ANGELA HANLEY,
Sir, - If in the mid-1980s six senior seminarians could know right from wrong and look for justice (in vain, it must be added), where does that leave the self-exculpating plea of the bishops in the recent revelations about clerical child sex abuse that they didn't know then what they know now and, if they had known, they would have done things differently?
Six young priests-in-the-making, without the benefit of the best legal advice, without the best psychological/psychiatric advice, without administrative expertise, without institutional support. not only recognised dangerous behaviour, but were prepared to risk their own futures to halt it.
Where does that leave the credibility of the bishops? - Yours etc.,
ANGELA HANLEY,
Beech Park,
Athlone,
Co Westmeath.
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Sir, - I refer to media reports of Father Joe Briody's article in the Irish Catholic (The Irish Times, May 25th).
I was a classsmate of Joe Briody's in Maynooth and a seminarian for five of the years he refers to. I remember him as the brightest student in our year, and as someone of integrity.
In his article, he made three main points: that seminarians abused alcohol; that seminarians had relationships with female students; that a number of seminarians were involved in gay relationships.
I am surprised that the debate has focused on whether or not Father Briody's account was factually accurate. In my experience, it was true to state that a number of seminarians did indeed drink excessively and had relationships with female students.
However, I find the context of the debate limited both in its understanding of seminary life and its portrayal of normal human development.
During my time in Maynooth, two-thirds of seminarians left before ordination. Given this, the idea that seminary formation was just about training priests is misleading. It is more accurate to say that seminary life was principally about helping young men explore whether or not they had in fact a priestly vocation.
Equally relevant to this debate is that young men who entered the seminary typically did so from secondary school and were in their late teens. It is realistic to expect, therefore, that these students should have been at the same developmental stage as their peers, namely that of developing a sense of identity and the capacity for mature adult relationships.
As developing a sexual identity is integral to this process, it is to be expected that some seminarians at this stage of life would have dated, whether or not they later became celibate.
As for misuse of alcohol, this is an endemic problem among Irish adolescents and was simply reflected in this student group. Maynooth was neither a production line for priests nor an orgy of sex and alcohol. It was a place of normal growth and self-discovery for many young men. - Yours, etc.,
GARY DONOHOE,
Department of Psychology,
Trinity College,
Dublin 2.