The Lie of the Land: Irish Identities

As I write this, in early 2009, the Irish church is expected soon to release what the archbishop of Dublin describes as a shocking report on clergy sex abuse. Thousands of children, said Diarmuid Martin, were abused by Irish priests, and at least two bishops covered up the problem. I note this because I think that this book by Fintan O'Toole, written almost a decade ago, provides telling context for the Irish scandal. Already back then, he writes, priests were disappearing from parishes and bishops were fleeing the country. And the "lie"? Almost no one talked about what so many of the Irish people knew, that there was a severe problem of pedophilia in the church. I came along later, last year, to produce a book on the impact of that problem today, "An Irish Tragedy: How sex abuse by Irish priests helped cripple the Catholic church." In Ireland and America. O'Toole's book, "The Lie of the Land," was of great help to me in my research.=--Joe Rigert, author.