The headline says "Thousands beaten, raped........". An initial perusal of this might lead one to conclude that the beatings were part and parcel of the rape and that the two were intimately linked. In fact, they're two distinct situations but are both included under in the single category of "abuse".
If that is the situation, then I too am an abuse victim as is just about every guy in my class at school. We were beaten regularly for anything and everything but I don't consider myself to have been abused. Given that beatings were dished out liberally in regular Catholic schools, it doesn't surprise me at all that many of these kids at "reformed" schools were given some leather. It might have actually done them some good.
Rape is another thing entirely and I don't have the slightest doubt that the Christian Brothers did harbor homosexuals who were responsible. Which is precisely why the Catholic Church has always ruled that homosexuals should not be admitted to religious life. As usual though, it will be the Catholic Church, not the homosexual perverts who perpetrated these crimes which gets the blame.
Ireland has been a shining light to the world in terms of the priests and religious which it has produced including numerous holy men and women. As usual however, we'll witness the general piling on which accompanies these reports. These stories will be used to reinforce whatever perception of the Catholic Church individuals already hold.
You obviously didn't read the Catholic church's legal defense.
Read post #40 and get back with us.