The Fifth Biggest Landowners In Ireland

Catholic Bishop of Dromore, John Mc Areavey, has said it would be helpful if resources, ie money offered by religious orders to help pay the redress bill for survivors of institutional abuse, could be released instead to help aslyum seekers. He desribed the latter’s experience as “hugely oppressive and stressful” liking it to the childrens Industrial and reformatories prisons of the past. Of course it is always about the money, the church’s money, and one more grasp to try and claim the moral ground for their crimes against the crimes that forced aslyum seekers to come here.   

It is not a question that the church should give money to help their new public relations project, the aslum seekers, but to give a portion of money already agreed to be given to institutional victims to others is a crime against them yet again. Less is indeed more for someone else and there is nothing cheaper than free if the religious can get away with it, an ideology that has proved to be stronger than religion itself.

Let us look at what they have given over so far in the round. An average of €66,000 was paid out to Industrial/Reformatory victims and most of that  meagre compensation came from the Government and not the religious. Hence the latest compensation package that was pulled from them kicking and screaming at the injustice of it all was a hopeful €110 million. I say that word hopeful with extreme caution as it will be very doubtful that most victims will see the latest compensation monies for they are now feeble and long broken in health if not already dead from the lives they suffered under the yolk of the religious autracy that ruled the Irish State for most of its existance, and still rule the basic foundations of it today for they own most of the schools and hospitals.

An average of 11,000 people still breathe today that went through the Industrial/ Reformatory prisons run in tandem with the government and religious orders. Divided equally, €110 million would translate to €10,000 each victim. Before anyone can drill into those numbers, the middle men in Government will have taken their share, then there is the staff and expenses, and so the money evaporates into the ether quickly. It is an open secret that all the money will be gone within 3 years of Caranua’s existence, the Government body responsible for paying out compensation, at a rate of over €36 million per year. The rate of monies paid out for basic health and living needs is already starting to slow badly after just 8 months. Victims themselves had found that optimistic in any case as been victimized all their lives has long made them natural pessimistics.  

One order of nuns that parted very reluctantly monies toward its victims are the fifth biggest landowners in Ireland. They also refuse any compensation towards the Magdalene laundries, who in an ironic twist are not part of this latest compensation package. 

When will victims stop been treated like aslyum seekers as it is indeed “hugely oppressive and stressful” and not be reduced to the indignities of begging again. This condition can only be changed by selling rich assets the religious  gained with legal slavery masked by the perception of care giver. 

This is the only time and last chance for the religious to prove worthy of the vocation and vows of care giver that they once took for heaven or hell comes to us all in the end and is their only reality.

Barry Clifford