IRELAND
Irish Independent
Tuesday January 17 2012
THE late Mary Raftery was rightly a much respected and much loved journalist. And what follows is certainly not criticism of her or her achievements, but of our Great Single Narrative.
Once upon a time, the Great Single Narrative of Ireland was largely provided by the Catholic Church.
Now it comes from the new clergy in the secular media. In this current GSN, the hapless Irish people were oppressed by a sadistic caste of sexually depraved priests, who raped, brutalised and violated children at their ease, immune to all legal consequence.
As with all successful GSNs, there is sufficient truth in these allegations to sustain the myth. But within the culture that has emerged around this GSN, virtually all memory of the selflessness and dedication of scores of thousands of priests, brothers and nuns down the centuries has vanished.
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