Comments on: Are you Paying off the Catholic Church's Child Abuse Debts?

By: Leo

Leo — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 01:19:34 +0000

Now the whole country is seeing what the catholic clergy really are, what the Murphy report identified as their consistent characteristic: they are underhand and overbearing.
Their sneaky bully culture is everywhere in evidence. As is fitting, the chief wizard is now also revealed as a sneaky bully. This is the culture of every school they "own".
The Minister for Education and Science allows her public servants, teachers, to be interviewed and appointed, hired and fired, stifled or promoted by sneaky bullies who live on backhanders, priests. The implications for education are dire. No wonder a Leaving Cert is now as hollow as a Bank of Ireland share.

By: norma

norma — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 00:39:22 +0000

I had reason recently to carry out a bit of research into the " Good Shepherd " group, Those " Brides of Christ " who came to Ireland to rescue " fallen women " strange their interpretation of "rescue " , I digress.
I discovered that they had a property portfolio valued at 14.9 million, They were a relatively very small group, Can't even imagine what the portfolio of RC group is worth.

By: Mairead

Mairead — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 20:48:12 +0000

BFH, you would probably be shocked at the property the church actually owns!
For example, when a new school is built the locals sometimes want to turn the old school into a community centre.
Problem – the Patron owns it.
Often, the locals do all the work, put in all the money and work to build a spanking new community centre or a sports hall instead of the tumbled down old school, and guess what?
They don't own it.
The Bishop owns it, having put zero into the re-building.
The local community have to lease it from the Bishop (IF he will agree to that!!!), and often it's only for 25 years or so.
Now, 25 years wouldn't be long in passing, and it all reverts back then and the Bishop can sell it out from under the locals, who think they own it because they paid for it (fundraised) and built it.
That's what happened first day with schools – local farmers donated the land, locals did the building and now? The locals have no rights, the Bishop owns it outright.
It's one thing to have a school whipped from you in 1850, but in 2010?

By: Bock

Bock — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 13:17:18 +0000

BFH — There's a constitutional prohibition on the State endowing any individual religion. Imagine that!

By: Kae

Kae — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 13:04:30 +0000

@Builderfromhell – in the case of the car-park, I think you could have stopped it by submitting a complaint when it was still undergoing planning permission.

By: Builderfromhell

Builderfromhell — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 12:53:04 +0000

It occured to me while driving past Lelia church in Ballynanty that they recently got a new car park. This was built on what used to be a green area adjacent the church. The land is not owned by the church and presumably is owned by the Council (the people of Limerick).
It is reasonable to presume the Council paid for the extensive work to provide this tarmacadamed car park.

I never gave this any thought until I read the above. The council paying for a car park to a public amenity makes sense. For example parking outside a chool or health centre. But I'm not sure a church should fall under this category.

Nancy blakes when they have good music is a public amenity for me. The Milk market on saturday is an amnenity for me. If the council can give land and pay for the construction of parking space for the church, which most of us don't attend, then using the same logic, shouldn't they pay for parking to other venues which arguably provide more spritual upliftment.

By: Mairead

Mairead — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 17:56:47 +0000

Yes, it does stink, Leo.
I have to say though that there are more and more teachers who are sick of this carry on.
They feel unable to speak out though, because it would mean risking their jobs.
Also, there is a very high degree of bullying in our education system – of the adults!!!
It's crazy.
I have spoken up as much as I can, but no member of the staff would be happy if I brought "attention" to our school…..
We were "trained" in "training colleges" (!!!) to do as we are told.
How can we produce thinkers, when we can't think for ourselves?
Root and branch changes are needed.

By: Leo

Leo — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 00:58:02 +0000

" … if they are good, obedient boys and girls." Yes Máiréad.
If you want a job as a teacher, if you want a transfer to another school, or a promotion, you have to entertain these guys. You feed them in your house and shove a few quid in their pockets. You never miss mass with its collection plate. You pay adequate dues to the support of your pastor in the appropriate envelope.
It's catholic freemasonry. It's Irish corruption. It's all laid down in the rules and circulars of the Department of Education and Science. They have you by the ethos.
If you don't keep up these gestures of homage, your career goes nowhere and difficulties are pushed in your way by these "christians."
Perhaps the most ironic of the pontiff's titles is "servus servorum dei." Now the pope is not the servant of the servants of god, but it aptly describes the lot of the teacher. The Irish state hands you over as a chattle, to do the bidding of priests. And to cough up money over and over again to keep them sweet.
And dare anyone ask them where it goes!
Then the schools are topheavy with loyalist staff. They rise by promotions and in the unions. They sit on school boards. All the relevant agencies are tainted in this way. A little empire dominates by mind control and omerta.
It stinks.

By: Mairead

Mairead — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 19:12:26 +0000

You have made some very important points here, Leo.
Thank you for taking the time to do that.
Schools are supposed to keep accounts, and a aelection are supposed to be audited.
I wonder, are they?
Every grant received has a specific purpose.
I have never heard of a Diocesan Contribution grant.
There isn't one.

As you say, that's only the money.
It is scary to think of the power that the Catholic church have over education.
They have absolute power, because they employ the teachers, principals and all staff and promote them if they are good, obedient boys and girls.
The very fact that the dioceses can issue a letter asking for money from cash-strapped schools shows this power too. It is taking money that rightfully belongs to children… but we've seen what they think of children.

By: Leo

Leo — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 23:58:24 +0000

The catholic church, through the priests and nuns who chair boards of management, handles millions in school moneys. I never see any accounts. What would you expect to happen to these moneys in the hands of mental reservationists?
The catholic clergy are professional scroungers. Money is slipped to them at weddings, funerals and horse races. They are the ultimate envelope men. Priestly visits to the sick and elderly increase on dole days. They are a moral and financial black hole. This scrounging is widely accepted as good and proper.
But that's only the money. What's much more damaging is the fact that they appoint and promote teachers. The board of management of any catholic primary school is chaired and controlled by a cleric. The boards are stacked with selected parents and bishop's appointees. They're not going to appoint anyone who will rock the boat. Boards also have a so-called teacher representative, but once on the board, their role is not to represent the teachers. In fact, they are subject to conditions of confidentiality that can prevent them from informing teachers of matters discussed at the board meetings.
These school boards of management are a mask of democracy hiding the faces of despots.
These boards do not appoint teachers for their abilities and suitability to teaching, but for their loyalism to the church.
They do not promote teachers to higher posts on any other basis than religious loyalism. Any priest managing a catholic primary school would prefer to give the principalship to a devout orangutan than to an agnostic superteacher.
So the schools stay cramped and fearful and mean spirited and medieval, and the children lose out, even the ones who are only there because this abject state has failed to provide them with a state school.
One way to show church loyalism is by means of a hefty donation.
How can men who live by accepting gifts of money be allowed to appoint and promote public servants?