‘A request for spiritual support to help bring healing to Ireland
The following article was originally published in the newsletter published by the Irish Cultural Society of Calgary (ICS). As our readers are well aware, the Ryan Report was published last June dealing with the abuse of children by clerics in Ireland.
The following article describes the extraordinary efforts of Susan Cowman in Dublin to help make some sense of it all. [Susan is the niece of Martin Cowman, a well-known and active member of the ICS.]
Cowman is requesting spiritual support on her journey to help bring about healing and closure to the many who were directly and indirectly affected by these traumatic events.
Ithaca: A Journey of Reflection and Healing
By SUSAN COWMAN
DUBLIN – Since the issue of the Ryan Report in June 2009 and the subsequent release of the Murphy Report in December, the people of this country have been shocked beyond belief.
We have all felt the impact of the revelations in these reports on some level. We are a nation in grief and we need somewhere to bring this grief in an effort to heal.
It is time to change the Irish psyche. It is time to change the eyes through which we see our children.
This is our holocaust and until we, the citizens of this country, join together to heal, this wound will remain bleeding for further generations.
Over the past eight months I have been working on a project which I believe is a way forward.
I am planning to walk for 21 days across the Camino from Burgos to Santiago from April 30 to May 21, arriving into Santiago on the first anniversary of the issue of the Ryan Report.
During this time I am asking you, the people of Ireland, to light a candle every day for those 21 days.
The period of 21 days is a full healing cycle in many traditions and it gives us a place to bring our grief. It gives us a focus and is such a simple yet powerful action that it will make a difference.
There are 1.5 million homes in Ireland – that’s 31.5 million lights with a single focus – and that changes things!
We can, as a nation, come together in grief and pain, but most importantly in the hope of becoming a society that recognizes the atrocities that have occurred and by taking responsibility to ensure that our future generations of children grow up in safety, supported and loved by their community.
I have written to the an taoiseach, the president, other government ministers, the bishops and the national agencies dealing with victims of abuse to inform them of the project and also to seek their support.
Obviously, as an ordinary citizen, I do not have access to the media and need those who do to speak about this project and take part in something that is so necessary at this time.
While we are walking, we will light a candle every day at noon and at midnight and when we reach Santiago, we will do a silent candlelit walk around the square at noon and at midnight to mark the anniversary.
Your help is needed too. The key elements of the project, namely its simplicity and lack of agenda, will ensure its success at a level.
However, with your support, it will be an amazing demonstration of intention. Every single candle that is lit brings us one step closer to fulfilling the vision.
So I am asking you to do two things:
1. Light a candle every day for a few minutes from April 30 to May 20 with the intention of sending healing to this deep wound in our society.
2. Help get this message to the nation and publicize this unique project by circulating this message among your family, friends and anyone else you know who might find inspiration and healing through its simple, loving intent.
I thank you in advance for your support in this much needed approach to a situation that has affected each and every citizen of this state.
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