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	Church a 'Disgrace', Says Anxious Priest By Claire O'Keeffe Irish Independent May 24, 2009 http://www.independent.ie/national-news/church-a-disgrace-says-anxious-priest-1749285.html A prominent priest and sociologist believes that the Irish church is a "disgrace" and has not expressed proper regret at last week's revelations in the Ryan Report. "It's just a continuation of the head-down attitude that so many have adopted in the clergy," says Fr Gearoid O Donnchadha from Fenit, Co Kerry. "It's no bigger than any of the other scandals that have happened before and I don't think the revelations of the Ryan Report have changed things so much. We're a disgrace," he says. "The handling of this down through the years has been disgraceful and the ordinary lay folk have been extraordinarily patient." Fr O Donnchadha is aware of the Catholic Church's crimes and of the many abuses some of the nuns and priests of Ireland have inflicted on the nation's children. He is also aware that his local parish and congregation have been remarkably supportive of him and his colleagues. "I don't understand why people don't throw things at me. The only comments I've received about the report have been supportive and sympathetic ones. "I find it remarkable that so many of us are doing these terrible things and people are being so nice about it. They can distinguish between the majority who are doing good I think. "For example, we had the 150th anniversary of the consecration of the local church yesterday -- and it was packed out. There were eight to 10 priests there and the entire congregation was supportive and sympathetic and very respectful." Steps are being taken now by a shaken Church to try to prevent these abuses from happening again and, although 'too little, too late' comes to mind, Fr O Donnchadha is well aware of how the Church's deviants have impacted on the religious as a whole. "If I find myself alone with an altar-server, I must find a 'responsible adult' and then go and write down the situation by which I found myself alone with the child into a logbook. Circumstances, resulting from the abuse, called for these actions." Fr O Donnchadha is not afraid for his safety and doesn't believe he has cause to be fearful in the future, but he does believe the perpetrators of abuse should be named. "I do think the names of the offending priests and nuns should be published. I think even the biggest thugs should be given a chance though, and the names should be published only if one could ensure that people's lives were protected." Former philosophy lecturer at University College Cork, Rev Dr James Good, acknowledges the hurt, and pain and feels regret for those who have been targeted by their abusers. "The abusers should be punished by someone," he says. But Fr Good expresses a wish to see the Government take responsibility for what happened in state-owned institutions. "The institutions where these abuses happened were owned by the State and were a part of state affairs. The Government should take responsibility in the same way that an employer would. "The clergy in these industrial schools were mere workers, so it's the Government's responsibility to pay compensation to the victims of abuse, as well as the Church." Fr Good also reiterated the fact that the entire procedure for progressing the children through state institutions was undertaken under ministerial orders.
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