Response to Pope Benedict’s Letter to the Irish Church

By Edward C. Hartmann

After reading and re-reading the Pope’s letter to the Catholics of Ireland it is clear that the pope is still looking to soften the fallout as more and more reports continue to surface regarding the sexual abuse of children by the Irish clergy. The letter is replete with church speak and tired pious phrases while no one in the hierarchy is being held accountable for their failures. Who among the Irish hierarchy has been asked to resign? We are again reminded by this pope that this abuse problem is not “peculiar to Ireland or the Church.” This evades the point that the real issue is priests and bishops conspired to minimize the crimes against children. The pope refers to these criminals as “members of the Church in Ireland” but they were also trusted leaders who not only betrayed the people they were called to serve, but also their Christian faith. The Irish hierarchy abysmally failed the Irish people. Recovery, according to the pope requires that “The church in Ireland first acknowledge the sins committed against defenseless children.” The Church in Ireland did not abuse children, the clergy did the abusing and the church leadership facilitated the cover up. Why is the entire Irish Church being called to an honest self examination, and process of purification through penance, when the Irish church was the main victim in the abuse scandal?

After all this deflecting of blame, the pope begins the history lesson (section 3) where he recounts all the wonders of the past Irish church. What does all this history have to do with the fact that Irish clerics and hierarchs were guilty of such horrible crimes against the Irish children?

Section 4 of the letter begins to shift the blame on the secularization of a country where frequent confessions, daily prayer and annual retreats were neglected. The raping of children and soul murder of the young are classified by the pope as “canonically irregular situations.” This is church speak at its best.

The second paragraph of section 4 is the one bright part of the letter. We finally hear the pope speaking to some of the causes of the mess we are in; inadequate procedures for determining the suitability of priestly candidates, insufficient spiritual formations in seminaries; clericalism; over concern about the reputation of the church, and failure to safeguard the dignity of every person. All of these areas mentioned must be addressed but Benedict, if you really want to move this healing process forward order your bishops to stop fighting the elimination of the statutes of limitations and open the windows for victims to come forward. As long as your church lawyers fight to prevent changes in these statutes your credibility will continue to plummet.

The laity are told in section 11 to “play their proper part in the life of the church.” This admonition sounds like we should remember our place – pray, pay, and obey. However, there will be no credibility and healing until the hierarchy is held accountable. This is the job of the laity to speak the truth and let the hierarchy know that someone else is watching them.

Section 12 calls for a “new vision of church” How can the laity form this new vision if they are relegated to a silent back up team? There is not much vision in the pray, pay and obey image of church.

The final section 14 is given to more church speak and pious axioms. The effort to distract everyone from the real problem is set forth as the pope calls for an Apostolic Visitation in Ireland. Will this visitation order criminal clerics to resign? Will the “competent offices of the Roman Curia” demand the resignations of any bishop who facilitated these soul murders? The prior history of the hierarchy does not bode well for real reform in Ireland or anywhere else. Dare I mention Bernard Cardinal Law?

Lastly, the Pope reminds us that this is the Year For Priests and St. John Vianney is quoted and held out to us as the model who understands the mystery of the priesthood. The pope then quotes Vianney “The priest holds the key to the treasures of heaven, it is he who opens the door: he is the steward of the good Lord; the administrator of His goods.” My first reaction is that this Year For Priests is just another effort to distract all of us from the real issue; the failure of the clergy to protect the children and lead our church with moral fortitude. As more and more revelations of systemic abuse surface in countries all over the world the call for the Year For Priests is a “loud gong and clanging cymbal.” For me, the Church community, the people of God, holds the keys to the treasures of heaven. One person cannot be heaven’s gatekeeper and belief that he can is clericalism and arrogance at its worst. The priest is called to gather God’s people together and empower them to go out and bring all of society to Jesus Christ. God spare us from any priest or bishop who believes he alone is the gatekeeper of heaven. The Church as institution needs to return to the early model of church where Baptism and not holy orders was the sign of holiness. Priesthood is a role to be lived by a few just as the lay state is a role to be lived by most. Baptism is the umbrella, not Orders.  Holy Orders do not convey special privileges.

Benedict’s call for a new vision of church is desperately needed, and it must start with him.

Theologian Hans Kung, writing on “Ratzinger’s Responsibility” states: “In his 24 years as Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, from around the world, all cases of grave sexual offences by clerics had to be reported, under strictest secrecy (“secretum pontificum”) to his curial office, which was exclusively responsible for dealing with them. Ratzinger himself, in a letter on “grave sexual crimes” addressed to all the bishops under the date of 18 May, 2001, warned the bishops, under threat of ecclesiastical punishment, to observe “papal secrecy” in such cases. In his five years as Pope, Benedict XVI has done nothing to change this practice with all its fateful consequences.”

Because of the bishops blatant and immoral cover up of the sexual abuse of our children the bishops have lost their right to be listened to. After reading Benedict’s letter to the people of Ireland, it appears that forfeiting the right to be listened to is beginning to reach the Pope as well. His “papal secrets” have begun to erode his papal authority. A new vision of church does not include secrecy or the covering up of abusing children.