They were anointed as 'princes', the congregation kissed their rings, and resplendent in their robes of purple, they tended to their flock.But far from being the custodians of innocence as Archbishop Diarmuid Martin said last night, they presided over the "theft of childhood".
The pillars of the fiction on which the reputation of a pious hierarchy was built in Ireland over the past 50 years were brought crashing down last night by the devastating words of those who compiled the report into sexual abuse in the Archdiocese of Dublin.
They have reached out with the force of Samson and brought a hollow edifice, once beyond and above reproach, tumbling.
The report baldly confirms that Church and State colluded in the cruellest conspiracy ever mounted against the defenceless in their care, the children, to cover up generations of abuse by clerics. Time and again it instances examples where the interests of the Church, Canon law, and the maintenance of power would prevail even in the face of heinous crimes.
One example shows how photographic evidence brought to the attention of a Garda Commissioner by Scotland Yard showing Fr Edmondus abusing sick children in a Dublin hospital was deemed inconclusive and the abuse was allowed to continue for years.
At every turn the church took the position "in the service of Caesar everything is legitimate" -- including violation of children.
In anticipation of the release of this report yesterday, Christine Buckley who has done heroic work for victims of abuse, revealed that many survivors had begun wetting the bed such was their anxiety and torment as ghosts of the past and hidden terrors were reawakened by memories buried for decades.
It must be hoped that the first step in exorcising these fears has been taken but there is a long way to go.
As a society we must acknowledge with shame the complicity and concealment that we have allowed to thrive, and the monstrous betrayal this facilitated.
Archbishop Diarmuid Martin has done the country and the Vatican a great service by pulling open the heavy blinds in the "palace at Drumcondra" and allowing all the guilty secrets to be examined. But this is just another step on the road to recovery. Admission and liability are of course critical, but accountability and genuine evidence that the dethronement of arrogance and subterfuge in the name of protection of the powerful, will need to follow.
Archbishop Martin has acknowledged this by insisting that: "The sexual abuse of a child is and always was a crime in civil law; it is and always was a crime in canon law; it is and always was grievously sinful."
Such words will act as a salve for many survivors, but the scars run deep. It will therefore require the emergence of a new humble approachable and compassionate church before trust can be rebuilt.
Judge Yvonne Murphy's report has revealed a self-regarding, self-protecting and highly secretive institution far more concerned with its interests than those of its congregation. To use its own parlance "the shepherds" turned on their flock: John Charles McQuaid "showed no concern for children", Dermot Ryan "failed to investigate six priests", Kevin McNamara "restored paedophiles to the ministry" and Cardinal Connell "failed to recognise the gravity of crimes and the liability of the church was never admitted".
The irony of this collective betrayal is that the hierarchy so jealous for its reputation, has done itself irreparable damage.
The hierarchy placed itself exclusively at the service of the church and our State facilitated the cover-ups. Bishops became politicians placing the congregation at their service. They had a duty of care and they sought to care for themselves.
The truth is that the suppression of scandal took precedence over the prevention of paedophilia. Perpetrators of abuse were protected while the innocence of children was violated. State agents accepted that the clergy existed beyond the reach of law enforcement.
Firm action from Rome to guarantee that such events will never be tolerated again are required as proof of change and redemption.
Our own State has also been tarnished by this saga, it failed miserably to take care of its children by putting blind faith in the Church.
Something has been taken that can never be restored. Survivors require more than public acts of contrition.
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SIC: II