De La Salle College

[bern351]

I served 5 years (1952 - 1957) in Pitsmoor Penitentiary and I have to agree with Bushbaby 100%. Those bullies were hardly Christian. I will go to my grave unable to forgive them for the treatment they gave me and my classmates. I left that hellhole with nothing but Religious Instruction and Physics-with-Chemistry (an experimental sylabus with my year) so virtually I left with nothing worth having. I wasn't allowed to sit the maths exam (I never found out why) but after leaving I went to night school and flew through the subject with 100% pass marks in some of the papers, so I don't believe it was my inability for maths. I actually think it was because I came from a working class family and passed the 11+ that they gave me that treatment.

[pjkay]

I'm afraid you have the wrong end of the stick here.

The brothers at De La Salle were not the Christian Brothers they were the Brothers of St Jean Baptiste De La Salle.

 

Christian Brothers are an entirely different organisation and have had some problems with abuse, although you cannot judge thousands of men on the actions of a few.

 

 

so they were not Brothers?? and they were not Christian?? You are splitting hairs here,,,,,They were a bunch of morons,,

[hazel]

John was an 11+ boy and we had no money as children so everytime the 'christian' brothers kept him late after school, which was often, his bus pass was not accepted and he had to walk home.

From Scott Rd to Intake.

 

 

Bern351

He must have been there at the same time as you

 

hazel

[scousemouse]

Seems to me that you had to be some kind of monster/weirdo to be in some kind of religious order, the nuns were no better. I could weep when I think of what those poor children/young people went through at the hands of the perverts who who had the audacity to call themselves ' Christians'. I hope they all rot in hell.

[bern351]

Yes Hazel he was there 1953-1958. If you remember I exchanged a few PM.s with you about 2 years ago. As his birthday was later in the year and mine is early in the year it meant he was a year behind me through the school. He would have been in the same class as Ged Finnigan (Ged passed away a couple of years ago). Boys who came from a working class background having passed the 11+ suffered the most at the hands of those bullies. Going there certainly affected my whole life in a bad way and it has left me feeling very bitter and very anti religion. Those guys obviously didn't believe what they preached or they wouldn't have behaved in the way they did.

[Tonyt]

I have not visited this topic for some time and having read the updates I am not surprised by the bitterness many feel. However I still go to church, help the local priest out and occassionally read the lessons when asked. Why, you might ask, because my faith is bigger than the 'catholic church' and many who claimed to 'represent it'.

Yes, there were 'brothers' who did not qualify as human beings never mind christians. But there were others who represented the aims of their founder. They persevered with pupils like myself who did not value their efforts until I went into further education, no doubt like many others.

As for the representatives of the church, my own parish priest eventually came clean and gave up the job to live happily with his 'housekeeper'. I still occassionally see him and enjoy a friendly chat. I know of one Brother who slipped out quietly and married his ladyfriend the following day.

Life is truly very short, some Brothers will not be looking forward to their final day. We just have to remember the good times and friendships we valued and as many say 'move on'.

[hazel]

I found this post--well first it made me laugh then thinking deeper it made me angry' they did not deserve to be happy with their so called housekeepers after living a lie for years and pontificating to everyone else in the catholic church not to lead a life of sin.

I can see why my brothers hated them and what they stood for

 

hazel

[Bushbaby]

 

Cameron has called for a return to “Traditional Christian Moral Values”

 

I guess that includes:

 

Stoning women to death for "suspected improprieties"

Widespread sexual abuse of children by all levels of christian clergy, and subsequent overseas postings to avoid prosecution

Irish and Italian nuns removing newborns from single mothers and sending them to Australia in the 1960s

Popes colluding with Nazis and turning a blind eye to the holocaust

Mass extermination of middle eastern muslims on a so called “Crusade” to find a non-existent grail

You know what you can do with your church matey

[Tonyt]

I found this post--well first it made me laugh then thinking deeper it made me angry' they did not deserve to be happy with their so called housekeepers after living a lie for years and pontificating to everyone else in the catholic church not to lead a life of sin.

I can see why my brothers hated them and what they stood for

 

hazel

 

All the more reason for having married priests. The celebacy ruling did not come in until some time after the church got going. Priests have said to me, 'well you should know more about that, after all you are married.'

 

I believe it will be accepted in the end, after all how many married anglican clergy are counted a catholic priests now.

[hazel]

My sister kept her faith by that sort of reasoning, she said that the things she did not agree with would probably be altered to her way of thinking in the future.

I could not do this and she died keeping her faith to the end.

hazel