The Archbishop of Dublin, Dr Desmond Connell, has asked, following the States of Fear series, "whether there are other abuses today to which we are equally blind because we are unable or unwilling to recognise them". He referred in particular to our treatment of the old, the handicapped, the homeless and prisoners.
"Much needs to be done in the area of mental handicap, for example, and for those in our society suffering from different kinds of disabilities. And what about the homeless on our streets and the suffering that they endure?"
There was also an increasing danger in a society which valued youth so much that the old would be forgotten and neglected, he said. "The irony is that the same society is pressuring young people to such an extent that many turn to drugs and some even contemplate suicide."
He also drew attention to the treatment of prisoners. The "undue emphasis on punishment rather than on rehabilitation is most regrettable. In so many ways, our approach to those imprisoned today parallels the attitudes we are currently criticising in our discussion of the industrial and reform schools of the 1950s and later," he said.
On the States of Fear series Dr Connell said that first and foremost everyone had to be mindful of those who suffered abuse and their need for healing.
