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Clare Champion 17th Jan 97
'One only has to pick up any newspaper or magazine to be confronted by the gross realities of crime in the 90's -but one crime which seems to be cloaked in secrecy is domestic violence. Here the victim is often terrorised into submission by physical or psychological violence and the guilty party rarely, if ever, offending outside the family home - safe in the knowledge that they can get away with this violence because of the enforced silence of the victim.'
DOMESTIC VIOLENCE - Statement from the Irish Bishop's Conference - August 2000
Foreword
Only those who have experienced violence in an intimate relationship can appreciate the depth of pain inflicted by such violence. In the past more people than was ever realised suffered the wordless martyrdom of domestic violence, in silence and without redress. Thankfully, awareness of domestic violence, its scope and diversity, is now far more widespread. This is one of the healthy aspects of our contemporary society. Naming domestic violence as an abuse is the first step in countering it.
Most reported cases of such violence are by men against women. However it would be a mistake to presume mat all domestic violence is perpetrated solely by one gender against another. Women too can be guilty of violence against men. There is increasing reason to suspect that more such cases than is commonly believed remain unreported, for the same reasons that many cases of violence against women are still not reported.
It is still true, however, that women rather than men are the victims in the great majority of reported cases of domestic violence, and this document reflects that. Should more evidence come to light, the balance may have to be appropriately redressed. The underlying principle that violence from any quarter is wrong and sinful remains valid whatever the sex of the perpetrator.
Christ's commandment of love offers no justification for any sort of violence, of which this text lists a variety of examples. There should be, as the text points out, no such thing as an acceptable level of violence.
The Church has not been without its share of responsibility in the past and we acknowledge this. Within marriage the mutual submission of spouses was often overlooked, or equated with unilateral dominance. As the text shows, there is no ground in the teaching of the Church today to justify domestic violence. Rape is rape whether within or outside the marriage relationship. A wife or husband has the right and possibly the duty not to stay in a seriously abusive relationship.
In a short document it is not possible to explore the complexity of the issues involved; the text nonetheless does illustrate some of the many aspects of the problem. We would like to pay tribute to the numerous individuals and groups, whether within the Church or outside it, who, over the years, have struggled in various ways to highlight the issue and to develop appropriate responses.
The Church, like other sectors, has had its learning curve and there is still a long way to go. We therefore address this document in the first instance to the Catholic community in Ireland; to the victims of domestic violence; to perpetrators; to those with pastoral responsibilities; to families and friends of victims; to catechists and educators; and to the faithful who in their daily lives and occupations may be called in conscience to address the issue in different ways.
Most Rev Laurence Ryan, Bishop of Kildare & Leighlin, Irish Commission for Justice and Peace
Most Rev Willie Walsh, Bishop of Killaloe, Pastoral Commission of the Irish Bishops' Conference
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