Sometimes the prevalence of double standard and duplicity in Irish life gets to me, and this is one of those occasions.
The case of Maurice McCabe is all over the news at present, and may precipitate an election. But that is not my concern here. Let the political situation take its course. My concern is something else.
There was an allegation of sexual abuse of a minor made against Sargent McCabe. The allegation went to the DPP, and he decided not to refer it to the courts. The DPP does not publish the reasons for his actions, but it is usually presumed that he considers there is not enough evidence for the case to stand up in court. Fair enough. I am not aware that the woman has ever withdrawn her allegation.
During the present political furore both politicians and media consistently refer to the FALSE allegation. Now, it may well be false. To my knowledge those who assessed the allegation in the Social Services have not said whether or not it was found to be credible. However, credibility and proof are distinct concepts. If the allegation is false, Maurice McCabe has the option of taking a criminal case against the person making the allegation.
I have lived through twenty years, or more, of allegations of sexual abuse of minors made against priests, many of whom I know personally. Over and over again an allegation was considered by both Church authorities and media as the equivalent of proof. Many of these cases never even got to the DPP, and many more were considered by him and not taken further. But I have never heard any of these cases being referred to as “false” by church, state or media. There are, I don’t know how many, but certainly a few hundred, priests who have been dismissed from ministry and publicly shamed and disgraced on the basis of a totally unproven allegation.
We were told, over and over again, that it is important to believe the person who comes with an allegation, because by not fully accepting their story we would add to the abuse that had already occurred. (I wonder how does the woman who made the allegation against Sargent McCabe feel, and does anyone care?) Groups like One in Four fulminated against anyone who suggested that maybe more than just an allegation was needed before we destroyed a person’s life. Some of the media commentators who are now to the forefront in condemning the treatment of Sargent McCabe were also at the forefront in condemning priests on the basis of allegations, and were using the figure for numbers of allegations as equivalent to the occurrence of actual abuse.
Why aren’t the support groups for victims speaking up in this case, and pointing out the anomaly of what is going on? Or could it be that true that some of the response to the incidence of clerical sexual abuse was driven not so much by a desire for justice for the abused, but by an ugly version of anti-clericalism?
