Sir, – In his July 2011 Dáil address on the judicial inquiry into the Cloyne diocese, then-taoiseach Enda Kenny excoriated church authorities with this withering observation: “Far from listening to evidence of humiliation and betrayal with St Benedict’s ‘ear of the heart’, the Vatican’s reaction was to parse and analyse it with the gimlet eye of a canon lawyer”.
The mother and baby home commission’s finding that, “There is no evidence that women were forced to enter mother and baby homes by the church or State authorities” indicates that it too has hearing problems and that gimlet eyes are not the sole preserve of ecclesiastical attorneys. – Yours, etc,
PAUL REARDON,
Dublin 9.
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Sir, – My insights into the horrible experiences of women in Irish institutions began in the 1980s. A doctor at a Dublin mental hospital informed me that the place held young women for many decades, merely because they were unmarried mothers. The doctor cited the case of a woman who had been there for 70 years. She had been committed as a pregnant teenager.
Religious perversion of gender relations actually began before childbirth, in the notion that human births are less than immaculate. After a woman gave birth the Catholic priest required her to endure a church cleansing. This ritual called “churching” was used to expurgate the female body.
This sickness had an architectural expression. Within Catholic institutions in Cork and Kerry, I wondered at the underground passages provided for young females. Dark tunnels were built to shield females from public view as they moved between their accommodation and the chapel. Cast-iron portholes overhead let in some light. During a planning inspection three decades ago at a convent/orphanage in Cork city, I was told how the subterranean passage was for unmarried mothers, many of them teenagers. That site visit also exposed a strange caste system. Within the main building I saw two central staircases, side by side. My informant explained that the broad stairs of polished mahogany and brass was solely for the reverend mother and top clergy, with its narrow dun neighbour left for lesser mortals, including nuns who had arrived without a dowry.
Outside, a notable feature of the convent entrance was a passageway screened by a hedge. That was installed along the perimeter to conceal supposedly impure females from public view. Later on, during site inspections of religious-run properties within the Dublin area, I noticed similar devices used to render offending women invisible. It reflected the age-old insistence on making “fallen” women subterranean creatures.
In the search for a solution, we should begin by accepting that this torment was imposed on women by reason of a deranged religious attitude towards human sexuality.
Proclamations on human behaviour were dressed up as moral guidance, making people insecure.
The State acquiesced in the implementation of writs handed down by the Vatican. A UCD education professor (a priest) could rail against co-education as the promiscuous herding together of the sexes, relying on the papal encyclical of Pius XI. I witnessed a UCD librarian admonishing a female student who had the audacity to wear trousers in college.
Religion contradicted scientific truth long before Galileo was forced to deny that the Earth revolves around the sun. The agents of religion insist they alone can forgive transgressions, even where our actions are perfectly natural and rational. That is the source of the perversion. Religion forces us towards a perfection that does not exist and we become addicted to the search for a cure that we don’t need, driven by the guilt they impose on us. Reason must lift the burden of primitive morality that does so much damage to women.
A decision must be now made about the place of heritage in the conservation of these old institutions.
At least one example should be retained with intact period details. It could remind us that women’s rights form the most important issue in today’s world. This heritage aspect should include holding the records of these institutions and making them available to visitors, – Is mise,
Dr DIARMUID Ó GRÁDA,
Planning Consultant,
Clonskeagh, Dublin 14.
Sir, – I listened to Micheál Martin’s speech this week, paying particular attention to the words and phrases used to describe those responsible and culpable for the terrible things that were done to so many girls, women and children.
I heard “the fathers”, “their family and friends”, “their community”, “their State”, “we as a society”, “the churches”, “the priest, the doctor and the nun”, “local and national authorities”, “the men responsible”, and “the agencies of the State”.
I was disappointed, but not surprised, that I did not hear “governments”, “ministers”, “politicians”. Presumably these are all covered or anonymised by “the State”.
I have no doubt whatsoever as to the sincerity of Mr Martin in relation to this issue, of his abhorrence of what happened and of his determination to do everything he can to help those affected.
But I am left wondering if politicians have a psychological block or are simply uncomfortable referring to their political predecessors when it comes to dealing with difficult issues in the past. – Yours, etc,
DONAL HARRINGTON,
Bettystown,
Co Meath.
Sir, – I wonder is there even the slightest chance the church will cop on, even at this late stage. I think not. There is already evidence that the celibate, male, misogynistic church will throw up its hands in horror at the sins of the women who ran these homes and urge them to take responsibility, as they, the “holy men”, choke on the words, “We as a church are responsible!” – Yours, etc,
Fr JOE McDONALD,
Celbridge, Co Kildare.