tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4318375667051435937.post7466770643895403839..comments2023-08-25T16:13:51.356+01:00Comments on Martin In The Margins: Scandals and secularismMartinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15608932251584881007noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4318375667051435937.post-26365460422617597482009-05-26T07:31:59.167+01:002009-05-26T07:31:59.167+01:00I'm not a 'Tablet' reader, no, but thanks for poin...I'm not a 'Tablet' reader, no, but thanks for pointing me that way. The CB do have a very high reputation with some of their former charges, and in some places, and are a global education order (confusingly, there are two of them, in fact). <br /><br />However, the tragedy of their existence is that they moved from being parasitised by very bad men to incubating them, if the stories of cover-up and deliberate official inaction or worse are true. I think as a practical point, especially in english-speaking legal systems, this wound will bleed the whole church. Should a victim of the abuse see that, of course, they'll think, well, just desserts, but I think that things can't just be allowed to go on like that. Over one fifth of humanity is catholic and the church shouldn't let them be abandoned because of a monumental evil that struck it and polluted it.<br /><br />Many thanks for the kind words on another post on my blog by the way. I think dialogue and reasoning together move everyone along.Martin Meenaghhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06092121503713511010noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4318375667051435937.post-56368716773253229242009-05-26T06:07:28.531+01:002009-05-26T06:07:28.531+01:00Thanks for the comments, Martin. Sorry, I hadn't s...Thanks for the comments, Martin. Sorry, I hadn't seen your post about dissolving religious orders - but I have now. I don't know if you take the Tablet (so to speak) but coincidentally, in the same week the scandal was revealed, it carried an article by Peter Stanford about the Christian Brothers school in Liverpool attended by Vincent Nichols - which was almost entirely positive, nothing about abuse, lots of about giving high academic aspirations to working class Catholic boys. I suppose there are two sides to every story, but most of what I've heard about the CB from Catholic friends has been pretty grim...<br /><br />MartinMartinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15608932251584881007noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4318375667051435937.post-43733984081776294282009-05-26T00:13:33.804+01:002009-05-26T00:13:33.804+01:00By the way--sorry for multiple comments--I've alwa...By the way--sorry for multiple comments--I've always thought that the American model of a first amendment freedom of religion, but which separates church and state, is the best practical one. I would also suggest that, though catholics can't be put in one box, christian democrats or evolving Burkeans like myself ought to be able, if there is a logic to the faith, to argue political philosophy in most matters from a parallel secular point of view. That said, I was educated at a catholic comprehensive, and reasonably happy to be there--ofsted having shut it down in some unknown deal with the northamptonshire diocese susequently. Apres moi, les inspecteurs....Martin Meenaghhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06092121503713511010noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4318375667051435937.post-31478759268906508892009-05-26T00:07:47.148+01:002009-05-26T00:07:47.148+01:00Hi Martin
I thought this whole affair was awful, ...Hi Martin<br /><br />I thought this whole affair was awful, but suggested dissolving the Christian Brothers and placing their assets in a fund for victims of the abuse. Whilst the church itself, in the form of the vatican, is not rich, dioceses and orders can be, and I discussed that.<br /><br />Most of the time, I found myself feeling my way through what seemed to me to be just plain evil.<br /><br />Sorry that I haven't been on the blog much, I've been out and about. Hope that everything is alright, and all the best,<br /><br />Other MartinMartin Meenaghhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06092121503713511010noreply@blogger.com