Our subservient way of thinking as a people bestows impunity on those in positions of power
‘IT IS the deaf people that create the lies.’ Irish proverbs are full of phrases about the power of silence.
Fr Donal Gallagher from the Dublin parish of St Peter’s in Phibsboro, horrifically exploited this cancerous Irish culture of saying nothing over a 20 year period.
The Dublin diocesan report noted that after Gallagher had finished sexually abusing a girl in the sanctity of the confession box, he would “wash his hands in the altar bowl and dry them with the napkin”. She was nine.
When girls from St Mary’s School for the Deaf complained that Gallagher kissed them during Confession, the principal “felt that perhaps Fr Gallagher’s approach reflected the newer approach to the sacrament of reconciliation [Confession] and took the matter no further”.
Ten years later, separate allegations by children from that same school evoked this written response by a Garda sergeant, “Fr Gallagher is a professional man and strikes me as a sincere and genuine individual. I can see no useful purpose to be gained by the prosecution of Fr Gallagher at this late stage”.
We will never know how many children Gallagher violated and desecrated in his 20 year career of paedophilia. But we do know that those in positions of authority were deliberately deaf to those who desperately wanted someone to listen.
This "culture of confidentiality" as described in the report, even had its own language. The church justified saying one thing and meaning another, or lying, under the creative concept of "strict mental reservation". Marie Collins, abuse survivor, described this on last week's RTÉ Prime Timeprogramme as the "twisting that had been done to my mind".
This don’t ask, don’t tell policy permeated every structure of this State. The Garda Síochána, teachers, civil servants, judiciary and politicians collaborated to create a morally corrupted definition of authority. This hierarchical power was personified by absolute obedience, unwavering loyalty and naïve deference which sacrificed the innocence of thousands of children to avoid scandal.
Why did this happen? Why?
Is there something particular to Irish society which facilitates a mindset that accepts a culture of secrecy and a behaviour that blindly embraces perverse notions of superiority? Where did this entrenched fear of offending the powerful come from?
Did a hierarchical imbalance of political, economic and social authority create centralised institutions characterised by monarchical structures occupied by princes of privilege?
Institutions devoid of accountability and naked of responsibility which pretended to live in a Republic.
We didn’t ask questions. Instead, a culture of ingrained learned powerlessness becomes normalised. This subservient way of thinking became a shroud of impunity for those in positions of power.
Resignations are politely requested and never demanded and where they occur are accompanied by generous golden handshakes, by way of apology, for asking for them in the first place.
The Dublin diocesan report concluded that the handling of a particular allegation by Bishop Donal Murray, auxiliary bishop of Dublin from 1982-1996, was “inexcusable”. Archbishop of Dublin Diarmuid Martin, believes that any decision to resign is entirely up to Bishop Murray.
However, on the Tonight with Vincent BrowneTV3 programme on Thursday night, speaking on the report, Archbishop Martin was implicit in his observation that, "The preciseness of the knowledge which the decision-makers had was extraordinary, which makes their ambivalence about taking decisions even more extraordinary".
The report contains both extraordinary and precise knowledge about Bishop Murray’s failures, particularly in relation to the catalogue of abuse committed by Fr Tom Naughton in Valleymount, Co Wicklow.
Why is there unwillingness by Archbishop Martin or the Vatican to explicitly call for Bishop Murray’s resignation?
The report, along with the Ryan report into the abuse of children in State institutions, the Morris tribunal into Garda corruption and the McCracken, Mahon and Moriarty tribunals into political corruption, have exposed the dysfunctional nature of power in Ireland. So too have the Finlay, Lindsay, Laffoy, Lourdes, Ferns, Barr, Dunne, Madden and other inquires and tribunals sponsored by the State.
The moral bankruptcy of our financial institutions and professions also now lies bare.
The self-perpetuating abuse of power became systematic when internalised over a long period of time.
This is a learned behaviour, dutifully passed down by successive generations without challenge.
The cycle of abuse infects every facet of public and private morality. Thus, this complacent mindset passively condones breaches of trust in all aspects of our lives.
The corruption of power by those in positions of authority has perpetuated a loss of trust in the integrity and capability of Irish public life.
We did know. And we did this to ourselves, over and over again.