Religious orders’ shame on compensation

It is morally reprehensible that the four religious orders have said that they will not pay a cent in compensation to the victims of their Magdalene Laundries.

My heart goes out to those women who heard that news yesterday because it is tantamount to being victimised and abused all over again.

Why is that? Because it is about power and control over these women’s lives — just like the orders had over their past lives in those laundries, now they are scoffing at the victims and saying, “We continue to have power and control over your present and future lives”. And they’re even going further — because they’re saying it’ll be your sons and daughters and brothers and sisters who, as taxpayers, can pay for our sins of inhumanity, cruelty and brutality. If the religious orders claim they can’t pay, (which is just literally unbelievable!) then let’s ask their ‘National Mother Church’. Let’s ask the bishops, archbishops and cardinal who were so exercised in the past number of weeks about the right to life of the unborn.