Meanwhile in Ireland…the nuns continue to refuse to help pay compensation to the women they held in slavery in the Magdalene laundries, because that’s how they roll.
Justice Minister Alan Shatter wrote to the Orders a number of weeks ago for the fourth time about contributing to the redress scheme and confirmed that two of the Orders had responded stating they would not contribute any money towards compensating the women.
The redress scheme is expected to cost between €34m and €58m.
“I wrote to the religious congregations again on this matter several weeks ago following a statement made by the Holy See to the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child in relation to the Magdalen laundries,” said Mr Shatter.
“I have received responses from two of the congregations advising that their position is unchanged and I am awaiting a response from the other two congregations.”
The Sisters of Mercy, Sisters of Our Lady of Charity of Refuge, the Good Shepherd Sisters, and the Sisters of Charity have all stated their refusal to contribute financially to the redress scheme on previous occasions.
In 2012, the Irish Examiner reported that the four orders which ran the Magdalene laundries made almost €300m in property deals during the economic boom.
Compassion, sense of justice, sense of obligation, remorse, regret, responsibility – no, no, no, no, no, no. Generosity, kindness, fellow-feeling, sympathy, empathy – no, no, no, no, no.
Mr Shatter also said that he had written to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child and asked it to forward any evidence it may have in respect of criminal activity committed in the Magdalen laundries “for the purpose of criminal investigation and possible prosecution.”
However, a spokesperson for Justice For Magdalenes Research expressed surprise that Mr Shatter felt the need to ask the UN for evidence of criminal acts when the group had provided such evidence to the McAleese Committee,” said the spokesperson.
“The State has already received considerable evidence of criminal acts and human rights abuses in the Magdalene laundries. JFMR brought relevant archival evidence and survivor testimony, which we offered to have sworn to the attention of the McAleese Committee. However, the committee chose to ignore these materials and omit them from its report.”
The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child has called on the Vatican to investigate the Magdalene laundries so those responsible for the abuse suffered in the institutions can be prosecuted.
Last May, the UN Committee Against Torture, which forced the Government to investigate the Magdalene laundries, criticised the report by Martin McAleese as “incomplete” and lacking “many elements of a prompt, independent, and thorough investigation”.
Well you know how it is. They’re only women. They’re sluts. They’re round-heels. They brought it on themselves.
There’s your problem. Participating in the settlements would be seen as an admission of guilt, and perhaps open the door to further claims on all that money. Always follow the money.
What do you want to bet the orders are being advised on this matter by men?
Why won’t they contribute? What excuse do they offer?
I mean, apart from that.
PS round heels? As in non-cavalier-heels? Ah, no. Just not square, I suppose. Worn-down-and-therefore-sluttish-as-in-working-class? I always wear round heels. Oh never mind. Perhaps I’ll look it up tomorrow.
I’m not sure if they bother to offer any excuse. They’re sisters, you see. They’re holy. They’re of The Church. They’re better than everyone else.
Round-heels – for some reason I was thinking earlier about movies with working class women as heroes, so I was thinking of Norma Rae, and for some reason remembered the set-up at the beginning where the organizer from New York is planning to recruit Norma Rae and a colleague murmurs something about her reputation and the organizer says briskly, “I don’t care if she’s a round-heels…”
I guess it was once an expression, though I don’t remember ever hearing it in real life. I assume the heels get rounded from lying on the back being fucked all the time.
My understanding of the phrase: it hardly takes a teensy push to get those with round heels to lie on their backs.
“I don’t care if she’s around heels”? Thanks, anyway.
“I assume the heels get rounded from lying on the back being fucked all the time.”
My compliments. What a feet of imagination.
You may be right about the “sisters”. They may really think that they can never do anything wrong, or even what they did was right and they will do it again as soon as they are allowed. Or they’re like the rest of the Church and can’t be in the wrong even when they are. Or they’re ashamed but cowardly. Or they’ll do it again just to prove whatever. I’m sure there’s some text somewhere that says all this is a sin — like pride, or wrath, or hypocrisy, but if they’re “sisters” I suppose it’s alright.
I’ll have you know, Pierce R. Butler, that my heels are always round, and when I am on my back they are not on my feet. Well, mostly, anyway. And who the hell wants to wear shoes in bed?
From the Oxford English Dictionary:
No entomology given.
No. Well, the heels would have got them first.
Oh, that way round! Got it now. Bloody wierd.
6: “ROUND HEELS noun (chiefly U.S. slang)…” That was a surprise. I’d always thought the expression was as old as “greensleeves” (or “green gown”).
Those religious orders amount to corporations. You can’t hang a corporation, but you can kill it by dismemberment: revoke its legal charter (which might not be a single document, but probably exists as a set of statutes granting special legal status) and confiscate its assets to compensate its victims.
Al Dente @ # 6: No entomology given.
That’s a feature, not a bug!
“The Sisters of Mercy, Sisters of Our Lady of Charity of Refuge, the Good Shepherd Sisters, and the Sisters of Charity have all stated their refusal to contribute financially to the redress scheme on previous occasions.”
Mercy.
Refuge.
Charity.
… I can think of no remotely adequate comment.
cactuswren (one of my favorite birds!):
There is an appropriate comment….by Inigo Montoya. 😉