Madam, – Ann Walsh (April 12th) asks “why haven’t any of them [priests] spoken out or stood up to their bishops and the Pope?” The answer to that on the many occasions that priests have challenged either the authority of their superiors or papal authority for whatever reason, such priests are always silenced and punished in some way for their bravery.
Mary Raftery made an excellent point in one of her recent articles when she stated that this insistence on obedience to authority within the church was one of the reasons which helped to protect and cover up the crimes of child sexual abuse by paedophile priests for so long.
The truth of Edmund Burke’s words are very apt at this time: all that is necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing. To this, I wish to add: insistence on obedience creates domination and fear, which are enemies of truth and true morality. – Yours etc,
RACHAEL STANLEY,
Palmerston Grove,
Milltown,
Dublin 6