Courtney McGrail
Dear Editor, It seems from Nuala O’Loan’s article The View (IC 17/03/2016) that the highly qualified and distinguished Commission for the Protection of Minors is being strangled in the way other benevolent bodies are, by having to get funding from the very people of whom they may be most critical. Slow strangulation by poverty or the threat of it means valuable time and effort wasted in gathering money.
We have seen it all before. Unfortunately, when those who are serious about protecting children wanted to do something about it, they either forgot or ignored the fact that most social change begins locally, with one or a few people trudging around arousing consciences and making sure that at least those with whom they have influence do what is good rather than what is convenient.
They have their choice; either try to influence people and institutions locally (let your light shine… so that other people will go and do likewise), or fold yourself into a central institutional framework which can be controlled by finance. You get what you want and people unfortunately in this case as in many others seem to have got it.
The commission with its vast range of members, it tortuous methods, its dependence on funding (hence money raising), its aim to funnel real decision making into the care of one person who, however good, may be gone and replaced any time, is sadly hazardous and sadly predictable in its results.
Immense educational work has been done already by enlisting the help of people in universities, local organisations, journalism, churches; it is a pity that this may be endangered by giving the impression that a centralised panel of experts meeting seldom, looking for money and funnelling decision making into a central clearing house may produce a better result. The Catholic Church has tried working that way and again and again found it did not work.
Yours etc.,
Fr Desmond Wilson,
Belfast, Co. Antrim.