On the eve of St. Patrick's Day, Ireland needs another Patrick.

What is the saddest, most tragic aspect of the Industrial School abuse of children is this--that it was done under the guise of Christianity. Children, often as young as a few months of age were taken from their parents by the Irish government in collusion with the Catholic Church. It was portrayed as a loving act of charity, but there was NO love at all, certainly nothing that would mirror the love of Christ.

From the mid-1880s until the early 1970s thousands of Irish children officially in the care of the state were subjected to a double regime of sexual abuse and wageless slavery. Ireland's notorious industrial schools and orphanages--all run by Catholic orders--were homes to boys and girls who had been officially declared criminals by the courts.

Some children were even sent to these institutions simply because their parents had split up: one-parent families, usually held together by abandoned wives, were regarded with suspicion in post-independence conservative Catholic Ireland.


In these Industrial Schools, you had priests and nuns representing  Christ to these children--and these adults would beat, torture and physically abuse to such an extent that some children sought suicide as their only means of escape. Others were beaten to death or allowed to become so sick without any medical treatment that they ultimately died.

The Ryan Commission has sought to investigate allegations of child abuse. But, following this lengthy inquiry, there have been NO criminal prosecutions brought against the abusers or against those in the hierarchy of the church … complicit in the brutal crimes against innocent children.


It is unlikely that officials from any government department will ever be held accountable having presided over an illegal, cruel and wicked system that led to untold suffering for tens of thousands of innocent Irish children and their families since the foundation of the state.

Here's what I want to know? How can the Catholic Church claim to be the representative of Jesus Christ here on earth when it endorses, fosters and is totally complicit in this kind of abuse and not just in Ireland, but Scotland, Wales, England, Canada, Australia and the United States. When the Catholic Church is confronted with its dirty laundry, instead of confessing its sins and asking the victims for forgiveness, the Catholic Church hides behind lawyers and legalese. When the clergy scandal was exposed by the Boston Globe, instead of coming clean, confessing its sins and humbly asking for the forgiveness of each of the victims abused by its priests, the Catholic Church brought out a battery of lawyers in an attempt to stonewall the issue and in effect treating the victims as "enemies" of the Church. There is nothing godly or holy about the Catholic Church in how it has responded to what the UK Guardian newspaper calls a "cruel and wicked system." 

Matthew 18:6 says, "But if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a large millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea." How many children who were abused by the Catholic Church in Ireland, Scotland, Wales, England, Canada, Australia and the United States are now grown men and women who no longer believe in Christ. They no longer look to the Church. They have lost their faith and their hearts have become hardened towards God. Why? Because of the Catholic Church. I believe the Catholic Church  will stand in heavy judgment by God for the destruction of the faith of countless thousands upon thousands of men and women--all because they did not operate out of love and mercy.

Last of all, tomorrow is St. Patrick's Day and the irony is that Patrick brought the Gospel to Ireland in the early part of the 5th century. This is a shameless promotion for my wife's book, A Secret Hope, which you can get at Amazon.com. This is her first novel and it's historical fiction and very accurate in every detail. Go get a copy and if you like it, tell others about it as well. But my point in bringing up St. Patrick, as we honor him this coming Saturday at every pub and bar in America, Britain, Ireland and elsewhere is this: Ireland needs another St. Patrick. The Irish people are filled with shame (because so many were complicit or silent while this abuse took place), and the Irish people are filled with anger at the Catholic Church, and rightly so. They've turned their back on the Catholic Church, and rightly so, but at the same time, they've turned their backs on God. The people of Ireland need to hear about the love and mercy of God. They need to hear about his compassion and his goodness. They need to know from the Scriptures that Our Lord Jesus Christ is nothing like the Catholic Church in Ireland or the United States. They need to know that God hates the sin and wickedness that so many have experienced in these Industrial Schools or at the hands of priests here in the United States.

Pray for the people of Ireland. Pray for God to send evangelists to Ireland to proclaim his love and forgiveness to them. They need to be forgiven. They need to also forgive those who have perpetrated this evil against them and members of their families. They need healing and restoration from the pain and suffering that they've experienced or members of their family tree. They need to hear the Good News that Jesus suffered on the cross at Calvary and rose from the grave so that they could have a relationship with the Father. Pray that the people of Ireland will have open hearts to receive this message even as they did 1600 yrs ago when Patrick was guided by a God-given vision to return to Ireland proclaiming God's love and acceptance.                                     

"A Secret Hope" is now available as an eBook!

I am excited to announce that my wife, Renee's, first book, A Secret Hope, is now available for download as an eBook at Amazon.com as well as Barnes & Noble and Smashwords.com. For the next two weeks, the introductory price will be a measly $.99. Then, in about two weeks, it will sell for $2.99. So this is your chance to get her book on your e-reader. (If you don't have an e-reader, you can get either a Kindle app or Nook app to download to your iPhone, Droid, iPad, Tablet, or your computer.)


Now, before you download the book, let me clue you in that it is historical fiction, set in 5th century Ireland. Renee did EXTENSIVE research on her subject (she could probably go out on the lecture circuit talking  about life and religion in 5th century Ireland). You can rest assured that "A Secret Hope" is historically accurate down to every detail, and according book editors and publishers, it is WELL-WRITTEN. I read an early manuscript of this book several years ago on our flight to Ireland and even then, before it went through many revisions and edits, I thought that this book would make a great movie! 


A Secret Hope centers on a girl, Ciara, who for most of her young life has hidden a secret that means death if it’s discovered. She is studying to become a Druidess but she is starting to doubt the power of the gods that she serves. In ancient Ireland, these gods had to be constantly appeased, and woe to the man or woman who offended them. 

Renee's book "Secret Hope" on
Tom Johnston's Kindle. Thanks Tom!

When Patrick brought the Gospel to Ireland the idea of one God was revolutionary. Even more so was the notion of a God who sought His people and longed to do good for them.

It is a historical fact that the High King's druid received a prophecy about a strange man who would come from across the sea, bringing knowledge of a foreign God who would displace their own pagan gods.

One day in a dream, Ciara receives what she thinks is a line of poetry. But it’s the work of the Holy Spirit, who has given her the same first line of the druid's prophecy about Patrick.
Download "A Secret Hope" for $.99 and if you like it, write a review at either Amazon.com or BarnesandNoble.com. Also, spread the word and let others in your sphere of influence know about this book. Also, once you read A Secret Hope and get hooked, you need to knwo that there is a sequel, "Fury of Dragons" which Renee has written and it will be published as an eBook in about two months.