An Irish Tragedy: How Sex Abuse By Irish Priests Helped Cripple The Catholic Church [Paperback]

Joe Rigert (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 4, 2008

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.

Editorial Reviews

About the 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, and is the author of two books, "Europe on Eight Kids a Day" and "All Together: An Unusual American Family." He and his wife, Jan, raised a multi-racial family of eight children, seven adopted. They live in Minneapolis.

Product Details

• Paperback: 186 pages
• Publisher: Crossland Press (April 4, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0979027985
• ISBN-13: 978-0979027987
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #589,268 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

31 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Book worth Reading, July 12, 2008

By 

Tony Flannery (Ireland) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: An Irish Tragedy: How Sex Abuse By Irish Priests Helped Cripple The Catholic Church (Paperback)

Joe Rigert's book, An Irish Tragedy, is a significant contibution to the history of clerical sex abuse both in the U.S. and here in Ireland. Some people might say that it has come too late. I cannot speak for the U.S., but certainly here in Ireland there is some weariness with the topic, a sense that it has all been said many times and that the bones of the scandal have been sufficiently raked over. But this is not the full story because it is of crucial importance that both Church and society learn the lessons of these revelations, lessons about the abuse of power both by individuals and institutions. And it is in this area that Joe Rigert's book makes an invaluable contribution. It attempts to delve into the background of some of the major characters involved and try to analyse what was it that made them do what they did. Had it to do with their social or religious background, or maybe their seminary training? He makes a potentially controversial suggestion that there was something about the background and training of Irish priests that made them more prone to become abusers. Many will argue this with him, but he assembles some impressive data to back it up.
Joe Rigert is a journalist, and this book has both the thoroughness of research and an easy flowing style that are characteristic of the best in his profession. I recommend it highly.

Tony Flannery

25 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars How the Irish Did Not Save the World, October 18, 2008

By 

Thomas M. Loarie (Danville, CA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: An Irish Tragedy: How Sex Abuse By Irish Priests Helped Cripple The Catholic Church (Paperback)

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.

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Sad but True, October 17, 2008

By 

Paul Lennon - See all my reviews

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This review is from: An Irish Tragedy: How Sex Abuse By Irish Priests Helped Cripple The Catholic Church (Paperback)

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.