Ten
days ago the Association of Catholic Priests in Ireland has said that Priests
who abused children should be forgiven for past “mistakes” and allowed return
to ministries where they have authority over minors. They also claimed priests
who show “no pattern of re-offending” must be given “mercy”.
Fr Flannery
“Many
older priests are excluded because of a mistake or mistakes they made in their
earlier life, and where there was no pattern of re-offending. We questioned the
justice of this, and the witness from a church, one of whose core teachings is
mercy and forgiveness,” wrote the association, which represents 25% of priests.
The
group’s spokesman, Fr Tony Flannery, also suggested audits of child protection
standards in dioceses are potentially mistreating priests and bishops — not
protecting children from harm.
So,
have these priests learned anything, calling the abuse of children as
“mistakes.” Fr Flannery claimed too that it was “inevitable” for people
entering the seminary to be “attracted to teenagers.”
When
I heard this mans statement what I write here cannot describe how disturbing
this is and how, despite cover-ups and denials by the church, this reflects the
underlining problem of how they, the association of Catholic priests, really
feel about children. In fact it is not about children at all but what these
priests want in their sick lives under the guise of mercy and forgiveness, and
of which this church showed little of it to their victims.
It
also shows no matter what utterances that come from the association of Catholic
priests in Ireland, vigilance has to be the byword for parents and guardians of
children everywhere. If we don’t remember the words of Flannery we will be
forced to when they or their ilk strike again. To forgive is one thing but to
beware is the better action that binds with it
By Barry Clifford
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