Facing the fury

June 16, 2009 in General, News

ryan_march_01.jpgBrian Grogan was one of the Jesuits who joined the solidarity-with-victims march in Dublin. He was startled by the level of anger even in a silent march. Though he was not in clerical dress, he was accosted by one man: “Are you a priest?” “I am,” said Brian. “Well f- you priests.” The man looked closer. “Are you a Jesuit?” “Yes.” “Well, f- you Jesuit bastards,” said the man. In face of this abuse Brian said nothing, but felt the frustration of not being able to make his voice heard – a tiny intimation, he reflected, of the frustration, humiliation and powerlessness which victims of abuse in industrial schools experienced.