Kenny failing to address wider problem of abuse

AS a mother and grandmother, what I want to know, in the aftermath of the abuse reports, is that children are safe, that abused children, many now adults, are given the supports they need to heal and that abusers are brought to justice.

The reaction of senior politicians, especially recently, has left me very cynical of seeing an ending of the abuse of children in my life time.

One of my concerns when I saw Enda Kenny, Eamon Gilmore and Micheal Martin attacking Rome is that they seemed to be exporting the child abuse issue.

While they are right to call on the Church to put its house in order, what about their house?

As Taoiseach, Kenny should put the Church on notice that no abuse will be tolerated or covered up if children and vulnerable adult are to be safe in this country.

He must also put all state departments and services, sports clubs, scouts, schools, families, other religious groups on notice too.

For a start, he needs to commit to a thorough and independent investigation of the past and present welfare of children and vulnerable adults in the context of state health and education service, an investigation that would include the naming and shaming of abusers.

This he didn’t do.

In fact I question to what extent the issue of the seal of confession and vehemence of Kenny’s language was a calculated distraction to mask this omission.

I am concerned that the failure to take on all abuse is because our leaders have too much baggage in the area. Enda Kenny is currently failing to address the wider problem of abuse in Ireland.

Micheal Martin, as minister for education and for health, failed to tackle child abuse.

As for Eamon Gilmore, he supports the legalisation of abortion, the fatal and final abuse of children.

Consider that a FF/Green government fought abuse victim Louise O’Keefe through the Irish courts and now the FG/Labour government is fighting Louise in the European Court.

If Ireland is going to be a good place for children to grow up in, our leaders will have to make children and families the priority.

The Government will not only have to root out abuse and abusers everywhere, but will have to reconsider budget cuts that will result in the neglect of children and families, particularly in the areas of health, social welfare and education.

Neglect is the insidious sibling of abuse.

In many cases the damage of neglect is similarly severe and lifelong.

If our media and politicians continue to largely restrict their focus to the Catholic Church, then ironically, the one place children will be safe in the future will be the Catholic Church because it will have, willingly and unwillingly, been forced to have fully tackled abuse.

Improvements in child protection have been evident in my parish for several years now. These have been hard won but I am very glad of them.

Child abuse should never, never have happened, especially in the Church, but it did and I, as a Catholic who loves the faith, am very grateful to the brave victims, tribunals, judges and journalists and those in the Church who have cooperated with them because they have smoked out the abusers, drawn attention to the abused and have brought us a safer Church environment.

I would recommend to all who love the Church to embrace the pain of the scandals, in gratitude for the purification they are bringing about, in reparation for sins of abuse committed and, most especially, as a prayer for victims and all children.

Kathy Sinnott

Ballinhassig

Co Cork