The second episode of ABC’s Revelation series last night followed reporter Sarah Ferguson into the maximum security prison where Bernard McGrath, a prolific pedophile, is incarcerated. “In a tense exchange, McGrath moves between denial and revelation about the complicity of the Church in his crimes,” the program summary says.
Chrissie Foster, whose daughters Emma and Katie were raped by Melbourne priest Kevin O’Donnell while they were at primary school in the 1980s, has become a advocate for survivors of clergy sexual abuse.
This is her response to episode two of “Revelation.”
Revelation Episode 2 – ‘A Dangerous Place to be a Child’
A clue in today’s crossword was ‘Shared morals of a community.’ The answer – ‘Culture.’
It is the shared morals of the community of the Catholic priesthood, their culture, which were on display last night in episode two of Revelation.
Disgusting too was Bishop Bill Wright’s statement that he and other [priests] would choose confession over the children.
That a high ranking priest, Father Brian Lucas, former General Secretary of the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference, could say in the year 2020 that the young 7, 8, 9 year old boys who were mentally or physically disabled and living in a church-run boys home were responsible to report their abusers to the police – and not him, who had heard their rapist admit offences – was nothing short of disgusting.
So too was the smile on his face for most of the interview. Lucas was talking about the St John of God Brothers. Of the 112 brothers, 40 per cent were sexually assaulting the disabled boys in their care.
Disgusting too was Bishop Bill Wright’s statement that he and other [priests] would choose confession over the children. Meaning that the priesthood would not protect children from their molesters, once they hear about offences in confession. Further meaning that they would just let it continue … for decades.
The words of these men help explain the extensive criminal state of the clergy world – worldwide – in regards to child rape.
Many other shocking and sickening statements were made by the Church’s holy men – shocking to us, but not to them.
This is their culture, the shared morals of the clergy community. One far removed and kept secret from the wider community – society.
At this time of coronavirus and the cessation of the obligation of Catholics to attend mass, I hope that when normality returns and after viewing Revelation, good Catholics – like I once was – decide not to return to mass as a show of their disgust and protest to the priesthood.
Watch Revelation here.
The ABC linked to a response from the St John of God Order here.
We hope to link to other responses.