Action, not gestures, needed to help abuse victims

THE CATHOLIC Archbishop of Dublin Diarmuid Martin and the Cardinal Archbishop of Boston Seán O’Malley, washed the feet of a carefully-selected group of survivors of clerical child sex abuse in “an act of humble service” at Dublin’s Pro-Cathedral.

This is nothing less than a Roman Catholic version of “green-washing”.

We need direct action by the Church to hand over to the public prosecutor all abuser priests, all files relating to allegations made by survivors, all files related to the Church’s private canonical investigations (redacted as required to protect the interests of survivors, subject to their approval), all files related to various private agreements between the Church officials and State, health and welfare officials, and police officials, and to offer up their wealth and resources to help survivors, and finally and importantly, to let survivors speak out, as freely as required — that and nothing else.

Action is required, not symbolism.

Once the action has been complete, let the symbols of that action be created to inspire a future where the rights of the child, as enshrined in the United Nations Convention on The Rights of The Child, are, in material terms, at the very heart of our society.

Corneilius Crowley

South Harrow

London

England