Madam,
Minister for Education Batt O’Keeffe’s suggestion that the inmates of the Roman Catholic Magdalen laundries were “employees” is grotesque.
They were slaves to religious and social prejudice.
Patsy McGarry noted in, “No redress for residents of Magdalen laundries” (September 18th), that there is a “dispute” as to whether the “Protestant-run” Bethany House was a “Magdalen Asylum”. Who disputes it? Jim Smith noted in his excellent Ireland’s Magdalen Laundries and the Nation’s Architecture of Containment (2007) that women convicted of birth concealment and infanticide were referred there by the courts during the 1920s. The Irish Times and Irish Independent reported in 1931 that a court sent Mary Elizabeth Walker to Bethany after conviction for obtaining goods by deception. In the 1960s The Irish Times reported the matron as stating that prisoners on remand were kept there.
As a former resident I spoke later to some who attempted to escape from this notional mothers’ and babies’ home.
I would also question a phrase in the same article, to the effect that the Bethany Home was “privately” run. This is possibly true in only the narrowest sense. Between opening in 1922 and closure in 1972, the home held separate prayer days and annual meetings. On almost every occasion a Church of Ireland clergyman presided. The exception was during the 1960s when Methodist clergy occasionally performed these functions.
Bethany Home was an evangelistic organisation that was an outgrowth of the Proselytizing Irish Church Missions to Roman Catholics. It operated alongside the self-styled Mission to Jews. Both organisations reported annually to the Church of Ireland Synod. The Reverend TJ Hammond was involved in running the Lamplight Mission that amalgamated with the Midnight Mission to form the Bethany Home.
Besides being instrumental in setting up the home, he was Dublin Superintendent of the Irish Church Missions during the 1920s. The Revd Hammond was a favourite of those warning of Romanism within the church and was prominent in its “Orange section”. When alleged to be “the leader” at a Dublin synod in 1915 he responded, “I would be proud of the privilege if I were”.
My own relatives were members of the Orange Order in Monaghan. The organisation collected for the home both in the Republic and in Northern Ireland. My cousin cried when I told him in the 1990s what had happened to me in the place he helped support through the Order.
The governance of the Bethany Home was of a form taken by religious organisations or individuals in or closely associated with the Church of Ireland who carried out social service activity in its name.
Possibly, contemporary embarrassment has led the Church of Ireland to attempt to distance itself from a home it once promoted. The Roman Catholic Church attempted a distancing manoeuvre when first confronted with evidence of abuse carried out by those acting in its name. That church now accepts responsibility. The Church of Ireland should do likewise and so also should the Irish State. I join with my suffering sisters in the Roman Catholic Magdalen homes in demanding redress. – Yours, etc,
DEREK LEINSTER,
Letters Page The Irish Times 22nd September 2009
Sin is never more satanic than when it wears a religious disguise. Jesus said, by their fruits ye shall know them, and a good tree can’t bring forth rotten fruit. And why do they miss this scripture: It’s not of works (washing clothes, etc.) that people obtain salvation from sin but by the grace of God in Christ (Eph.2:8-9). And, he that is without sin, let him cast the first stone. Were those cruel nuns without sin? I kind of suspect those laundries fattened the coffers of the Catholic Church, at the expense of other people’s lives and health.
Hello Everyone,
I don’t why, but ever since I was a kid I instinctively knew there was something VERY wrong with Ireland, the land of my birth.
Back then I didn’t know what it was but now that I’m well into middle age, I FULLY understand what the problem with Ireland is. It is this:
Ireland has been DOMINATED by ROME for centuries and that’s why we are such an INSANE (sado-masochistic) people!
In other words, we as a people have become far too accustomed to obeying our Roman Catholic Masters, for our own good!
But hey, isn’t that what religious ideology is all about!!!
On December 10, 1948 the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted and proclaimed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Following this historic act the Assembly called upon all Member countries to publicize the text of the Declaration and
“to cause it to be disseminated, displayed, read and expounded principally in schools and other educational institutions, without distinction based on the political status of countries or territories.”
It would appear that this message did not travel far in Ireland of the late 40’s or indeed 5/6/7/8/9/00’s or indeed the various Departments who should be aware of such documentation and accepting these guidelines.
It seems to me that recent press reports indicate that some current Ministers too are unaware of their need to accept the terms in both fact and spirit.
The full text is available at:
http://www.un.org/en/documents/udhr/
I quote sections of some of the initial articles with my comments below each:
Article 1.
All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.
Mothers and their children were both affected by the actions of the various “Care” environments.
Article 2.
Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration, without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or
social origin, property, birth or other status.
(Social origin and birth or other status)
Article 3.
Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person.
(Liberty and security)
Article 4.
No one shall be held in slavery or servitude; slavery and the slave trade shall be prohibited in all their forms.
(No one shall be held in slavery or servitude)
Article 5.
No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.
(cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.)
Article 6.
Everyone has the right to recognition everywhere as a person before the law.
(right to recognition)
Article 7.
All are equal before the law and are entitled without any discrimination to equal protection of the law. All are entitled to equal protection against any discrimination in violation of this Declaration and against any incitement to such discrimination.
(entitled without any discrimination, protection against any discrimination)
Article 8.
Everyone has the right to an effective remedy by the competent national tribunals for acts violating the fundamental rights granted him by the constitution or by law.
(effective remedy by the competent national tribunals) +
Would this NOT also create an issue for the recent tribuneral on abuse as article 10 below states…. full equality to a fair and public hearing by an independent and impartial tribunal, in the determination of his rights and obligations and of any criminal charge against him.
Public hearing is an important pragmatic support for impartiality ad justice, the imposition of silence and threat of penalties including imprisonmnet is not.
Article 9.
No one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest, detention or exile.
(detention)
Article 10.
Everyone is entitled in full equality to a fair and public hearing by an independent and impartial tribunal, in the determination of his rights and obligations and of any criminal charge against him.
(see previous)
For me, and I appreciate this would cause any individual who took such a route to accept a large, personal burden in addition to their memories and impacts of what has happened to them before, is pursuing a legal remedy through open court. This would apply to anyone who was a “Magdalene” or indeed had submitted themselves to the processes of the recent tribuneral.
This is a clever use of selective memory, which both churches are using to deny everything.
They are so versed in it, they probably believe it to be true.
The one thing it does illustrate though is how cowardly they are when caught in the net.
I would have expected every adult in Eire to have demonstrated in every town in the land by now.
THE WORLD AWAITS your display that you are free from the slavery of the Vatican.
But Stockholm syndrome is difficult to overcome, but we must all try.
It is not just these poor souls who were and are slaves to the Vatican- as we were all indoctrinated with the lies, fear, guilt women and children as cattle, used for breeding purposes.
I mean at one point these boys even declared women to have no souls.!!!!!!!!
How utterly brazen of these self righteous “people of God” to judge these women and condemn them in secret to a life of slavery, and now try to deny it.
This old Patriarchal system of demonising all aspects of the sacred female- virgin, mother, post menopause was and is the method used by all religions to keep females as slaves to its system, brainwashing them with the idea of SIN, for becoming a mother without a husband.
What loving God were these men and women serving?
The state is equally responsible for keeping these women as slave labour- after all the institutions were on irish soil.
If you visit women’s prisons today, you will find a large % of them were abused IN CARE OF THE STATE as girls and driven to drugs and alcahol as adults.
Nothing has really changed.
Lawyers etc will use different words to try and get these churches off the hook, but it is useless- Nemesis has seen all that they did- now it is time for Justice
The Church of Ireland is keeping its head down on this – now why would it want to do that I ask myself !??! Is it afraid of being placed in the same light as the Roman Catholic Church – of being exposed as another politically influential group in Irish society who abandoned and abused helpless Irish women & children !
It is patently clear that the Religious congregations are in deep denial regarding abusive institutions owned and organised by them in the past. If they were to hold their hands up and admit they made mistakes perhaps the suffering could be ameliorated to some extent but as in the Diocesan and Institutional abuse scandals it will take perhaps another decade for them to admit that wrongs were committed in their name. It is appalling that these criminals are being tacitly supported by the State. We need more than just vocal outrage to deal with this sordid saga. How many more scandals are going to be uncovered before the Irish population become totally desensitised to the whole thing. Perhaps this is the Church’s offensive?