Sir, - Mr Kevin Healy of RTE responds (July 8th) to the report on my article in the Dublin Archdiocesan magazine Link Up concerning the RTE television series States of Fear.
Mr Healy claims that, given the sensitivity of these programmes, preview copies were not sent out to the press. In fact, Ms Kathy Sheridan of The Irish Times has confirmed to me that she received preview tapes of some of the programmes. Meanwhile, as stated in my article, the request from the Conference of Religious of Ireland (CORI) for a preview of the programmes on behalf of religious orders and congregations was refused. A short news release was received at the communications office of the Dublin Archdiocese.
The Christian Brothers have confirmed to me that the account as published by me in Link Up is correct. Contrary to Mr Healy's claim, time constraints were placed both on the length of a proposed initial interview with a spokesman for the Christian Brothers and on the length of the final edited version. The Christian Brothers offered to put the programme-makers in touch with people who had more positive experiences of being at Artane. The programme-makers did indeed offer to meet these people but said that the men would not be interviewed for the programmes. The suggestion was made instead that if the Christian Brothers representative were to be interviewed, he could speak for these men and represent their views.
The above comments on the media aspects of the programme series must in no way take from the importance of listening and responding to those who have suffered abuse or from the painful process of soul-searching in which the Church and the State must engage. The primary focus of the section in Link Up pertaining to States of Fear, in which my article appeared, was on the needs of those who have suffered abuse and on outreach to them. Our main concern is that they are encouraged to make contact with the agencies most appropriate to their situation so that they can receive whatever help they may need. - Yours, etc.,
Fr John Dardis SJ, Communications Director, Archdiocese of Dublin, Drumcondra, Dublin 9.