A chara, – Fr Con McGillicuddy pleads that Cardinal Seán Brady and former auxiliary bishops should not be vilified on the premise that they are “not perfect” (March 19th). There are many things that are “not perfect” but few of them will terrify children and ruin their lives. Such a deficient ascription to the raping and abusing of innocent children (not to mention the litany of cover-ups) is simply perverse and shows nothing but categorical failure to realise the magnitude of this shocking tragedy. – Is mise,
ALEX STAVELEY,
Turvey Walk,
Donabate,
Co Dublin.
Madam, – In 1975, the year the then Fr Seán Brady conducted his investigation on behalf of the Bishop of Kilmore, I was preparing to become a fully fledged professional social worker for the Eastern Health Board. My fulltime post-graduate course at UCD. led to the British qualification in professional social work which was the qualification required to practice in both Ireland and the UK. We were a class of 30 or so mature students who had already gained experience working for the health boards, the prison service, the psychiatric services and housing authorities. We were rigorously selected and supervised on our fieldwork placements. I completed the course and was adjudged competent to carry out all the duties that might be required of a social worker irrespective of the setting,including child protection.
Child protection was one of our concerns, but I can honestly say that at no time during the course was child sexual abuse ever mentioned. We were drilled in recognising what was called “non-accidental injury” and warned to be vigilant. Even as a fully qualified social worker I hardly knew that child sexual abuse existed, never mind knowing how to deal with it. There were no guidelines and no protocols, not even for professionals working for the health boards. If I had to deal with a case, which mercifully I did not, it would not have occurred to me to go to the Garda Síochána – and I was the health board representative.
I suspect that psychologists and psychiatrists did not go to the Garda either. We were profoundly ignorant of the nature and extent of child sexual abuse and paedophilia. It was not talked about; it was not written about; victims did not speak out; they were not interviewed on radio. Thirty-five years on, knowing what we know now, that seems incredible, but it was true for me and I suspect it was true for most of my professional colleagues whose job it was to know these things. We were all truly ignorant and with what we know now were terrible consequences. It puts Fr Seán Brady’s response into context. – Yours, etc,
Madam, – Cardinal Seán Brady complains that his actions of 35 years ago are being judged by today’s standards. This is not true. They are being judged by standards laid down 2,000 years ago for dealing with child abusers: “Better that a millstone were hanged about his neck . . .” – Yours, etc,