for England at 18 yrs with IR£10 in his pocket. He's now 71, and wrote two books about the subject. He made a very well argued case for inclusion of Bethany Hse in the Magdalen Launderies compo. Affably pugnacious, he protested that just because he's Protestant doesn't make him any less of an Irish nationalist.
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ancavker | Mar 01, 2013, 10:55 AM EST
Falls: That could be true regarding the Church replacing ENgland as parent. I am curious though what occurred prior to independence in realation to unwed Mothers and all of that? Was the church just as harsh at that time? I don't think the English authorities cared one way or the other, as long as the church kept the Irish people in line etc.
I am trying to conduct some research on this topic but having little luck in my endeavors.
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ancavker | Mar 01, 2013, 10:51 AM EST
Falls: I really do not see any differences north vs south culture wise, leaving the religion thing out of it of course, and the football thing with Celtics being popular in the six counties. I do see a sense though that many Irish who are/were nationalist in outlook don't really care about the south one way or the other, yet still very much regard themselves as Irish regardless of partition.
I live in the U.S. now, but I am hoem evey year, sometimes twice a year, and we hail from northwest Cavan, and southwest Fermanagh, we are all Irish, and always have been and always will be. Ironically enough it is in these areas where much of what is left of Irish culture is still celebrated.
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FallsRNat | Feb 28, 2013, 07:49 PM EST
awoken - i talked about northerners per se, i didn't mention the religious identity of the people as i was being inclusive of the total society. It is a fact that northerners & southerners in Ireland, just like England & North/South Europe have differences in their cultures, if you can't recognise that then you don't come from ireland.
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misneac | Feb 28, 2013, 07:44 PM EST
Who would pay any attention to what that bitter and bigoted harridan Emer OKelly would write ? For years in the "Sunday Independent " she has been conducting an ill informed ,biased ,malacious and libellious campaign .We sure are a tolerant nation . What Church really brutalized the Irish people ? Dont answer ,it would not be politically correct !!!!!
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IrelandNorth | Feb 28, 2013, 02:35 PM EST
Blame it all on the Council of Nicea, 380 and Papal Bull Laudibiliter, 1169. Adrian IV's fist in the chain mail of Henry II. Until the gloves came off due to that infernal German Augustinian monk, spoiling a good money-spinning racket. But if the Ulstermen would end up running the Island, why not vote for a Untied Ireland post haste.
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seamus60 | Feb 28, 2013, 12:55 PM EST
Misswhisp. Come on spill the beans, what did St Patrick get up to ?
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Smyrnian | Feb 28, 2013, 11:37 AM EST
Awoken - both statements are true.
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awoken32 | Feb 28, 2013, 09:31 AM EST
@FALLSRNAT Your comment make out that the unionists are an independat an brilliant people,When the truth is is that youse hang onto the notion that youse belong to the imbred Royal Family of England,A family so steeped in mass murder an child abuse i begs the question,How are the unionists to society super leaders,When your people find it so hard to let go of the Royal aprin strings of the past,Those very aprin strings that helped your people try an turn the catholics into second class citizens??honestly you should look at your own peoples past before you look at mine,Lets face facts here the Royals have used your people just to cause division in my country,Now they are finished with youse as your role is coming to an end,An as for the unionists running the show,will ye come on,for godsake sure the unionists will be in the minority in the north in the not to distant future,Youse should jion a UI an become irish citizens an loose all your superiority complex about been better than other people,Because i tell you one thing youse are not better
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awoken32 | Feb 28, 2013, 09:14 AM EST
An were in the world are you from anglo-norman?
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awoken32 | Feb 28, 2013, 09:11 AM EST
Smyrian The Catholic Church needs to repent for continuosly brutilizing youg innocent children
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