On the state of the church in Ireland

As noted in my most recent letter, there has been news breaking regarding scandals within the Roman Catholic Church in Ireland. I thought I would take a moment to better explain here what those scandals are, since space did not allow for it in the letter.

Thanks to Ireland being a very Catholic nation, abortion is banned in the country. This created a problem. A good problem but still a problem, what is the country to do with so many unwanted babies? Often the Church would take them in, and even the unwed mothers. But such a great social stigma was held against these mothers and their illegitimate children, that the Church was able to do as they pleased, even treating them as second class servants - borderline slavery. Other harms were done as well, including sexual acts committed against these women and children. The "homes" where these women and children were housed were closed down over the years; the last known house to be closed in the mid-1990's.

The secrecy of what was happening in these houses was upheld until earlier this year, when news leaked and major news companies in the United Kingdom began broadcasting stories about these atrocities. This caused the Irish government to begin a probe into the issue, and a document was published as a result, which has been made public.

Obviously, this has created a significant distrust between the Church and the general populace of Ireland. Sadly, just as in the United States, anything associated with Christianity is viewed with equal suspicion. So we as evangelicals reaching into the Irish communities must deal with this distrust the people have for the church in general. It is a huge challenge, but with God's help, a challenge that can be overcome.

For more information, I have found the following news reports to be very helpful:

Ireland to summon Catholic orders on abuse scandal

Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse - lengthy website but shows how deep this problem was. Warning: some sections are graphic in their descriptions of abuse.

The Ryan Report - This is the official report created for the Irish Government to handle those abused by the residential institutions.

An unholy secret that still haunts Ireland. Note the date - May 29, 2009. Very recent.