Busy Bee
By Carole | June 25, 2009
Yes, that’s me. I’m sorry this blog is so pathetic these days!
Training the Youth 2000 Mission Team just now, and organizing a fundraiser for Spirit Radio. Things are moving forward!
Exciting times!
Topics: Uncategorized | 1 Comment »
Anniversary
By Carole | June 25, 2009
Yesterday was the feast of St John the Baptist. Exactly four years ago on that day I made the decision to come to Ireland. And you know what’s funny? I never noticed the readings for the day before: Isaiah 49:1-6. How cool is this?
Listen to Me, O islands,
And pay attention, you peoples from afar
The LORD called Me from the womb;
From the body of My mother He named Me.
He has made My mouth like a sharp sword,
In the shadow of His hand He has concealed Me;
And He has also made Me a select arrow,
He has hidden Me in His quiver.
He said to Me, “You are My Servant, Israel,
In Whom I will show My glory.”
But I said, “I have toiled in vain,
I h ave spent My strength for nothing and vanity;
Yet surely the justice due to Me is with the LORD,
And My reward with My God.”
And now says the LORD, who formed Me from the womb to be His Servant,to bring Jacob back to Him, so that Israel might be gathered to Him.
(For I am honored in the sight of the LORD,
And My God is My strength),
He says, “It is too small a thing that You should be My Servant
To raise up the tribes of Jacob and to restore the preserved ones of Israel; I will also make You a light of the nations
So that My salvation may reach to the end of the earth.”
Thus says the LORD, the Redeemer of Israel and its Holy One,
To the despised One,
To the One abhorred by the nation,
To the Servant of rulers,
“Kings will see and arise,
Princes will also bow down,
Because of the LORD who is faithful, the Holy One of Israel who has chosen You.”
Topics: Uncategorized | 2 Comments »
Imagine
By Carole | June 6, 2009
The child abuse scandal of this past week has left a heavy burden on the heart of the Irish church. Some of the crimes committed were particularly heinous, and deserve to be condemned. But there are some stories that deserve a deeper look. This is a true story with some of the details purposely left vague or adjusted slightly.
Imagine yourself in the shoes of one particular woman who, at some point in her young adulthood accepted a calling to religious life and embraced it with all the high ideals that such a calling invites. After her profession, she was put in charge of a children’s institution in a very poor country, taking care of 300 children under the age of ten. These 300 children all came from disfunctional families. The school was operated by her order, but was often understaffed and lacking in both human and physical resources.
One day some years ago, this woman found her photograph, her face tight and strained, on the front page of one of the Irish newspapers with the caption “The Face of Evil” under it, along with a story documenting the accusations of people who had been in her care.
She told a friend of mine her side of the story.
“I never abused anyone, but yes, I was tough. I had to be. You try keeping 300 children washed, fed, toileted, clothed, schooled, and disciplined, children who don’t go home on weekends. I had at least four babies in my room every night and was getting up to feed them and change them. I would be awakened in the night regularly with the gards at the door bringing children who had to be removed from their homes during the night because their parents were fighting. So I had to bring them in when they were all upset, wash them, feed them and try to find beds for them. Day in and day out, that was my life.”
Let’s be honest: the conditions were not ideal for the children, but they also were inhumane for many of the religious trying to care for them.
Without wishing to excuse wrongdoing in any way, I must admit that when I imagine myself in such a scenario, I think it would probably make me go insane, and possibly turn to cruelty too. I remember times during my brief teaching career when my students were testing my metal–these were students who lived at home with their moms and dads. And indeed, I went home to my own house every night to rest and prepare for the next day. But I was on edge all the time, my patience sorely tried and my nerves frayed. If I didn’t beat these children, it wasn’t because it didn’t occur to me to do so. I remember one very bad day in which I let loose a verbal tyrade on a student that left her trembling, and me wondering if I should have myself committed.
Now, imagine yourself in charge of 300 children under ten, on a 24/7 schedule for months if not years in succession. Do you think you’d always be able to hold it together? Do you think you’d never lose your cool? Do you think you’d always make sure that every child got a drink when they were thirsty, or made an appearance at dinnertime, or got on and off the potty in a timely way? I wish I could say I’d do better, but my own self-knowledge tells me otherwise.
Children need a mom and dad who love each other and commit their lives to caring for them. In my family, it took two grownups to manage five kids, and that was enough to drive them both around the bend sometimes.
Life in such an institution would be a traumatic and terrible suffering for any child. But let’s not forget the overwhelming burden that was born by those who spent their whole religious lives doing their best to care for these children, and who for their thanks today stand accused of child abuse and neglect. Certainly there were times when the abuse was obscene, and we must never excuse it. We must always call evil by its proper name. But let us also be conscious of the fact that sometimes more was put on people than any reasonable person could be expected to bear.
And let us pray for our religious who are struggling to come to terms with these dark chapters of their history.
There, but for the grace of God, go I.
Topics: Uncategorized | 2 Comments »
Pope Meets Cardinal Brady and A.B. Martin
By Carole | June 6, 2009
Archbishop Martin and Cardinal Brady are in Rome this week, and met last night with the Holy Father to discuss the fallout from the Ryan Report on child abuse in institutions run by religious orders. Articles Here. And here.
Topics: Uncategorized | No Comments »
The Tragic Irony of a Christian Abortionist
By Carole | May 31, 2009
Tell me….was he justified by faith?
Topics: Uncategorized | No Comments »
Prelude for Pentecost
By Carole | May 29, 2009
I found this song running through my mind this morning…it’s timely!
**One useful caveat…when the song quotes scripture saying “this is the day of vengeance of our God” (Isaiah 61:2)–I used to hate that line, till I realized I was not the object of God’s vengeance–rather, my enemies are God’s enemies, namely the powers and principalities of this present darkness trying to lure me into sin. That’s who he is after. Just in case I have any paranoid readers…: )
Topics: Uncategorized | No Comments »
« Previous Entries