Prison chaplains’ report - A scandal of betrayal and neglect

THIS week the Irish Prison Chaplains’ Report revealed abuse of thousands of our fellow citizens almost on a par with the terrible human neglect and abandonment recorded in the Murphy and Ferns reports.

But, because those involved are prisoners serving sentences in our decrepit, overcrowded jails there won’t be any hand-wringing, there won’t be any sense of national shame or deep, almost aching, hurt that this is/was done in our name. No one will light candles to protest on behalf of those caught up in a terrible, demeaning and counterproductive system.

There are no clerics who abused their power; the sexual torture of young people is not an issue. The destruction of lives that cannot or will not contribute to society without that society’s help and positive intervention is again the core issue.