Doug PollardThe Sound of Silence & The Olympic Roar
Meanwhile in Australia, shadows of another monster loom out of a fog of deceit and deception and silence.
Nameless, and hung about with unholy charms, the only evidence of its passing the sound of yet another family sobbing over the coffin of their darling.
Mystifyingly, there is no great outcry. Yet this victim and the creature who destroyed him are only the latest of a long line. No one knows how many more are still to come.
The suffering propagates down the years and down the generations, but the only sound from Canberra is the swish of clerical skirts whisking along the corridors of power, trailing a faint sickly odour of grave-mould and incense.
The Prime Minister stays aloof. The leader of the opposition falls to his knees. MPs and Senators bow their heads and close their eyes. No leader steps forward to demand justice for the victims, their wives and children.
In the Hunter Valley one Catholic priest was convicted and jailed several years ago after sexually abusing 39 schoolboys aged from five to 16 years old over nearly 20 years.
Just one, apparently among many. There are more who cannot be named 'for legal reasons.' Some who have still to be brought to justice. Almost certainly more who have not even been brought to light.
The Catholic Bishop of the Diocese of Maitland-Newcastle Bill Wright tentatively accepts that something must be done: he is now 'broadly supportive' of a Royal Commission Really Long Link In this climate of silence, this tepid response is hailed as 'courageous'.
Meanwhile Canberra maintains its reverent hush, its averted gaze, its deferential private murmuring.
For one casualty, none of this matters any more.
John Pirona, 45, of Valentine, a victim of one of the Hunter's most notorious but un-nameable paedophile priests, was last seen alive on Saturday night. Really Long Link
Today, his body was found in his car after he took his own life. Really Long Link He left a note that said simply: "Too much pain."
"Mrs Pirona [said] her husband was not the only victim. "Our children are saying 'Where is daddy?' They know the police are looking for him. Everyone who knows him, we're all feeling guilt because you can't help but think, how could we not see he was at breaking point?
"It's not just the victim but the snowballing effect it has on their families, partners, children, parents, friends. When our kids are old enough this will affect them. It never ends. It just never ends." [SMH]
The same unholy spell that keeps politicians silent and subservient seems to work on the public, too. There is no flood of demands for action hitting politicians desks.
A petition calling for a full Royal Commission, started by Melbourne comedian Catherine Deveny in mid-May has only just reached 2,200 signatures - SIGN HERE
Meanwhile the television brays about about who will hang the most bits of metal around their necks, as in towns all around Australia, hundreds struggling with the pain and the indifference wonder if they can make it through another day without putting a rope around theirs.
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