by Joe Rigert
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Product Description
The story of how Irish immigrants helped to build the American Catholic Church is well-known. But the sad tale of how Irish priests later undermined the Church has gone untold, until now. Investigative reporter Joe Rigert's search for the roots of the Catholic sex-abuse scandals led him to Ireland, where he found that rigid sexual repression in both society and the priesthood has had the opposite of its intended effect, fostering bizarre and criminal sexual expression. Though a tiny country, Ireland has been a chief exporter of abusers to America, making the Catholic Church's darkest crisis a true Irish tragedy. Catholic historian Terrance Dosh calls this book "a riveting read with many remarkable insights." Author Joe Rigert is a veteran investigative journalist, retired from the Star Tribune in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He served as president of the international organization Investigative Reporters & Editors.
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Average Customer Review:
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:
 How the Irish Did Not Save the World, 2008-10-18
Joe Rigert, retired investigative journalist form the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, prompted by his brother's comments about his experience as the Catholic sex-abuse scandal unfolded, began a personal investigation into `the truth" about what role US bishops played in the scandal. He was concerned the American priests were taking the brunt of the blame for the sex-abuse problem, while their superiors, the bishops, remained above it all.
The Boston scandal erupted when Rigert was well into his investigation. He had collected the names of every bishop publicly accused of sexual abuse; traveled from courthouse to courthouse across the US and Canada to read every document relating to the errant bishops; spoken with attorneys and advocates for the victims as well as victims themselves; met with to a few abusers; and had traveled to the Vatican to inquire on sexual activity among clerics of the Vatican itself.
With the exploding crisis in Boston, Rigert put his initial investigation on hold and began to dig into the events surrounding the sex-abuse scandal there. His investigative trail took him to Ireland. There he learned about why it was that Irish priests became central players in many of the sex scandals here and offers profiles of several of the worst offenders. He also learned about sex abuse, sexual involvements, and unique conditions in Ireland that contributed to this scandal. Ireland was a seedbed of abuse.
"An Irish Tragedy" is built on Rigert's investigative foundation providing: a prism through which we can view the crimes; answers to the question "why"; and linkage between US and Ireland relating to culture and the Catholic church.The book details the history of the migration of Irish priests and their unusual penchant to abuse girls and women, and raises questions on the Church's emphasis on homosexuality as the primary cause of the sex-scandal.
Rigert's "An Irish Tragedy" is a must-read for those who remain unconvinced of breadth of the scandal; and a useful book for those wanting the history, details and underpinnings of this tragic event. I fully agree with another reviewer that this book could have been improved immensely with better editing.
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:
 Sad but True, 2008-10-17
Take note of how this book was written, pp.1-2:"I didn't set out to write a book on Irish priests. Rather, I started my journey with a broad inquiry into the sexual involvements of Catholic bishops in North American and Europe..." Read how he changed direction. The author's wife influenced focus and perspective: "Write a narrative, she said, that would include my personal experiences, opinions and reflections as a birth Catholic."(p.149). I went back to this book after finishing it. It is well written. Not strident, poignant.
"Sad but True", was my conclusion after reading this book which examines a bevy of Irish pedophile bishops and priests in their American and Irish milieus. You might have suspected all along that the Irish were involved in this sordid mess. Irish clergy are an integral part of American Catholic clergy. So it stands to reason that if pedophilia was rampant in the American clergy the Irish had something to do with it; like they manned those parishes, prepared the sermons, counted the money in the basement, and built those parochial schools. They also turned out generations of damned good professionals, some of whom ended up criticizing their old alma mater. Like Joe Rigert, an investigative reporter, who goes a little further and contends the Irish did more than their share of abuse.
My memoir, "Our Father, who art in bed, a Naïve and Sentimental Dubliner in the Legion of Christ", at Amazon.com, tells how I grew up in a traditional Catholic household with a lot of sexual taboo, secrecy and fear of the clergy; an atmosphere that, paradoxically, sets the stage for all kinds of abuse. Pedophilia is still a taboo subject to the American public, particularly Catholics, who may feel their priests are being unfairly set upon by the "secular press". And it is certainly not pleasant to have the scabs torn off the wound again. But we need men like Joe Rigert who travels to places and interviews the experts and perpetrators and does the spade work; who do not shy away from this painful reality and lay the axe to the roots. I personally believe the author is opening doors and windows for victims to escape, calling on clergy to repent, and also letting fresh air into the Catholic Church. Wasn't that Good Pope John's intention when he convoked the Second Vatican Council for 1962?
I am an Irish-born, 15-year-priest, ex-Legionary of Christ in the USA since 1985. A lot of hang-ups, perhaps, but maybe qualified to review this book. I was never abused by a priest; my scrapes with pedophiles being limited to the Irish Christian Brothers in 1950s Dublin: the "boarders" at St. Vincent's Boys School, Glasnevin, warned us "day boys" about the "browns", those twisted brothers who lusted for the young of their own gender.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
 Tragedy indeed, 2008-09-11
An Irish Tragedy is an apt title for this book because it describes precisely the end result of the continuum of excessive and superstitious piety, toxic clerical control and a twisted sexual morality which has all converged into a flood of cases of sexual abuse of minors and deceitful cover-up by bishops. The Catholic Church managed to develop more social and cultural control in Ireland than perhaps any other country in the post-medieval era. The dark underside of the Church's role in Ireland has been the legacy of sexual and spiritual abuse by clergy. This is the first book to look honestly at a horrendous blight in the irish Catholic culture that many deny or are afraid to confront because it rocks their childish, church-imposed dependence on the clergy for spiritual security.
2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
Terrible disgrace, 2008-09-07
First I have concern for the truth of the author's work.
If it is true, which I would give him a mark of 90%, I think
it is something we the people of the church need to bring into
our consciousnes and come up with actions to be performed by
us on the church and society. This matter has been slipping through
our consciousness for many years. The church needs to take a hard look
at celibacy, its methods of teaching in seminaries, the ordination
of women, and other matters. It could bring about some drastic and
needed changes within the Church and also society.
Fr. William Forst ..Author of "If Aristotle Ran the Catholic Church".
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
 Book that needed a good editor, 2008-08-29
This book has a lot of info on the subject of the RC Church in Ireland and the various priests and bishops that have emigrated from there to the US and turned out to be sexual abusers of children.
However, it is poorly organized and doesn't quite deliver what it promises.
For example, the book often cites the fact of sexual repression as a major factor in the culture of the Irish. But there are no statistics on this as I recall, and no hard factual data.
All in all, the book was disappointing. I expected more real information.
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