Runner,

Not talking about smacking but about serious assault. Do you understand the difference?

Dear runner,

Thanks to the good Catholic education of bashing
goodness into children - many of the inmates of
Pentridge were from the Christian Brothers schools
(as told by the then Chaplain of Pentrdige).

Francis

'Not talking about smacking but about serious assault. Do you understand the difference? '

very much so Francis but many don't.

Foxy

'Thanks to the good Catholic education of bashing
goodness into children - many of the inmates of
Pentridge were from the Christian Brothers schools
(as told by the then Chaplain of Pentrdige). '

and what of the many murderers, child molestors, rapist today Foxy?

funny enough I am not one to defend the Catholic church although having been right through the school system in the 70's I rarely if at all viewed this 'bashing goodness into children'. What was the BBC's excuse for ignoring the likes of Saville and others for decades?

Foxy,
I am not buying into this discussion but I was raised in a religious institution, not Catholic, from a very early age, in the good old days, the 40s and 50s.
It was a harsh environment but what I remember most is the moral, ethical and caring attitudes of my fellow inmates.
A group of children under duress show far more moral fibre and strength of character than any group of adults could ever hope to achieve. Children learn all the bad stuff from adults without a doubt.
I attended a reunion many years later and virtually all had become normal well adjusted citizens.
Just my experience.
SD

Dear runner,

What about all the deviants that exist in the world?
Well, we're talking about the Catholic clergy here
old chap. Do try to keep up. My husband had a
Christian Brothers education and speaks from experience.
And I still have nightmares of a certain nun that took
it upon herself to lash out with a cane.

Ethical concepts such as responsibility, respect, loyalty,
honesty, charity and mercy cannot be taught directly.
They can only be learned in concrete life situations from
people one respects. One grows into virtue; one cannot
be forece by punishment. Misbehaviour and punishment are
not opposites that cancel each other; on the contrary, they
breed and reinforce each other. Punishment does not deter
misconduct. It merely makes the offender more cautious in
commiting their crime, more adroit in concealing their
traces, more skilled in escaping detection.
When a child is punished he/she resolves to be more careful,
not more honest and responsible.

A true disciplinarian can move children from terror to trust.

Foxy,
No offense but from my experience that sounds a bit theoretical.
SD