THEY wrote from across Ireland but also from America, Australia, China, mainland Europe and Britain. Among them were priests and nuns, abuse victims and counsellors, parents and grandparents, those of religious faith and none.
The one thing they all had in common was their reason for writing — to react to Taoiseach Enda Kenny’s speech on the Cloyne report, which he delivered in the Dáil on July 20 last.
The report was the work of a state inquiry which examined how the Catholic diocese of Cloyne had handled clerical sex abuse allegations.
In his blistering speech, Mr Kenny claimed the report had exposed "the dysfunction, disconnection, elitism [and] the narcissism that dominate the culture of the Vatican to this day".
In unprecedented criticism of the Holy See by a Taoiseach, Mr Kenny said the rape and torture of children had been deliberately "downplayed" to protect the Vatican’s primacy and power.
Speaking later that month, Mr Kenny said he had received thousands of messages from around the world in response to his speech.
He said he was particularly "astounded" by the number of clergy who had contacted him to voice their support.
To gauge the nature of the public response, the Irish Examiner requested to view the letters and emails sent to Mr Kenny in the first 12 days after his historic speech.
A total of 507 documents were released to us under the Freedom of Information Act.
The overwhelming majority — 455 of them, or 89.8% — were entirely supportive of the Taoiseach’s speech, with several urging Mr Kenny to go further by expelling the Papal Nuncio.
The report was the work of a state inquiry which examined how the Catholic diocese of Cloyne had handled clerical sex abuse allegations.
In his blistering speech, Mr Kenny claimed the report had exposed "the dysfunction, disconnection, elitism [and] the narcissism that dominate the culture of the Vatican to this day".
In unprecedented criticism of the Holy See by a Taoiseach, Mr Kenny said the rape and torture of children had been deliberately "downplayed" to protect the Vatican’s primacy and power.
Speaking later that month, Mr Kenny said he had received thousands of messages from around the world in response to his speech.
He said he was particularly "astounded" by the number of clergy who had contacted him to voice their support.
To gauge the nature of the public response, the Irish Examiner requested to view the letters and emails sent to Mr Kenny in the first 12 days after his historic speech.
A total of 507 documents were released to us under the Freedom of Information Act.
The overwhelming majority — 455 of them, or 89.8% — were entirely supportive of the Taoiseach’s speech, with several urging Mr Kenny to go further by expelling the Papal Nuncio.
A further 23 messages — or circa 4.5% — were what might loosely be described as conditionally supportive: welcoming the speech but criticising other aspects of state policy, such as the lack of an apology to the former residents of the Magdelene Laundries.
The remaining 29 messages — or 5.7% — were critical of Mr Kenny’s speech, with many arguing it was an opportunistic political stunt and deeply insulting to the Church.
Some were writing to a politician for the first time. Others had been fighting for years to highlight issues.
Some were writing to a politician for the first time. Others had been fighting for years to highlight issues.
Several had voted for parties other than Fine Gael in last February’s general election but, impressed by Mr Kenny’s speech, said they would be voting for his party in the future.
In the same way, some of the critics had previously voted for Fine Gael but declared they would not do so again after hearing the speech.