Pope Francis' visit to Ireland provided ‘powerful moment' for abuse survivors
The visit of Pope Francis to Ireland seven years ago was said to have offered a 'powerful' opportunity for survivors of clerical abuse to gather in solidarity and highlight scandals.
Despite being praised for an 'important' letter to US bishops in February which called on them to resist 'narratives that discriminate' against refugees, the Pope's address given in Dublin on clerical abuse scandals was called 'disappointing' by one abuse survivor.
The pontiff visited Ireland for two days in August 2018, which included a visit to Knock shrine in Co Mayo, a meeting with victims of clerical abuse, and a visit to a homeless centre run by the Capuchin Fathers.
The visit culminated in an open air Sunday Mass in Dublin's Phoenix Park, where pilgrims' attendance was a fraction of the million people who greeted Pope John Paul II at the same spot in 1979.
Pope Francis arrives to attend the closing Mass at the World Meeting of Families at Phoenix Park in Dublin, as part of his visit to Ireland (PA)
The legacy of church abuse cast a long shadow over the Pope's Irish visit, during which he addressed a litany of crimes by its institutions and members.
During the Phoenix Park Mass, he asked for 'forgiveness for the abuses in Ireland' and for 'pardon for all the abuses committed in various types of institutions'.
The visit prompted several demonstrations, including at a mass grave of infants at a former home for unmarried mothers in Co Galway, and at the Garden of Remembrances in Dublin.
Colm O'Gorman, a survivor of clerical abuse and the former head of Amnesty International Ireland, organised the rally at the Garden of Remembrance to coincide with the Phoenix Park Mass.
He said that it was initially dismissed that the Pope would address a series of abuse and mistreatment scandals by the Catholic Church, which he said would have been 'completely unacceptable'.
'People were contacting me saying it's really upsetting to think that that's all happening and there's no space for this to be acknowledged,' he told the PA news agency.
'This was not about protest, it's just about standing in solidarity with people who have been impacted or hurt in this way. And we ended up with 15,000 or 20,000 people at the event, which was powerful.'
The Stand4Truth rally took place outside a former Magdalene laundry in Dublin as part of the demonstrations against clerical sex abuse to coincide with the visit to Ireland by Pope Francis (Aaron Chown/PA)
He said the final part of the event involved a silent walk from Parnell Square to Sean McDermott Street, the site of the last Magdalene Laundry to close.
The notorious laundry institutions run by Catholic religious orders effectively incarcerated thousands of young women and forced them to work under harsh conditions.
Mr O'Gorman described the silent walk as an 'extraordinary' show of 'powerful solidarity and purpose'.
'I'll never forget that silent walk, it was just incredibly powerful. Walking down O'Connell Street and turning left to head up towards Sean McDermott Street. And I was walking by, there was a hotel there at the time, and I heard the clink of somebody's spoon going into a coffee cup.'
He said that during the Pope's visit to Dublin in 2018, there were 'massive gaps in the crowd', and that there were sections along the route that the Popemobile travelled where there was 'nobody lining the route'.
'He belted along there at a fair old pace, I think, as a result. That was an early indication of the wider response to the visit. Not that people were disinterested, but people were certainly not out there waving flags in the ways that might have been anticipated.'
An aerial view of the crowd at Phoenix Park in Dublin during the Papal Mass (Liam McBurney/PA)
He said that while he does not agree with Francis' stance on social issues, he said he has 'enormous regard' for his empathy towards refugees and migrants, and said he his stance on women's rights and LGBT+ issues were 'open and non-judgmental'.
'He called time on vitriolic, nasty marginalising approaches that have typified the response of the institutional church on these issues to these communities before now,' he said.
A more liberal approach to social issues emphasised why his response to clerical abuse in Ireland was 'such a disappointment', according to Mr O'Gorman.
'Back to the beginning of his papacy, he's been exceptionally strong and good on issues relating to refugees and migrants.
'I can remember back in the early days of his of his papacy, him saying that every Roman Catholic parish should be welcoming and receiving a family of refugees.
'So to say we're aligned on that particular approach would be an understatement.
Pope Francis leaving on an Aer Lingus aircraft from Dublin Airport back to the Vatican putting an end to his visit to Ireland (Joe Giddens/PA)
'To have him position that so powerfully at the very, very beginning of his papacy was really important.
'He's also visited prisons and washed the feet of prisoners, he's visited refugee detention centres and camps.
'He's made really powerful, important statements on on the dignity and the rights of refugees and of migrants, and I think he's been phenomenal in that respect.'
He added: 'That dishonesty in relation to the history of abuse here in Ireland when he was coming here was such a disappointment, and the suggestion that he simply wasn't in any way going to deal with that issue when he was here was just deeply, deeply frustrating.
'I have yet to see a papal apology for abuse anywhere, and it's always very frustrating when the statements that various Popes have made over the years are presented as an apology.
'What popes generally do – and that includes, sadly, Pope Francis – is they speak of their regret and sadness, or sorrow at the hurt caused to so many people. That's not an apology. It's an expression of sorrow.
'No Pope has ever done that (apologised). The Vatican has never, ever, ever acknowledged its central role in not just permitting these cover ups to happen, but in directing these cover ups.'
Read More
Pope Francis dies at age of 88, Vatican announces
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Irish Independent
4 hours ago
- Irish Independent
Irish TV tax break gets green light from Europe
RTÉ could be a major beneficiary of the €211m scheme, with The Late Late Show among the programmes that should qualify. The commission examined the plan, announced by minister Jack Chambers in last year's Budget, under EU state-aid rules. The aim is to promote the production of unscripted audiovisual programmes with either Irish or European cultural content. The measure will be introduced for a four-year period, backdated to last December and running until December 31, 2028. The aid is in the form of a tax credit of up to 20pc of the production expenditure that happens in Ireland. The maximum support cannot cover more than 16pc of the total cost of production. To be eligible, a programme must have a minimum cost of €250,000, with half of that being spent in Ireland. A 'cultural test', which will be designed by the Government, will be used to ensure that the unscripted productions 'contribute meaningfully to the promotion and expression of Irish or European culture'. Anthony Muldoon, director of strategic policy at Screen Producers Ireland (SPI), said the tax incentive is a 'transformative' investment for Ireland's creative industry. 'It will empower our producers and creators to develop and produce high-quality programmes that resonate with both domestic and international audiences,' he said. Members of SPI had joined together to campaign for the tax credit, forming an Unscripted Working Group, and had co-operated with the Department of Finance and Revenue, as well as with the Department of Arts and Media. Stuart Switzer, chair of the Unscripted Working Group, said he was thrilled that the European Commission had decided to approve the aid package. 'This is a first in Europe, and a recognition that the creative unscripted sector in Ireland has the potential to emulate the success of our scripted colleagues,' he said. 'The challenge will be to ensure the benefits of the incentive are retained within the independent production sector to build companies of scale.' According to an analysis included in the Tax Strategy Group papers last year, spending on unscripted TV productions could increase from about €90m a year to €300m if a tax credit was introduced. It referred to two similar schemes in Europe, operated by Malta and Cyprus. "If introduced, such a relief could have the potential to support additional employment in the sector and increase demand for studio space,' the report said.
Irish Examiner
4 hours ago
- Irish Examiner
Children are being re-traumatised as abusers weaponise the courts system
Groundbreaking research published last week into the Irish family law system undertaken by Trinity College Dublin and University College Cork, and commissioned by Women's Aid, makes for stark and sobering reading. The findings of this 360-degree examination of the experiences of adult and child victim-survivors of domestic violence and abuse in guardianship, custody and access proceedings show court processes are re-traumatising those who have already suffered. However daunting as the findings are, this research offers us a clear strategic opportunity to do better. The voices of victim-survivors of domestic violence and abuse — women, men, and children — are strongly telling us what needs to change. This research comes at a key time for family justice in Ireland, with progress on many of the key deliverables of the national Family Justice Strategy already under way. We can transform a system that is not currently domestic violence and abuse informed or responsive, into one that understands how domestic abuse is impacting many court users, is trauma-informed, victim-survivor-centred, and truly hears the voices and wishes of children. Sarah Benson: 'The children and young people who contributed to this research had engaged with a variety of professionals, including court assessors, social workers, judges and members of An Garda Síochána, but said they felt their experiences were discounted and disbelieved, and their wishes ignored.' This research is unique in Ireland, but its findings strongly echo what is already known from similar international research. It draws from court observations, hundreds of survey responses, wide ranging interviews and focus groups with children, aged-out minors, adults, domestic violence practitioners, health, social care and legal professionals and judges, and the final report provides an in-depth perspective of the barriers facing victim-survivors of abuse in our family law system. It captures hundreds of reports of physical, emotional, economic and sexual abuse of women, men and children. It tells us that sadly it is not enough for some key individuals among legal, judicial and courts personnel to be domestic abuse (including coercive control) informed, which victim-survivors reported as being "transformational" for them in terms of feeling believed, supported and empowered to manage their safety and that of their children. Pockets of individual good practice are revealed as completely inadequate when the system itself is not attuned and responsive to the tactics and impacts of domestic abuse post-separation. Participants in the research spoke of having to adhere to court-ordered access to avoid being charged with violating a court order, requiring them to regularly engage with their abuser. This frequently provided court-sanctioned opportunities for further abuse to occur. Children in Ireland have the constitutional right to have their views heard and considered, particularly in legal proceedings involving their safety, welfare, or wellbeing. However, this research tells us very clearly this is not happening in the Irish family law system. There remains an issue whereby living in a home where there is domestic abuse is still not sufficiently recognised as abuse of children themselves, despite this being a clear position of the WHO and Tusla policy. In court proceedings that impact children's lives, the risks of post-separation abuse, including coercive control, are therefore not considered adequately. The children and young people who contributed to this research had engaged with a variety of professionals, including court assessors, social workers, judges and members of An Garda Síochána, but said they felt their experiences were discounted and disbelieved, and their wishes ignored. Examples given include children disclosing experiences of assault by their abusive parent, and that information being ignored or disputed in court. While the children told the researchers they could not have been clearer that they did not want to spend any time with an abusive parent and gave a good rationale and evidence for that assertion, they described not feeling heard or taken seriously by professionals when contact was continued or extended. Always having contact with both parents as in a child's best interest should not be the starting point in considering matters of custody and access where there are allegations of abuse. It may be, but it also may not, so a neutral starting point as to this question is appropriate. There is also a clear pattern reported, particularly where there are court reports being produced to give "voice" to the child, that in the absence of meaningful consideration of domestic violence and abuse, the highly contested concept of "parental alienation" is being presented as the only possible reason mothers and children are resistant to contact and access. At the launch of research into the Irish family law system were: Ruth Elliffe, TCD; Stephanie Holt, TCD; Davina James-Hanman, Violence Against Women consultant; Sarah Benson, Women's Aid chief executive; Soma Gregory, TCD; Aisling Parkes, UCC; and Ailbhe Smyth, chair of Women's Aid. Picture: Paul Sharp/Sharpix In telling us how the system failed them, the victims-survivors that took part in this research have also shown us exactly what change should and can look like. The family law system is neither simple nor straightforward. It is a complex and evolving network, composed of laws, courts, judges, legal professionals, services, and, crucially, the lived experiences of families. These components do not function in isolation but interact in ways that are often unpredictable and dynamic. The outcomes for individuals seeking support are shaped by the whole system, rather than by any single decision, law, or individual actor. To truly improve the family law system, we must move beyond focusing on its individual parts and instead examine how all these elements are interconnected and influence each other. Women's Aid urges the Government to fundamentally reform the family law system as part of the new Family Justice Strategy in a consciously domestic violence- and abuse-informed manner. We need compulsory domestic abuse training for all professionals, including judges. We need comprehensive screening and risk assessment protocols and practices across all proceedings, radical reform of the 'expert reports' system, and improved access to legal representation. We need the development of clear mechanisms to improve coordination, communication, and cooperation across all civil family law proceedings and with the criminal courts. And we also need the supporting systems and specialist stakeholders that families access to be resourced and facilitated to minimise trauma and risk. This underpinning domestic violence- and abuse-informed approach needs to be an explicit and shared project by all stakeholders to improve the system for the most vulnerable. Everyone involved must understand how perpetrators can weaponise the court system and be an ally and advocate on this. We need to reduce, and eradicate, tolerance for abuse of the system itself, which goes on to retraumatise those we should be protecting. With the voices of adult and child victim-survivors now clearly amplified in this research, we have the evidence, the insight, and the moral imperative to build a system that protects, listens, and heals. Now we need to accelerate action to ensure these voices are heard and rights vindicated. Sarah Benson is chief executive of Women's Aid
Sunday World
4 hours ago
- Sunday World
Murder of Scottish gangsters in Spain could drag Kinahan Cartel into new mob war
Fears that double killing could signal Irish gangsters' involvement in new mob war The pair, who were shot dead in an attack at Monaghan's pub in Fuengirola on the Costa del Sol eight days ago, were key figures in the Glasgow-based Lyons crime gang. The Lyons mob formed a close alliance with the Kinahan Cartel through Eddie Jnr's brother, Stephen, who previously lived in Spain and now resides in Dubai, and were suspected of helping the Kinahans coordinate the shipment of €157million of cocaine on board the MV Matthews. Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party MSP and former crime journalist Russell Findlay yesterday told the Sunday World a major concern for StephenLyons at this moment is whether the Kinahans may have, in fact, sanctioned the hit. The scene at Monaghan's pub in Fuengirola on the Costa del Sol where Eddie Lyons Jnr and Ross Monaghan were gunned down 'We already know the Kinahans' involvement in the Scottish drug trade is significant,' he said. 'Their connections with the Lyons have fuelled gangland violence in Scotland and escalated it over the years. 'In the paranoid world of organised crime, there is a lot of smoke and mirrors, a lot of speculation, but what I suppose this boils down to, is either the Kinahans have had a hand in these murders due to some unknown internal fallout or they have seen two of their allies gunned down in cold blood. 'If it is the latter, then the expectation would be there will be some kind of retribution. 'If I was in Stephen Lyons' shoes, living my luxury air-conditioned lifestyle in Dubai, I would be seeking a meeting with the Kinahans at the earliest possible opportunity to work out who has been responsible for this. . 'But the real fear now is this will only fuel gangland violence, not just in Spain, but also in the streets of Scotland.' In the immediate aftermath of the double assassination at Monaghan's bar, speculation immediately connected the killings to a feud between the Lyons and the rival Daniel gang in Scotland. An escalation in that feud has resulted in assaults, shootings and fire-bombings across Glasgow and Edinburgh in recent months. However, a Lyons family member subsequently discounted this theory, while a statement by Police Scotland said there is 'nothing to suggest that the shooting in Fuengirola was planned from within Scotland'. Ross Monaghan Spanish police are instead understood to be focussed on the likelihood the murders are linked to wider gangland tensions – and are making inquiries to determine what if any stance the Kinahans had taken on the killings. Lyons (46), and Monaghan (43) died when a gunman opened fire on them in the Fuengirola bar – where the pair had watched the Champions League final, at about 11pm on the night of the killings.# The gunman then fled the scene in a car. Sources say the Daniel gang had shied away from making any moves against the Lyons in Spain due to their connections with the Kinahan mob and believe it unlikely their attitude would have changed sufficiently for involvement in the double killing likely. Outlining the background to the Kinahan's alliance with the Lyons and the effect this had on their feud with the Daniel gang, our source referred to a triple shooting in Scotland that occurred at an MOT station in the Lambhill area of the city in 2006. Gangsters Eddie Lyons Jnr In that shooting, Stephen Lyons was badly wounded, as was his associate Robert Pickett, while Stephen's cousin Michael Lyons was shot dead. A source said: 'Going way back, there was a triple shooting in Glasgow at an MOT station, Stephen was shot, his cousin Michael was murdered, and a third man Pickett was shot. backlash 'That resulted in Stephen fleeing to Spain. And it was that, fleeing to Spain, that was either the catalyst for the Kinahan connection being made or that made it bigger than it had already been. 'At that point, some Daniel gang-related associate was in the Costa del Sol and ascertained the Lyons were close to the Kinahans and took the view that they could not make a move on them in Spain. 'They could not make a move against Stephen in Spain. Russell Findlay 'So, if the Daniel gang took the view that was too big a move or that the backlash would be too big back then, it would be consistent with them not having the wherewithal to do it now.' The source said Stephen Lyons is the only member remaining out of the youth gang from which he, Michael and Eddie Jnr emerged. 'The rest are either dead or in prison,' he said. Asked if Stephen Lyons has anything to fear from his long-term allies, the Kinahans, the source responded: 'These people have absolutely no qualms about putting a knife between the shoulder blades of their best friends if it suits them. 'There's no loyalty and there's a paranoia that envelopes everything they do. So, it would be premature to assume the Kinahans are on a war footing over this to avenge the Lyons murders when for all we know they could have been responsible for it.' In their statement released on Tuesday, Police Scotland said they were not directly investigating the double murder. Instead they said: 'The investigation into the fatal shootings in Fuengirola is being carried out by Spanish police,' it said. 'Police Scotland is supporting Spanish police where requested; however at this time we have no officers deployed within Spain. 'There is currently no intelligence to suggest the deaths of these two men in Spain are linked to the recent criminal attacks in Scotland being investigated as part of Operation Portaledge. 'Any misinformation or speculation linking the events in Spain are not helpful to the ongoing investigations in either country.'
