Marianne Heron

As I See It

Marianne Heron Did colleges turn a kind eye to abuse?

One thing is certain about clerical child sex abuse, like the latest allegations of historical abuse by the Spiritans at Blackrock College and other schools in their charge: a reaction of public revulsion. Much less certain are the questions surrounding the crime, for the sexual abuse of minors is like a dark secret wrapped in a conundrum.

Clerical sex abuse began to hit the headlines in Ireland in the 1980s, with cases and cover-ups by the Catholic Church emerging from di erent dioceses into the Noughties and with investigations like the Ryan and Murphy reports. Given the glare of publicity, it might seem odd that these latest claims abuse by a number of the Spiritan brothers, formerly the Holy Ghost Fathers, have only emerged now. ey might not have done so had it not been for RTE’s Documentary On One when the revelations by two brothers who were victims of abuse prompted an outpouring of 70 further allegations followed the programme. e reasons for this omerta lie partly in a Gordian knot of questions. Child abuse is generally referred to as paedophilia which involves prepubescent children whereas ephebophilia, abuse of adolescents, is far more common. Abuse occurs throughout society especially where adults are in a position of power over vulnerable children but there is a di erence where priests or religious are concerned when cases are up to four times more likely to involve adolescent males, whereas in the community most cases involve females.

Why this should be is a chicken and egg question, could the answer be due to ease of access or is it due to homosexual leanings on the part of perpetrators? It seems more likely to be a matter of availability looking at the example of homosexual activity in prisons among prisoners who are normally heterosexual. Research nds that most clerical o enders declare as heterosexual. Another question is whether the requirement of chastity, curbing one of the strongest human drives, plays a role in driving the o ence. Hard to say conclusively, as some studies nd that there isn’t a causal link but seminarians have said that they received little preparation for chastity.

Considering the way abusers are found in other areas of society involving children like scouting or swimming, it does seem that some individuals are drawn to occupations where they have access to and control over adolescents, giving them opportunities to exercise their perversion. ere is the wider question too, of how so much sexual predation remained unchallenged and was allowed to continue within institutions. Probably shame, fear instilled by perpetrator, of being disbelieved or upsetting parents, kept victims understandably silent.

But talk to men of middle age and beyond and often they will remember teachers or brothers known to be ‘pervs’ or ‘shirt lifters’ who were to be avoided. Such things were known about, even joked about, by pupils but not admitted by those who should have been responsible for policing them. Which in turn raises a sinister question: was a culture of paedophilia involved in some cases?

is was undeniably so in the scandal surrounding the Kincora Boys Home in East Belfast, which emerged in the early ‘80s to headlines like ‘Sex racket in children’s home’. e abuse was organised by and involved prominent individuals and there were allegations that police and state collusion were also involved. is was an extreme case at one end of the spectrum of abuse but a moral climate where paedophilia or ephebophilia are tolerated or ignored also allows abuse to continue. e failure of accountability by the Catholic Church over past decades is well documented and currently the question of whether there should be an inquiry is being debated. A speci c investigation into what has happened at Blackrock and other Spiritan schools would show up the way an institution, where perversion had been known about but was allowed to continue, failed in duty of care to children. Maybe we should ask ourselves if such institutions are t to continue in their role as educators?

So far only three of the 78 plus Spiritan brothers accused of abuse have been convicted, only one has been defrocked, although the congregation has reportedly made 80 nancial settlements to victims since 2004.

Meantime restorative justice hearings — which allow victims to confront perpetrators — have been proposed. is allows victims to be heard and where admissions and apologies of wrongdoing can bring comfort. at said, most would now have to come from beyond the grave since most of the brothers involved are deceased ..

Practical Christmas gifts

CLAIR WHITTY

Do you, like me, prefer to get practical gifts that are bought from local shops or from an Irish company online?

For example, Tisserand’s Gift of Sleep, is a limitededition gift set that’s perfect for someone who can’t sleep. It contains Sleep Better Massage & Body Oil, Sleep Better Pillow Mist, and Sleep Better Pulse Point Roller Ball. is is how you use them, after a bath or shower massage the body oil into your skin. Spray the pillow mist over your pillow before hopping into bed. Once in bed, roll the roller ball onto the pulse points at the temples, neck, and wrists. Sound good? Over 89% fell asleep faster using this combination, the perfect practical gift.

You can’t go wrong with hand cream. I love Burt’s Bees gift set -Hand Cream Trio. e the creams are made with shea butter, a deeply nourishing cream with three di erent scents, including Lavender & Honey, Wild Rose &Berry, and Watermelon & Mint. A good size for the handbag too.

Or there’s Weleda Skin Food Nourish & Shine Gift Set which contains the popular Skin Food Original and Skin Food Light. ey contain pure plant oils, protective waxes, and therapeutic plant extracts. ey’re amazing, deeply nourishing for your face, body, lips, elbows, heels, any part of your body that feels like some extra hydration. For the man in your life there’s the Men’s Gift set. Start his day with this energising and uplifting set naturally scented with essential oils. It contains natural deodorant and Active Fresh Body Gel.

I love essential oils and you will be spoilt for choice with our selection of Tisserand gift packs. You can choose single oils for stocking llers like Seasonal Joy with the beautiful scents of orange, nutmeg, and clove. Or the Festive Baking Collection with Festive Spice, Peppermint Spice, Gingerbread Cookies, to scent your home with festive scents that will transport you to your childhood memories of home baking. Or if you prefer, there’s the Magical Winter Collection it has several oils including Cedarwood and Pine.

Check out your local store or market for practical gift ideas this Christmas, you could be surprised at what you nd. If you’re shopping online why not choose Irish Companies it’s a safer option too.

Shop online at www.naturalhealthstore.ie where you’ll be able to take a look at these brands. Natural Health Store, Market Cross Shopping Centre Phone: 056 7764538 Email: info@naturalhealthstore.ie

After two weeks intense debate in Egypt, one of the key agreements reached at the climate conference is the setting up of a fund to help the poorest, most vulnerable countries deal with the costs of unpreventable climate change impacts such as oods, droughts and land loss to sea level rise and deserti cation.

A total of 197 countries reached agreement on what they’re calling the ‘Sharm El Sheikh Implementation Plan”. e summit was hosted by Egypt in the city of Sharm El Sheikh.

Sixty-two statements setting out where the countries stand on various aspects of climate action, and on the many agreements and pledges made during the previous 26 COPs, or Conferences of the Parties. e plan contains an agreement to set up a new ‘loss and damage’ fund to help the poorest, most vulnerable countries deal with the costs of unpreventable climate change impacts such as oods, droughts and land loss to sea level rise and deserti cation.

It restates the importance of limiting average global temperature rise to 1.5C as agreed at COP21 (it’s currently 1.1-1.2C) to prevent escalating climate change and its impacts.

It resolves to “pursue further e orts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5C”.

e plan urges speeding up the ‘phase-down’ of coal (the most carbon-polluting fossil fuel) as agreed at COP26, but doesn’t extend that to oil and gas and doesn’t use the stronger term ‘phase out’.

It stresses the need for a rapid switch to renewable energy but also allows for a future of ‘lowemission’ energy, ie fossil gas.

It says accelerated action is needed to cut greenhouse gas emissions but adds that emissions cuts targets can take account of “di erentiated responsibilities” and “di erent national circumstances”. at leaves lots of room for countries to wriggle out of setting tougher emission limits.

It encourages countries to honour an existing but unful lled nancial commitment to provide $100n (€97bn) a year to help the most vulnerable countries prepare or adapt to climate change.

But that commitment is 10 years old and costs have escalated enormously since.

So, what happens next?

A ‘transitional committee’ is to be set up to work out the details of how the loss and damage fund will be formed and operate.

It will have 24 members — 10 from developed countries and 14 from developing countries — to be nominated by December 15 and to begin meetings before the end of next March.

On all other issues, it’s really business as usual until COP28 which is to be held in December 2023 in Dubai.

Regarding Ireland, the EU takes COPs and climate action quite seriously and was one of the few regions to increase its emission cuts target for COP27.

As a bloc, the plan is to reduce emissions by more than half (57%) by 2030. Ireland has a plan and law that aims for a 51% cut by 2030. e new EU target might not require us to increase our target but it will exert more pressure on us to meet our national one. at means more pressure to act on all the measures the Government has already agreed. ose include getting more wind farms (onshore and o shore) built; developing more solar energy (large-scale facilities and domestic roof-top); encouraging greater active transport, public transport and EV use; encouraging more retro tting of homes and buildings and tackling agricultural emissions.

All those measures have costs in terms of money and inconvenience that will take time to show dividends in cleaner, more secure, more climate-safe ways of living.

At COP27, Ireland signed up or rea rmed its pledges to various multi-national initiatives such as the Global O shore Wind Alliance, the Net Zero Government Initiative, the Global Methane Pledge and the Beyond Oil and Gas Alliance, but the aims of these largely match what’s in our own national climate action plan and they are voluntary in any case.

On existing climate nance commitments to developing countries, we’ve already agreed to double our contribution to at least €225m a year by 2025 which must be found from public funds.

On the new loss and damage fund, a decision will have to be taken on how much Ireland will pay each year, but it will likely be millions of euro and, again, that is money which must come from public funds.

On the 1.5C limit, if it can be achieved, it will be extremely important to help Ireland avoid increased weather extremes and the kind of drought-deluge swings we have been seeing, as well as to minimise sea level rise, hugely challenging for our coastal communities.

Ireland has experienced very mild climate change impacts so far but many other countries and regions that we trade with, holiday in, emigrate to and need to keep stable to avoid international crises, are already su ering severe impacts that are forecast to intensify.

In failing to tackle with increased urgency the underlying causes of climate change, the plan does little to safeguard the wider world. at leaves every country vulnerable to future climate change.

SPECIAL REPORT What was agreed on climate change

e pact leaves lots of room for countries to wriggle out of setting tougher limits on carbon emissions

See also Page 18

Concerns over high costs of charging points

Petrol stations are concerned about how “astronomical” costs to install electric vehicle (EV) charging points and the delays in connecting these to the grid could pose a risk to the State’s ability to meet future emissions targets.

Representative groups want access to improved electricity grid information so they can identify sites where there is sufficient power capacity to install the technology.

They also want the Government to help them fund investment in the infrastructure and to support greater use of biofuels to reduce emissions from preliminary work to be carried out.

Representative groups said better information on the electricity grid would prevent such problems and cut costs.

Some super-fast charger hubs require energy resources comparable to a housing development or factory, making it challenging to connect these to some parts of the electricity network, the ESB says.

Kevin McPartlan, of Fuels for Ireland, which represents forecourt operators and fuel providers, said the Government could do more to support those in the sector.

He said the Government’s plans to reduce emissions should also become less dependent on new innovations and it should further examine reducing the output from vehicles already on the road by supporting the use of biofuels.

A failure to address issues with the delivery of EV chargers will also affect the State’s future emissions targets, Mr McPartlan said.

“We are the people who provide the fastest chargers available in Ireland. That is what we want to do more of, and yet the network is not up to it, the data on the network is not up to it, the costs are astronomical,” he said.

“The Climate Action Fund needs to be available to our members so we can use government support to provide EV charging, particularly in places where it is least commercially advantageous and/or where the consumer need is greatest — high-density areas where there is a lack of off-street parking.”

A second industry body, the Irish Petrol Retailers Association (IPRA), said a recent survey of its members showed significant concerns about EV charger costs and the availability of power.