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The Irish Catholic House of Cards
Analysis
DUBLIN, IRELAND -- Just days after the crisis summit at the Vatican between Pope Benedict XVI and the Irish bishops to address the issue of clerical sexual abuse, the event appears to have somewhat backfired. Following the Feb. 15-16 meeting, victims and children’s rights groups reacted with a mixture of anger and disappointment. While the meeting was billed as an attempt to foster unity among divided Irish bishops, some victims believe that the Rome meeting effectively represented a rebuke to Dublin’s Archbishop Diarmuid Martin, popularly seen as the vanguard of Irish prelates when it comes to combating clerical abuse.
Ever since 2003, when Martin, a career Vatican diplomat, was sent back to take charge of his native diocese amid revelations of decades of mishandled abuse allegations, tensions have emerged among the hierarchy.
A television documentary had fatally wounded the career of Martin’s predecessor, Cardinal Desmond Connell, when it revealed his failure to address abuse allegations properly. Martin, however, immediately began engaging with victims and even fought Connell in the High Court over the latter’s attempt to conceal documents from a state inquiry into the handling of abuse in the sprawling Dublin archdiocese. Under pressure, Connell eventually withdrew his legal challenge and Martin proceeded to hand over some 66,000 files. Martin’s robust treatment of his predecessor, a highly respected member of the Irish hierarchy, led to some rumblings among the once fiercely united Irish bishops’ conference.
While Martin’s transparent approach has won him plaudits from many, including victims and senior politicians, reaction within some church circles has been decidedly cooler. That division became more pronounced before Christmas when the Irish government commission published the Murphy Report, which found that for four decades senior church leaders in Dublin put the avoidance of scandal and the preservation of the name of the church ahead of the protection of children.
Archbishop Diarmuid Martin delivers his homily during Ash Wednesday Mass at University College Dublin, Ireland, Feb. 17. (AP/PA Wire/Niall Carson)While Martin initially appeared to support his fellow bishops who were mentioned (but not criticized) in the report, within days he was calling on them to “be accountable.” Commentators and church sources immediately interpreted this a thinly veiled call for resignations. Like a house of cards, the hierarchy began to collapse: Four bishops had tendered their resignations to Rome by Christmas Eve. Only the resilient bishop of Galway, Martin Drennan, who served as an auxiliary in Dublin during the 1990s, refused to go, saying that Martin had wrongly called Drennan’s integrity into question. Despite growing pressure from victims, the Galway bishop has still held out, insisting in the weekend following the Vatican meeting, for example, that Martin “has no direct responsibility for me.”
NCR: February 3-16, 2012
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Andrew Madden, a high-profile victim of clerical abuse, said he believes Martin “had his wings clipped” during the Rome meeting -- referring to a perception that Martin has been somewhat subdued in his demeanour since the meeting.
Martin denies this: “I follow my own conscience. Sometimes I’m in agreement with people, sometimes I’m not.”
Where his fellow bishops were concerned, Martin said: “There are times when my views are different to others.” He added, “There is obviously isolation. There are criticisms of me in all your papers and media by people who disagree with the way I addressed the Murphy Report. I stand over that.”
Following their Rome meeting, Cardinal Seán Brady, primate of all Ireland, announced that the bishops would make some form of pilgrimage. A number of senior prelates have indicated that the churchmen will spend a period of days at Lough Derg, a penitential island where tradition holds that St. Patrick prayed for guidance when his mission to evangelize the Irish was not going as well as he had planned. Renewed, Patrick returned to the mainland filled with zeal. Whether or not such a pilgrimage by Patrick’s modern successors will lead to a similar renewal of zeal remains to be seen.
There is much talk about reform in the Catholic church in Ireland. Perhaps unsurprisingly, ideological considerations often dictate the kind of reform recommended. The progressive wing of the church sees more independence from Rome as the way forward. On the other side of the fence, traditional elements argue that a collapse in discipline and order in the church is at the heart of the crisis.
Some bishops could see their bishoprics evaporate. Influential theologian Fr. Vincent Twomey, a former student of and close confidant of Benedict, has suggested the idea of dramatically reducing the number of dioceses, a move also mooted by at least two senior Vatican cardinals during the meeting, who suggested that eight rather than the current 26 Irish dioceses might be a step in the right direction. However, that kind of reform seems more long-term.
Statistically things look fairly good for the Catholic church in Ireland. Recent surveys indicate that 47 percent of Irish people attend Mass weekly, and the figure rises to 60 percent for those who attend Mass at least once a month. While dramatically down from the 1980s, when more than 90 percent of Irish Catholics attended Mass weekly, the figures are significantly higher than virtually anywhere else in Western Europe. The overwhelming majority of Irish parents also continue to choose a Catholic education for their children.
Pope Benedict XVI meets with Irish bishops at the Vatican Feb. 15. (CNS/L'Osservatore Romano via Reuters)According to a spokesman for the Irish Bishops’ Conference, the pope’s pastoral letter to the Irish church is expected in mid-March (possibly to coincide with St. Patrick’s Day on March 17). It is unlikely, however, that the pope’s letter will go as far as some people (particularly victims) want.
It seems likely the document will include some form of apology to victims as well as pointing toward the future direction of the Irish church. However, it will take more than a letter from the pope to renew Irish Catholicism. Some theologians have mooted the idea of some form of national assembly or synod. The idea is particularly popular among the country’s religious, notably among them former Jesuit provincial Fr. Gerry O’Hanlon, who says such a gathering is necessary to give voice to the anger felt by many Catholics. Some bishops have already held diocesan assemblies. Often heralded as opportunities for renewal, they have frequently descended into seemingly endless and fruitless gatherings.
The Irish bishops are scheduled to meet for their next plenary assembly in late March to discuss their response to the pope’s letter. However, it’s been 23 years since the bishops first started discussing the urgency of the crisis, and with yet another judicial inquiry going on into the handling of abuse in the Cloyne diocese, no one expects the dreadful mess to be sorted out any time soon.
[Michael Kelly is deputy editor of The Irish Catholic, an independent weekly publication based in Dublin.]







Any bishop who was involved
Any bishop who was involved with the coverup at any level, no matter how minimal, should be removed immediately. It's not rocket science. The cover up of the sexual abuse of minors was/is criminal. Criminals have no place in the episcopacy. The Irish faithful should not be satisfied with anything less, nor, for that matter, should Americans, who passively tolerate Cardinal's George leadership of the USCCB despite his record on sex abuse in the Chicago Archdiocese. Clerical sex abuse deserves zero tolerance from Catholics (or from law enforcement, which has not been nearly proactive enough on the issue). The bishops who have protected pedophile rogues in the priestly ranks DO NOT deserve the benefit of the doubt.
If the actions taken by the
If the actions taken by the Vatican regarding the sex abuse scandal here in the US is anything to go by ... especially here in Boston ... I'm afraid Ireland will have a long wait for any truly honest apology and attempts at reconcilliation. Bernard Cardinal Law, someone who was integral at hiding the scandal and moving around offending priests, was rewarded with a key post at the Vatican. And, looking at Pope Benedict's efforts so far to reorganize the Church ... from my perspective, all the moves are to systematically counter any modernization of the Church. He and his supporters appear to feel that things will be fine if we just get back to how things used to be and have the faithful toe the line. Even now, there are studies going regarding the US nuns and their activities in the communities they serve... but, nowhere else at this time is such a study being performed - apparently because only American nuns are so politically active.
So, while I am an Irish national who is working towards getting back to Ireland, the Church in Ireland will need to do much to show they understand the magnitude of their actions and really believe they're here to serve the people and not themselves. Archbishop Martin certainly seems sincere. I hope he can hold on.
In May 2001, then Cardinal
In May 2001, then Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, in his role as prefect of the
Congretion for Doctrine of the Faith, sent a secret letter to every bishop
in the world. This letter as reported made the 'astounding claim that crimes
perpetrated with a minor by a cleric fall under Church jurisdiction, not civil law enforcement. This reported letter decreed that cases of this kind are subject to the pontifical secret the violation of which was punishable
by Excommunication.'.
Is not the reported letter by the then Cardinal Ratzinger a flagrant viuolation of our Laws and specifically an Abstruction of Justice of U.S. Laws?
JR
All of this is more fuel for
All of this is more fuel for an even stronger Vatican hand in its control over the worldwide church - and I'm not sure that's what the Holy Spirit intends.
It just goes on and on and
It just goes on and on and still the heirarchy does not seem to get it or, rather, want to get it. Read the history of sexual abuse by clergy, includung
bishops and cardinals, and you will get a better picture of just what has been happening in the church since its earliest days. As long as the church is composed of humans there will be abuse of one form or another especially, unfortunately, sexual abuse.
Can anyone really picture what we have seen during the last 20-30 years if laypersons, especially mothers, had been made aware of how the heirarchy was "handling' the problem of sexual abuse by members of the clergy.
It's true, there is so much
It's true, there is so much anger out there over the abuse.
For me, I made unbelievable bad choices all my life, and now, through years of therapy, I have finally achieved an understanding about my abuse and the underlying reasons of my life choices.
Too bad I'm 60 now, I could have lived a happier life.
When I refer to bad choices I mean I left school at 17 and joined the military to get away. I married at 20 and had children and I was extremely protective of them to the point of obsession. That marraige failed and my depression deepened to the point of suicide attempt. I believe only God kept me alive when the hospital said I should have died from the overdose.
No one really understood my deep anger towards the Church because I feared telling anyone. Only in the past few years when I talked to some others that I was alone.
While still depressed about the past, I have made strides through meds and therapy. I know I can now deal with it all.
It is sad that the abuse took
It is sad that the abuse took place, it is even worse that those who were aware did not take firm, corrective action!
All the information needs to brought to the surface and true healing allowed,now not later. Yes, I know how much damage is possible to those in charge, change will not come from denial.
I can't even start to realize how the victims feel, the betrayal, the loss, and profound heavy hearts.
May God grant them healing.
What a pity. The Bishops are
What a pity. The Bishops are still more concerned about the organizational church than the victims or to take full responsibility for what happened. Hopefully the Irish government will have the courage to arrest some of these people for the crimes that participated in.
Following a meeting of Pope
Following a meeting of Pope Benedict with the Irish bishops, Vatican radio makes note of the “serious situation” that has emerged in the church “in Ireland.” One has to wonder, after the “serious situation” in America and the “serious situation” now coming to light in Germany (not to mention those in Canada and Africa), what is the full scope of secrecy and betrayal that keeps falling from the folds of Roman Catholic episcopal regalia.
The Holy Father is right that sexual abuse of children (by priests) is a “heinous crime” and a “grave sin,” but what does he have to say about the callous and systematic pastoral failure of bishops who caused the harm to be multiplied exponentially? These were “errors in judgment and omissions,” he explains, not crimes or sins but well-meaning mistakes and administrative bungles. But these shepherds, rather than caring for their sheep—their lambs!—didn’t just knowingly allow the wolves to roam freely amid the flock; they abetted the crimes by hiding the predators in sheep’s clothing, moving them again and again and again every time their real identity could no longer be concealed. By now it’s a familiar pattern.
This “grave crisis” can’t be dealt with simply by placing “trained and dedicated lay volunteers” into parishes to “ensure the safety of children in all church activities.” I am a Sunday-school teacher and was required to undergo such training through the Archdiocese of Philadelphia when the sex-abuse scandal broke here—all the while wondering, Why am I, a parent, the one being trained to look out for our kids? What about the bishops, who seem to think themselves entitled to collude and lie and cover up—not to mention intimidate and retaliate against victims and their families—with impunity? Where is the accountability? Do the bishops (or the pope) even understand what they’ve done? The evidence suggests they neither see it nor accept it. We’re still waiting to hear “through my fault, through my fault, through my most grievous fault,” but all we get are oblique references to “mistakes were made” and “we wouldn’t do the same things today.”
After a three-year investigation into wide-spread clergy sex abuse and its cover up in Philadelphia, a grand jury concluded that “the Archdiocese’s ‘handling’ of the abuse scandal was at least as immoral as the abuse itself.” The panel stated that “prompt action and a climate of compassion for the child victims could have significantly limited the damage done. But…as abuse reports grew, the Archdiocese chose to call in the lawyers rather than confront the abusers.” Archdiocesan attorneys and officials called the grand-jury report “biased and anti-Catholic,” but in a rebuttal memo, Philadelphia’s district attorney recognized their response as part of the “all too familiar denials, deceptions and evasions” that investigators had to wade through for three years—and the laity has had to endure for far longer.
The “breakdown in trust in the church’s leadership,” which the pope alludes to, is exactly that—a deepening doubt about the integrity of authority at the highest levels, and not just in Ireland. It’s not the wolves we are suspicious of but the shepherds themselves—leaders who apply one standard to their flocks and another to themselves. “They tie up heavy burdens and lay them on people’s shoulders, but they will not lift a finger to move them” [Matt. 23:4]. The priest abusers have been outed and separated from the flock, but what about those shepherds who enabled the molestation and rape of children to build to catastrophic proportions? Their betrayal, and the far-reaching pain it has inflicted, was forced into the open by a scandal-hungry media and the criminal investigations those disclosures spawned. Only then did the hierarchy begin to face its malfeasance—reluctantly, often resentfully and not always without obstruction.
One would hope Pope Benedict’s Pastoral Letter to the People of Ireland would be clear sighted enough to address this stunning and apparently global pastoral failure, which is “at the heart of the crisis.” But given the inability of a stiff-necked episcopacy to see its ongoing sin of protecting the reputation (and the assets) of the institutional church, it’s hard to hope for much from a papal missive. Perhaps that is the real character of the breakdown in trust: The bishops are the apostolic successors, the God-appointed proclaimers of revealed truth, but except for dogmatic formulas and by now rote moral positions, they no longer seem to see the truth. Their teachings and pronouncements ring hollow, and for those of us in the pews, it’s growing harder to accept their unenlightened authority. In fact, it’s beginning to dawn on many that it might even be a mistake.
“While they were preaching at us, they were damaging our children,” an old Irish woman summarized. “What more can you say?”
Former DA Lynne M. Abraham,
Former DA Lynne M. Abraham, My Hero!
Viewpoint Article
National Catholic Reporter, October 28, 2005
THE CRISIS OF CREDIBILITY IN PHILADELPHIA
http://natcath.org/NCR_Online/archives2/2005d/102805/102805x.htm
Clergy sex abuse scandal is likely to deepen
By MAUREEN PAUL TURLISH
What happens now in Philadelphia given the archdiocese’s disingenuous response to the grand jury on clergy sexual abuse?
Two things will happen.
First, even further alienation of the Catholic community as a result of the archdiocese’s position.
Second, significant additional victims of clergy sexual abuse, particularly female and minority, will be empowered to come forward.
Because of entrenched clericalism in the conservative Philadelphia archdiocese, it considered no alternative but to respond as it did in its 76-page report just as, historically, it considered no alternative to protecting an institution at the expense of its children. If there were more reasoned voices around, they certainly were not listened to in Philadelphia before the archdiocese released its response to the grand jury report, any more than they had been listened to for decades.
We all know of sisters and priests who were transferred or fired from their ministries, removed from the “clerical fast track,” as some would call it, or disciplined in some manner because they attempted to alert leadership to serious problems.
While it is true that the archdiocese has made strides since 2002 in creating programs in the areas mentioned by Cardinal Justin Rigali in the archdiocese’s response, that was a mandate about which the archdiocese had little choice. Evaluating the effectiveness of these programs, though, will take time but that is hardly the point.
I remember Cardinal Anthony Bevilacqua being quoted on a CNN “Newsnight” report covering some of the cardinals who returned from Rome and attended the annual Catholic University fundraiser in Philadelphia on April 26, 2002. He answered a reporter’s question by saying, “We all are agreed that no priest guilty of even one act of sexual abuse of a minor will function in any ecclesial ministry or any capacity in our diocese.”
Various groups picketing outside the Cathedral Basilica of Sts. Peter and Paul never saw any of the cardinals because they came on a bus and went in through the back. I know because I was among those picketing out front.
That was 2002.
We who were born, raised and educated in Philadelphia are aware of the recent removal of two priests from ministry, but not, apparently, because of the alleged abuse charges leveled against them for egregious behavior. No, according to Donna Farrell, spokeswoman for the archdiocese, the two “have been the focus of extraordinary attention,” so they were removed.
Formal, documented warnings came to all the bishops in the United States as early as 1985, and in particular to Cardinal Bevilacqua. If the bishops chose not to address the issues up to that time, the Mouton-Doyle-Peterson Report, “The Problem of Sexual Molestation by Roman Catholic Clergy,” that each one received that year spelled out exactly what would happen if they did not act responsibly.
They didn’t. It happened. And here we are.
The archdiocese released its list of credibly accused priests only when the grand jury released its report on Sept. 21. Does the archdiocese still decide what constitutes “credible” before it alerts law enforcement authorities or do they leave that to the lay professionals as required by its own mandates?
Men who should have been removed from ministry and the priesthood have not been laicized and will never be criminally charged as they might have been in other jurisdictions. Would that Pennsylvania had, at the very least, the laws on felony sexual abuse that Maine and Alaska have on their books.
Instead, credibly accused priests were permitted to retire from active ministry while remaining priests to live a “life of prayer and penance” in a retirement home.
Neither the Philadelphia archdiocese nor the Pennsylvania Catholic Conference has clearly stated its support for substantive changes in statutes of limitation for felony sexual abuse. Other dioceses and their state Catholic conferences have campaigned against extensions of time limits on statutes of limitations and fought to the death amendments to the statute of limitations that would permit victims to file civil suits against the institution that caused them so much pain.
In Philadelphia, sexual abuse crimes against children have statutes of limitation but parking tickets do not.
Go figure.
Until church leaders admit to the pervasive hubris, personal and systemic, which allowed sexually abusive priests to continue in their perfidy long after their crimes were known by church authorities, it will be difficult if not impossible to reestablish either the institution’s credibility or their own. Absent that, reconciliation and healing will not happen.
In the Jewish calendar we are now in the season of repentance and forgiveness. But before God can be invoked, sinners must ask forgiveness of those sinned against.
District Attorney Lynne M. Abraham?
She should be beatified, not vilified.
______________________________________________________________________________
Maureen Paul Turlish is a Sister of Notre Dame de Namur. She may be reached at: maureenpaulturlish@yahoo.com
National Catholic Reporter, October 28, 2005
Transperancy and honesty is
Transperancy and honesty is the only solution to decades of cover-up and deceit. Can't the Catholic Bishops see how they are still driving many from the Church with their arrogance and need for power? The reactions of the Church to sex abuse scandals world-wide stem from an insufficiency of priests to meet the needs of the faithful. They have to protect what they have and remain loyal to those who serve -- because there are not enough recruits to fill their shoes. This will all shake out after many decades of priest shortages, and when the bishops of the future have lived with this current situation all their lives.
Parents of today are not encouraging their sons to become priests as they did in the past. Who would want to enter a calling where a history sex scandals color your everyday existence? Can priests even have a conversation with children anymore without protocol protections? What a lonely life!!! Transperancy and openness to change are necessary -- we need the Church too much to let the arrogant power-seekers control it.
God Bless the work of Pope
God Bless the work of Pope Benedict XVI and the Catholic Church.
It appears that the bishops
It appears that the bishops in Ireland are, for the most part, holding up the "good name" of the heirarchy rather than the loving care and pastoring of the people. It is interesting that this appears to be the same general attitude that the US bishops have in handeling anything regarding their handeling of sexual abuses of any kind. I can recall when John Paul II thought that the problems in the US were just our exagerations of any problems.
The priests that did the
The priests that did the dastardly acts are mentally ill individuals who have a mental illness that has a poor record of being cured by the mental health professional establishment. The bishops in Ireland and America could have educated themselves on this fact easily but they were more worried about saving face. Once again the "old boys network" stuck together like they do in other areas of business and government. This is a good argument for woman priests. No women would let this go down unless they had been totally brainwashed like some Irish sisters were years ago.
In fairness to the Irish church community and that of course includes the Irish bishops, the Irish church organized and held the first international meeting which was a global action for the ordination of women in the church. It was entitled the woman's ordination workship (WOW). It was held in 2001, Sister Joan Chittister was the keynote speaker and she and her community(Benedictines) braved the wrath of the Vatican to be there. Hundreds attended from around the world even though some had to sit in special spots where cameras wouldn't reveal their identities since they could lose their jobs etc. if it was known. Any of us who were there will never forget it...thank you Ireland & the Irish Catholic community.
If these Irish Bishops have
If these Irish Bishops have any sense of Irish diplomacy at all, they will invite the good Irish Notre Dame nun Sr. Maureen Turlish and the good Irish Dominican priest Fr. Tom Doyle to organize and lead a Plenary Assembly of clergy and lay members to decide the response of the Irish Church to the Roman Vatican Church on the question of sexual abuse and cover-up by the hierarchy. Anything less is fraught with deception, guile, and fraud on the part of these Bishops.
I was home (in Ireland) this
I was home (in Ireland) this past autumn. There is no middle ground with Abp. Martin, the priests either love him or hate him. The anger of the average person in the pew is something I'd never seen in Ireland or in the states.
I pray that the Pope's letter is inspired. People desparately need peace.
The anger has everything to
The anger has everything to do with the dissembling of bishops about their criminal endangerment of children and obstruction of justice. Peace must based on the truth, not the evasions and denial of the hierarchy --- none of which express the real as it exists in God, to paraphrase Dietrich Bonhoeffer.
People should be angry in the face of injustice. Bishops got away with everything and suffered no consequences beyond promotion to higher office. For shame.
Since Mardi Gras surprisingly
Since Mardi Gras surprisingly strong storms blew the worst Global Cathololic problems from Ireland to Pope Benedict's native Bavaria. The epicentre is an elite school in Ettal the scenic convent Benedictines founded some 700 years ago. Among the victims of sexual abuse are cons of prominent supporters, even personal friends of Prof. Josef Ratzinger, who until elevated to Cardinal and posted at the Curia served Munich as Archbishop. His popularity dropped to an alltime low aa Abbot Barnabas Boegle and Prior P. Maurus Krass resigned. The eminent Swiss theologian Hans Kueng argued in Sueddeutsche Zeitung that abuse of young boys in endemic to the celibatary priesthood. Prominent pundits and powerful politians predictably call for strict secular controls.
The joker in an unprecedented competitive clerical power play is resignation of Margot Kaessmann, who was only recently elected Presiding Bishop of German Protestants. Arrested for DUI she lost her driving license ans credibility as rampant excess' critic. Her age and gender challenge Christians in Germany as well as everywhere to mend their ways and repent for the 500th anniversary of Martin Luther's reformation. PRAY THAT POPE BENEDICT XVI. AND HIS SUCCESSORS MEET THIS CHALLENGE POSITIVELY FOR THE BENEFIT OF ALL CONCERNED.
The recent way that the Irish
The recent way that the Irish church has handled this scandal leaves much to be desired. But at least Irish bishops are not being rewarded with high-profile positions of honor in Rome.
We are asked to forgive 70X7
We are asked to forgive 70X7 times. Are these priests seeking forgiveness from their communities or is Pope Benedict's letter of apology considered enough? Let's forgive those who are truly sorry and move forward to help them. Send them to counseling, praying and fasting, offer them the sacrament of reconciliation. Put them in retreat houses, give them time to reflect and meet God in a quiet place. If they wish to continue to serve Him in the capacity of the priesthood, give them another chance.
Who of us is without sin, let her cast the first stone.
May God be with us all, every minute of every day.
Do you believe that all sex
Do you believe that all sex abusers should be placed in retreat houses in lieu of prison time, or is that to be a unique privilege reserved for members of the the clergy? Priests who have committed acts of sexual abuse should be immediately laicized and reported to the civil authorities, along with the bishops who protected them. This does not mean that they cannot be forgiven in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. To ask that a criminal be punished accordingly is not the same as asking that they be cut off from the Church. Baptism leaves an indelible mark on the recipient. A priest who has committed the heinous crime and sin of sexual abuse is still a member of the Church and is loved by God in Christ, but he has NO PLACE in the clergy. Further, he must answer to the civil authorities for his illegal actions.
Oh, so now it's let HER cast
Oh, so now it's let HER cast the first stone. Hahahaha...
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