[image of a patriarchal white sky-god is from here]
This blog post consists of three articles. The first and last are by a brave and strong woman named Portia. Her strength has been determined, misogynistically, to be a negative trait by patriarchal men. The middle article is by Justine McCarthy who I have not yet had the pleasure to meet. Each article has a link back to their source publication website. Revealed here is the deliberate, harmful, woman-hating, child-hating, and oppressive, utterly pro-patriarchal values, attitudes, and practices that underlie, inform, and shape the "criminal" justice systems of the UK and the Republic of Ireland.
The first is from here: http://www.indymedia.ie/article/96229
Catholic Church Guilty of Ordering Women and Children Back To Male Abusers.
Thursday April 01, 2010 00:25
by Portia
Obey, Obey, Obey.
The Catholic church has behaved like a cult in keeping women and children as second class human beings who were expected to obey the men of God without question.
The influence of this church has infiltrated most Government agencies especially the legal system where once again women and children were often made homeless for refusing to put up with abuse and play happy families.
Obey, Obey, Obey
Catholic Church Guilty of Ordering Women and Children Back To Male Abusers.
Now that the light of truth has been shed on the Vatican and its role in keeping abuse of children hidden, it is time to expose the suffering endured by thousands of Irish mothers and their children who were ordered back home to their violent husbands by Catholic priests after they had escaped such abuse.
It was standard practice in Ireland to make mothers return with their children - No support given! No help given! no advice given!
Just "Get back to your husband woman, that’s your place!”
"The only way you can leave your husband is in a coffin, you know the rules of the Church"
Obey, Obey, Obey.
If these women defied the Priest and did not return then they were castigated, labeled as `Harlots’. and declared outcasts. Most went into exile and were never heard of again.
Family and friends sided with the Catholic priest, so the victims were further abused and isolated.
Women born into the Catholic Church in other countries experienced similar abuse from the priests and their cohorts for simply daring to escape violence. The indoctrination of girls in Catholic schools worldwide regarding their role in society is rarely spoken of and the abuse of women in Catholic families continues to be hidden.
Catholic Priests who ordered children and mothers back to the violence and abuse did not do so alone but were operating according to higher orders.
So, where exactly did these orders come from?
The teachings on this go back to St Augustine who lived in a dysfunctional family where his mother was beaten and forced to obey the violent father.
This “saint” then set about writing on how it is good for women to suffer at the hands of their husbands, because all women are evil and need to repent for the sin of being born female.
He also followed the teachings of Aristotle who also saw the subjugation of women as being necessary for society.
The patriarchal church also taught that women who think they are being abused are simply deceiving themselves and should not be believed. Keeping the women in the institution of marriage was all that mattered.
Children of the marriage were not believed either regarding abuse by the father, as that made would make him look bad in the eyes of the community and men’s reputations and good standing had to be protected.
By saying and doing nothing about the abuse, the Roman Catholic Church was thereby encouraging the denial of the realities of domestic violence and intra-familial terrorism and the extreme sufferings of abused mothers and their children.
Catholic Church Guilty of Ordering Women and Children Back To Male Abusers.
Now that the light of truth has been shed on the Vatican and its role in keeping abuse of children hidden, it is time to expose the suffering endured by thousands of Irish mothers and their children who were ordered back home to their violent husbands by Catholic priests after they had escaped such abuse.
It was standard practice in Ireland to make mothers return with their children - No support given! No help given! no advice given!
Just "Get back to your husband woman, that’s your place!”
"The only way you can leave your husband is in a coffin, you know the rules of the Church"
Obey, Obey, Obey.
If these women defied the Priest and did not return then they were castigated, labeled as `Harlots’. and declared outcasts. Most went into exile and were never heard of again.
Family and friends sided with the Catholic priest, so the victims were further abused and isolated.
Women born into the Catholic Church in other countries experienced similar abuse from the priests and their cohorts for simply daring to escape violence. The indoctrination of girls in Catholic schools worldwide regarding their role in society is rarely spoken of and the abuse of women in Catholic families continues to be hidden.
Catholic Priests who ordered children and mothers back to the violence and abuse did not do so alone but were operating according to higher orders.
So, where exactly did these orders come from?
The teachings on this go back to St Augustine who lived in a dysfunctional family where his mother was beaten and forced to obey the violent father.
This “saint” then set about writing on how it is good for women to suffer at the hands of their husbands, because all women are evil and need to repent for the sin of being born female.
He also followed the teachings of Aristotle who also saw the subjugation of women as being necessary for society.
The patriarchal church also taught that women who think they are being abused are simply deceiving themselves and should not be believed. Keeping the women in the institution of marriage was all that mattered.
Children of the marriage were not believed either regarding abuse by the father, as that made would make him look bad in the eyes of the community and men’s reputations and good standing had to be protected.
By saying and doing nothing about the abuse, the Roman Catholic Church was thereby encouraging the denial of the realities of domestic violence and intra-familial terrorism and the extreme sufferings of abused mothers and their children.
Many mothers returned to the violence as a consequence of the Priests directives and suffered broken health and premature deaths. Children often suffered serious mental disorders or lapsed into crime and prostitution and drug addiction.
Priests would commonly say to abused mothers, “His (the abusive violent father) soul must be saved! You must return to him and stay with him to save his soul or he will not be admitted to heaven when he dies!”
The same patriarchal thinking has continued today into the legal system, whereby abused mothers and children are made to suffer for daring to come forward and try to escape.
This abuse has been allowed to continue into the next generation, thus perpetuating the cycle.
Solicitors and Barristers warn protective mothers not to dare mention to Family Court Judges the abuse of their children by fathers, citing “ judges are sick of hearing about child abuse” and so abuse goes on and on, like it did in the Catholic Church.
Some judges in Ireland still order women and children home to “be good little girls and obey.”
These are women of 40 years, so hardly girls, but this is how patriarchal judges see them.
All part of the brainwashing and social conditioning of females by the Roman Catholic Church. The holy sanctity of marriage and `Till death do us part…” mattered above all else and certainly the sufferings of mothers and children were of no account against the Catholic Church teachings.
Society still ostracizes victims of domestic violence, citing “she made her bed, now, let her lie in it”.
She has dishonored the family name and must leave the community.
But the husband is free to use and abuse his wife and children.
The same patriarchal system, which labeled all women as evil, still uses the same excuses in law to allow the abuser to walk free.
Here are a few well-known and typical excuses used by the RC Church and the Judiciary.
“All women are evil" ´ “Women's only role is to produce babies"
“All women are emotional, so therefore in need of locking up in the “Looney Bins" should they step out of line.
It is also very simple for a violent husband to have his wife committed to a mental institution so that his image is protected.
Remember how it was, one word from the priest or the brutal husband and the men in white coats arrived and the mother disappeared from society. Nobody was allowed to speak of her again.
“That will teach her to keep her mouth shut about male abusers”.
“That will teach the rest of the strong women to keep quiet about abuse too”
Of course the real reason for locking women away was to get possession of the land and property and children.
This is no different to the days of the witch-hunts, when the Vatican men of God ordered that women be burned at the stake in order to get their property.
It is also worth nothing that the Catholic Church singles out strong independent female children from a young age for persecution, aided and abetted by the Government agencies, especially social services.
Young girls were subjected to services of Exorcism by Catholic priests in order to break their spirit and render them obedient.
This same stigma remaining attached to them in motherhood which meant their children were stolen by the State.
It sounds so crazy in this day and age, yet it has been happening for generations and is still happening in secret.
The HSE- Social Services use the same secrecy rules as the Vatican.
It uses the same tactics of threats and intimidation also.
So too, the Family Courts.
Hardly surprising when the Judiciary, the legal profession, and the government are also controlled by the Catholic Institution in Ireland.
Most judges, social workers, Guardians, solicitors, barristers play by the Catholic rules for fear of rocking the boat and the truth be exposed for all to see.
Careers and incomes are dependent on these collusions and collaborations and none may break the silence and expose the injustices and atrocities in which they are all complicit.
Catholic teaching has taught abusive men how to manipulate and deceive in order to save face and remain in control.
This is how abusers are able to gain custody of the children they have abused, even when documented evidence is provided to the Judges and the various agencies involved.
2,000 years of suppression, subjugation, and maltreatment of females is enough. The Roman Catholic Church must be brought to account for all of its evil deeds which it must confess and seek forgiveness and make redemption. Until it does, it will remain a Church, which promotes and assists evil doings to women and children.
Now is the time for the Divine Feminine to take her place in society and bring love and harmony to all who desire it.
Portia.
* * *
Hurt women are crying out - not crying wolf
Saturday November 18 2006
IT IS hard to decide, in the blaze of fury ignited by Judge Thomas Fitzpatrick's ignorant remarks in Letterkenny District Court on Thursday, whether the man should be promptly removed from the bench, or whether he should be awarded a medal.
If any good is to be salvaged from his crude hypothesis that women are "crying wolf" about domestic violence it is that he has swivelled the spotlight, if only momentarily, onto one of the most neglected virulences in our society.
Women are being murdered at an average rate of one a month in Ireland. In most cases, their killers are men they know. The occurrence of rape is increasing but the proportional incidence of reporting it is diminishing and the number of those reported rapes that culminate in convictions is minuscule. Gardai log about 8,500 call-outs to domestic violence incidents each year. There are waiting lists for counselling in the Rape Crisis centres across the country.
Of the 25,000 calls made to the Women's Aid helpline last year, 10,500 rang out because the organisation did not have the money to answer them. The Government promised it €70,000 to ensure these calls would be answered in future and then reneged on the pledged funding.
On the day that the financial plight of Women's Aid was reported in this newspaper, the main front page story calculated that TDs were getting €1,000 for every day they attended Leinster House.
Whenever it is mooted that there ought to be special training for judges in handling cases of domestic violence, the over-riding imperative of judicial independence is cited as an immovable obstacle. Clearly, the insensitive comments of some judges are also an impediment to the administration of justice and put a question mark over the efficacy of providing special training for gardai if the courts cannot summon up the sensitivity required.
There is anecdotal evidence that some of Judge Fitzpatrick's judicial colleagues are disastrously insensitive. One woman, for instance, was advised by another judge on another occasion to "go home and be a good wife". As many domestic violence cases, such as applications for safety orders, are heard 'in camera', the actual prevalence of this unhelpful paternalistic attitude is unquantifiable. God knows what is being said behind closed doors.
On his judicial salary of around €115,000-plus-expenses, Judge Fitzpatrick might be reasonably expected to familiarise himself with the patterns and characteristics of domestic violence. In his Letterkenny court on Thursday, the woman, who withdrew her allegation of assault against her fiancé, never denied its veracity. When the judge asked her why she had made the complaint in the first place, she said it was because she was in fear at the time and was worried that the situation would get out of hand.
"What are you women doing making what appears (sic) to be spurious complaints against people?" the judge wondered. He noted it was the second time this week that a complaint had been withdrawn in his court and added: "I cannot help but notice that they are mostly made by women". In a system which fails to reassure victims that it will vindicate their safety and integrity, such loose talk is downright dangerous.
Yet it is consistently given oxygen by certain media commentators who insist on portraying women as the cause rather than the target of domestic violence, an insidious and disingenuous perversion of the facts.
There are many plausible and understandable reasons why abused women withdraw their complaints of assault. Fear of retaliation is the most common, a consideration compounded by the perpetrator's unlimited access to his victim within the family home. The instinct to protect children is another. What woman wants her offspring to witness their father being bundled into the back of a squad car and labelled a wife-beater? We know from countless testimonies that it is only when the abuse becomes extremely dangerous that women will take that ultimate step and call the gardai.
There is another highly potent disincentive for victims of domestic violence to pursue their complaints and that is their lack of faith in the justice system. By nature of the crimes they suffer, involving degradation, humiliation, powerlessness and the guilt accrued from being told they themselves are the trigger for the violence, the self-esteem of these victims is usually rock-bottom.
It is an iniquitous feature of our society that the issue of violence against women does not command the same robustly-patrolled societal consensus as does drink-driving. I have little doubt that Judge Fitzpatrick is tough on perpetrators of domestic violence. However, people will continue to be beaten up by their spouses and partners unless they receive the whole-hearted protection of society. And victims - mostly women - will go on withdrawing their complaints in courts like Judge Thomas Fitzpatrick's.
Justine McCarthy is deputy editor of 'Village' magazine
Women are being murdered at an average rate of one a month in Ireland. In most cases, their killers are men they know. The occurrence of rape is increasing but the proportional incidence of reporting it is diminishing and the number of those reported rapes that culminate in convictions is minuscule. Gardai log about 8,500 call-outs to domestic violence incidents each year. There are waiting lists for counselling in the Rape Crisis centres across the country.
Of the 25,000 calls made to the Women's Aid helpline last year, 10,500 rang out because the organisation did not have the money to answer them. The Government promised it €70,000 to ensure these calls would be answered in future and then reneged on the pledged funding.
On the day that the financial plight of Women's Aid was reported in this newspaper, the main front page story calculated that TDs were getting €1,000 for every day they attended Leinster House.
Whenever it is mooted that there ought to be special training for judges in handling cases of domestic violence, the over-riding imperative of judicial independence is cited as an immovable obstacle. Clearly, the insensitive comments of some judges are also an impediment to the administration of justice and put a question mark over the efficacy of providing special training for gardai if the courts cannot summon up the sensitivity required.
There is anecdotal evidence that some of Judge Fitzpatrick's judicial colleagues are disastrously insensitive. One woman, for instance, was advised by another judge on another occasion to "go home and be a good wife". As many domestic violence cases, such as applications for safety orders, are heard 'in camera', the actual prevalence of this unhelpful paternalistic attitude is unquantifiable. God knows what is being said behind closed doors.
On his judicial salary of around €115,000-plus-expenses, Judge Fitzpatrick might be reasonably expected to familiarise himself with the patterns and characteristics of domestic violence. In his Letterkenny court on Thursday, the woman, who withdrew her allegation of assault against her fiancé, never denied its veracity. When the judge asked her why she had made the complaint in the first place, she said it was because she was in fear at the time and was worried that the situation would get out of hand.
"What are you women doing making what appears (sic) to be spurious complaints against people?" the judge wondered. He noted it was the second time this week that a complaint had been withdrawn in his court and added: "I cannot help but notice that they are mostly made by women". In a system which fails to reassure victims that it will vindicate their safety and integrity, such loose talk is downright dangerous.
Yet it is consistently given oxygen by certain media commentators who insist on portraying women as the cause rather than the target of domestic violence, an insidious and disingenuous perversion of the facts.
There are many plausible and understandable reasons why abused women withdraw their complaints of assault. Fear of retaliation is the most common, a consideration compounded by the perpetrator's unlimited access to his victim within the family home. The instinct to protect children is another. What woman wants her offspring to witness their father being bundled into the back of a squad car and labelled a wife-beater? We know from countless testimonies that it is only when the abuse becomes extremely dangerous that women will take that ultimate step and call the gardai.
There is another highly potent disincentive for victims of domestic violence to pursue their complaints and that is their lack of faith in the justice system. By nature of the crimes they suffer, involving degradation, humiliation, powerlessness and the guilt accrued from being told they themselves are the trigger for the violence, the self-esteem of these victims is usually rock-bottom.
It is an iniquitous feature of our society that the issue of violence against women does not command the same robustly-patrolled societal consensus as does drink-driving. I have little doubt that Judge Fitzpatrick is tough on perpetrators of domestic violence. However, people will continue to be beaten up by their spouses and partners unless they receive the whole-hearted protection of society. And victims - mostly women - will go on withdrawing their complaints in courts like Judge Thomas Fitzpatrick's.
Justine McCarthy is deputy editor of 'Village' magazine
- Justine McCarthy
