Unbelievable - Pascal Derrien - Ireland

Pascal Derrien

7 years ago · 2 min. reading time · ~10 ·

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Unbelievable

I suppose I should let you know upfront that today’s topic probably belongs to the opinion/rant segment of what I am doing. So I guess with this in mind it would be fair to make you aware that the following may not necessarily sit well with you depending on your beliefs.

So where do I start? I think it was an article in the Irish Independent and various TV reports about Eamon Casey, a demoted bishop from Galway who passed away last week. A chap, it seems that was larger than life at least by Irish church standards. Well, loving race cars, being slightly unorthodox (pun intended) and altogether outspoken was probably not strictly in line with the expectations of his hierarchy at the time.

The frictions became material for excommunication when it was found out that Bishop Casey has had child with an American woman. That indeed was likely to be the final straw of the Bishop Casey show, but what really got me nuts was a eulogy quote at his funeral by a bishop which I have forgotten the name of, stating that Casey despite all his achievements and qualities had profoundly upset the church, I suppose by church he meant its establishment.

I am an atheist, I am not baptised and have no religion whatsoever so why does this bother me, why am I getting upset with this? Well not for the first time, I am infuriated and outraged by the dual standards and double language of the catholic church. Where was the holy establishment in the 60’s & 70’? 80’s or even the 90’s? Where were their strong words and assertive actions, why were they not profoundly upset, tell me?

Why is there not a single day passing when we are not exposed to the darkest demons possessing the men with white collars?

What does a child must say sorry for at his first confession when priesthood have screwed so many in their childhood?

How could the catholic church industrialise excesses and covered them up with processes?

Don’t you find it abnormal to have children mass graves on church grounds?

Why do we have grand sermons on abortion when young children disappeared into oblivion in catholic institutions?

Why does the church care more about the optics than the religion of ethics?

Those deviants have never shown any emotion. Don’t poise them with the noise, they all plot secretly, it is paramount to keep a high level of integrity within an approved framework called hypocrisy. Don’t dare having an opinion, your alienation will be blessed if you tag along the collective hallucination, anything else is optical illusion and should be dismissed as societal disinformation.

I wonder how some of them manage to sleep soundly. I wonder how parish mentality can trigger such apathy. Is it loyalty that make people worship so sheepishly. This is not just Irish centric, a mere regional problematic, you and I should not dismiss the fact that the whole thing may just well be systemic

But Pascal you don’t get it (condescending tone), it is not god’s fault, blame the men of the church who are weak and tempted. Really? Not in my f*cking name pal? That line is so pathetic that I would laugh if the events that occurred were not so tragic. I am very tired of the holier than thou tribes and their pretend stories and frankly speaking all their verbal diarrhoea gives me the nausea.

I have heard that one so many times already, the usual and overused jail out card narrative, the weakest cope out I have come across. I don’t know what they say in the holy writings but in my book

It is just unbelievable

Sources

People & Stuff

Photo Credit

Optical Ilusion /two faces

Produced for beBee only

#Eamon Casey #Galway #Casey #Bishop Casey #Irish Independent

Comments

Pascal Derrien

7 years ago #30

#34
history has proven to be slightly more complicated and complex than this on these shores, there were no checks and balances because there has never been a counter power in place, the brits supremacy was replaced by the church who had/has power and influence which was not that far off from totalitarian style states and you are right saying this led many people to ''choose'' to abandon their own .....

Laurent Boscherini

7 years ago #29

#20
same to you Pascal Derrien , let me invite you to have look at this link : http://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Child_sexual_abuse_in_the_Roman_Catholic_Church

Neil Smith

7 years ago #28

#28
The actual causes of death in these institutions is a long way from being certain. No post mortems were carried out and cause of death, often recorded by lay people rather than doctors was in at least some instances inaccurate. What is not in doubt though is that the "care" given was poor to the point of negligent or even abusive. The simple fact that child mortality rates in these church institutions were three to four times higher than similar state institutions which were themselves worse than in the population as a whole indicates that something was very wrong indeed. There can be no doubt also that this behaviour could not have taken place without at least the passive co-operation of the population and the active co-operation of the forces of the state. Gardai (police) returned runaways to orphanages and refused to investigate reports of abuse. The political establishment wouldn't make a move without the support of the church in order to avoid denunciation from the pulpit. Very few come out of this without shame.

Pascal Derrien

7 years ago #27

#28
thanks Antoinette Capasso-Backdahl for participating in the discussion, it is indeed true that mosy kids died of diseases that were pretty common and had high death ratio across the board, I am indeed not comfortable with the collective and societal denial and how come any deviation to conformity could lead to such a legalized repression path is beyond me

Pascal Derrien

7 years ago #26

#29
thanks \ud83d\udc1d Fatima Williams hard to believe indeed :-)

🐝 Fatima G. Williams

7 years ago #25

Unbelievable! Amen 🤐🤐🤐

Pascal Derrien

7 years ago #24

#26
Thanks Ren\u00e9e \ud83d\udc1d Cormier it is hard not be binary when it comes to this, now my wife and kids are catholics and there is a mutual understanding and respect of both school of thoughts :-)

Pascal Derrien

7 years ago #23

#22
thanks CityVP \ud83d\udc1d Manjit I am not surprised you did investigate further :-) Contextutally , morally and historically the institutions have indeed completely misread the roadmap ...

Harvey Lloyd

7 years ago #22

#21
How we get to values is important to the individual. Once we start to organize the march though power and greed kick in. That story is thousands of years old, it's just more sophisticated today.

Helena Jansen van Vuuren

7 years ago #21

Me - I am with you every step of the way - my pet hate are men and woman who abuse children - you are right only the surface has been ruffled!

CityVP Manjit

7 years ago #20

The piece in the Irish Independent by Terry McGeehan provided a fair introduction to Eamon Casey, who I naturally had no idea who he was before I read this buzz let alone know the significance of his passing this month. As I read this I can well see why in 1992 this kind of story would have been received as blockbuster news, but naturally the revelations since of the church pales that in comparison and the rage expressed her is a pertinent rage. It is not that we need to be politically correct or worry about how commenting on this story may be inferred on our personal brand but that too is proportional to absolutely disgusting, foul, sick, humanity and soul damaging things that the Church cannot compare to this. Proportionality here is totally out of order and the T-Shirt McGeehan talks about "“Wear a condom - just in Casey" is a million miles from sticking a priestly penis into a young child and engage these immoral acts with impunity. https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/564x/60/c4/cc/60c4cccea04b07a4272e1509cde04995.jpg Eamon Casey is a case study in what the chief flaw in personal branding is, the church scandal is a case study in what is absolutely wrong with institutions and their lack of humanity. Thank you for introducing me to the life of Eamon Casey, may he rest in peace - even in just a brief introductory read, he definitely was an extremely interesting and outspoken fellow.

Pascal Derrien

7 years ago #19

#19
I agree with the ''empathy in a box'' view of the world and emergence of new media messiahs (mr Robbins can you hear me :-) ) I also agree and understand the absolute need of value compass for all of us even if I am not spiritual, I am not great at commenting back but your comments are thoughtful Harvey Lloyd and they are right on the button as always :-)

Pascal Derrien

7 years ago #18

#18
thanks as usual Laurent Boscherini for providing a thoughtful angle to the discussion, my main issue is the scale of the dysfunction which I found alarming and is almost superseding at this stage all the original intent I am worried we have only scratched the surface !! :-(

Harvey Lloyd

7 years ago #17

I share your contempt for the modern church doctrine. I would offer though that some of your posts and many on BeBee (and other social media) discuss the social challenges of the day. We are managing these challenges through force, pills, social science and many spiritual health DVD training programs that you can own for three easy installments of 39.99 (Free Shipping). Empathy anyone? The organized religions of today have forgotten that they were the bedrock of fundamental values. We have a value crisis in our generations today. The question does not change that we need values, but religion has chosen a path of government instead of the efforts of the clergy you spoke. The value crisis we see today is the lack of what the organized religion did provide, poorly provided, but nonetheless provided. Our populus is getting better at spotting BS and the church has been exposed. The dichotomy you speak too of church vs an individual's spiritual health is the challenge that some new non denominational churches are tackling. (Your walk, journey and you choose) Remains to be seen if they will be successful. I appreciate your contempt, but keep in mind that we all need that inner guide that helps us determine our path in uncertain times. The question is what guide are you using? If it helps, works and is successful then you have what you need. If not don't stop looking.

Laurent Boscherini

7 years ago #16

Thank you Pascal Derrien for sharing your insightful post. Factualy, there is three major functions in society to set religion, even in our digital era : it provides social cohesion to help maintain social solidarity through shared rituals and beliefs, social control to enforce religious-based morals and norms to help maintain conformity and control in society, and it offers meaning and purpose to answer any existential questions. You are right, the primary criticism of the structural-functional approach to religion is that it overlooks religion's dysfunctions, including its dark side, as an expression of society itself. But, don't get me wrong, I condamn it with an extrem severity too and keep faith in Life.

Pascal Derrien

7 years ago #15

#16
indeed there are a few good guys in that company but i am not too keen on the product and the leadership team ☺ Phil Friedman

Phil Friedman

7 years ago #14

When my mother converted to Catholicism after she married my stepfather, she ran into a Jesuit Priest who was a pretty decent fellow. Worked to help the poor, ministered to the terminally ill, and performed all manner of good deeds in the real world. Somehow this good work brought him afoul of an Archbishop or one of the latter's minions, and the last I heard of him he had been moved to a parish in Bumf%#k, Alaska -- where, ironically, I am sure he continued to bring goodness into the world, despite all the attempts of church hierarchy to stop him.

Pascal Derrien

7 years ago #13

#12
Thanks Kevin Pashuk for dropping by, indeed I know that some people do good work (a few) I have worked with some in an homeless and shelters environment but I have strictly no time for the apparatchiks of the system, the godly aspect does not speak to me so I wont comment on that one :-)

Pascal Derrien

7 years ago #12

#10
Devesh Bhatt this is very eloquently put, could not say more than this :-)

Pascal Derrien

7 years ago #11

#11
Hi Rod I have not created those pictures but could not find the author either :-)

Kevin Pashuk

7 years ago #10

Everything you mentioned is worthy of anger Pascal... but it is really the worst of human nature hiding behind the divine. There is no 'God' in their motives, but they portray themselves as His representative on earth. If Jesus were here on earth today, I doubt he would be hanging around in the organized church. Like before, he would likely be with the 'publicans and sinners' who knew their own brokenness, and saw their mission as broken people helping other broken people. It's not all bad. I do see those who identify as people of faith who truly bring good in the world. The trouble is, they are overshadowed by those whose motives are nowhere near as pure.

Devesh 🐝 Bhatt

7 years ago #9

"GOD" is the lucky word that wins trust without too much hardwork, specially the trust of those who lost it to this world. An insignificantly small no who do serve with good intent never use the word but work towards earning the trust. Then there are parasites, gravediggers of misery and scavengers dressed in robes of White, Green and in my case Saffron, who are well aware of their acts, they may blame it on denial or mental conditioning but i simply cannot believe that they dont realise it for years and years and years when they screw the trust for their greed and desire. They are beyond penance or punishment and few scapegoats are given the spotlight while the others carry on. An adult makes the choices , but these systems have destroyed too many childhoods. But then again it only boils down to one thing, people simply dont care, they leave it to God , ignore the real problem and blame it on shadows of men.

Pascal Derrien

7 years ago #8

#8
thanks Ken Boddie scary how globally organized is all this.

Ken Boddie

7 years ago #7

The point you make, Pascal, about this self sanctifying body of power brokers, who have repeatedly chosen to ignore the fall from grace of large numbers of their own, while even more blatantly ignoring the plight of the flock they should be protecting, is as obvious to me as the nose on my face, not only in your country but in mine also. Whats more, your brilliant use of the Stones' video parallels a similar, though much older, bed-time story of the fall from grace of the Angel Lucifer, allegedly cast out of the upper echelon of winged trumpet players due to self pride and disregard for others. It appears to me that modern day Lucifer and his supporters are alive and well and being sustained in their pride and opulence by the same self appointed secret society that the story tellers would have us believe should have taken away their wings and trumpets, switched on the barbecue and turned up the heat. So no up-front apology required, Pascal. Rant away!

Pascal Derrien

7 years ago #6

#6
Indeed Neil Smith Tuam, Magdalene and other stories need to answered in a court of law, I am puzzled by the cultural and collective black out on those issues.

Neil Smith

7 years ago #5

The Tuam orphanage scandal should result in senior church figures answering for their organisation in a court of law. Just because the individuals concerned have mostly died is no reason to absolve their employer of liability for crimes without judicial scrutiny. If Martin Winterkorn were to die today, Volkswagen would still be expected to answer for the crimes committed whilst he was at the helm. The excuse that "A big boy did it and ran away" should not be allowed to stand.

Pedro 🐝 Casanova

7 years ago #4

#4
Guess they still have too much " power " over the well intentioned people. They have 2000 years of training....hard to beat.that . I used to win bets with catholics . I would bet that the confession was a invention of the church to have secret info and blackmail followers. Earned some money. There is no ONE single word in the Bible ( Old or New Testament ) that say we have to go to a priest and tell them what we did. ( Sins )

Pascal Derrien

7 years ago #3

#3
thanks Pedro Casanova there is wealth and dogma indeed. Half of my family being Irish I am the black sheep on that particular topic there is a kind of tacit agreement which is : dont talk or impose anything to me about it and I will do my best to ignore . Now in Ireland 98% of the schools are catholic schools so much there is a legacy on that topic which makes it difficult to fully blank out :-)

Pedro 🐝 Casanova

7 years ago #2

Well said....I am spanish born in the late 50 ´s . Baptized...Communion..Confirmation...and STOP it right there. Those priests made the mistake that take me to the Vatican city when I was like 18 y.o. Saw so much gold and masterpieces in the museum . That the next time in a Spanish mass ceremony...when the priest helper placed the basket collecting money in ma face I grabbed his hand...pull up the sleeve and told him. I ll put some money if you put that golden Rolex as well. Results...they " took " me out of the church. Catholic is a way of see the religion. Not a religion. No wonder you are upset. I used to be...Now I just plain ignore them. Nothing worse that hipocresy. Do as I say...not as I do is the usual " motto " .

Pascal Derrien

7 years ago #1

Thanks Claire L \ud83d\udc1d Cardwell I am aware this ia probably offensive to some but the omerta on those topics is just unbearable my heart sink everytime I hear reports of child abuse....:-(

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