Michael O’Brien Speaks on the Ryan Report
2009 May 27
First a warning. If you watch the video below you will be upset.
I heard the audio on RTE Radio earlier in the week and was moved to tears. Watching the video has the same impact. But can we afford not to look this horror in the face?
Mr O’Brien gives an impassioned, courageous and articulate cry for honesty, transparency and action.
Here is a link to the page on youtube which has some other background detail and a full transcript.
Brilliant speech.
Michael O’Brien is my uncle. I’m very proud of him and the courage it’s taken to speak aloud of the abuse he suffered.
It’s now time for the Catholic Church to stand up and take responsibility….
I met him last night. Unafraid and fearless. Looked the Government in the eye and spoke for us all.
Catherine, you are right to be proud of him, and of the many victims of this evil who carried for many years the collective sin of this nation in their physical and mental scars. I hope that the revelations go so way to providing a measure of healing.
And Andrew, I think you’re right that he expressed the anger and frustration of a whole lot of people, but there’s also a sense in which he shouldn’t have had to. The price of an easy national conscience was that people like Michael had to carry the can.
Michael,im happy you came out the truth,now its time to stand the catholic church to take responsibility to the victim.
im one of the victim of child abuse but i dont know where i could go,can you give me the email add of MR.Ryan O’brien?..
im in the philippines so can you please give me his email add?my email.tom_mesa01@yahoo.com.
Need it be pointed out that the Child Abuse Commission was afraid to hear the testimony of all the people who were detained as children. The Commission questioned only a few survivors. Like Michael, I was one of those and his description of the process is perfect – in my case the Religious Order’s legal team refused 13 times [THIRTEEN] to challenge my testimony. Apparently they were treating the Commission as just a talking shop despite the fact that I was accusing the Religious Order of being involved in horrific criminal abuses against just one child – myself …. 13 times they refused to challenge me on my spoken testimony given under oath. That’s how cynical the Religious Orders are in its treatment of survivors.
The Ryan Report has had an impact on exposing the truth of the Institutions – most of the truth is in the Ryan Report but there is NO doubt that Michael’s appearance and testimony here has had a powerful and meaningful impact.
This is a video based on the Justice Laffoy’s Report of the Confidential Committee which allowed survivors to give their testimony in a confidential setting. This Committee was established to allow abuse victims to tell their story in a confidential setting.
Those who went before the committee were not asking for Redress.
They did not want their abusers punished or exposed, nor did they want any publicity for themselves.
Therefore,their evidence must be taken as all the more credible.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6vzIGpcCGGc
Andrew