Monday, January 03, 2011

Irish priests need support - missionary

A well-known Irish missionary priest has called on a support system to be put in place in the New Year for priests affected by the fallout of the clerical sex abuse crisis.

In an interview with The Irish Catholic, Fr Kieran Creagh, the Belfast-born Passionist priest who came to prominence at the time of a vicious gun attack in his South African parish three years ago, said priests are in need of guidance from a ''good shepherd''.

''There are many good priests out there who are damaged and embarrassed to be part of a Church that's done wrong. I'd like to see them supported because I think there is support for them among the people. They need a good shepherd who can inspire them and who can tell them, yes, wrong has been done but we can move forward in faith - this about love and not the institution. We need a new beginning.''

To facilitate such renewal, Fr Creagh is calling on Cardinal Seán Brady and any bishops implicated in the abuse crisis to stand down. 

He said while he sympathised with the position the hierarchy now find themselves in, they should step aside for the good of the Church.

''The Church needs to take responsibility and it seems like people don't know how to resign anymore. Didn't Jesus teach us that the truth will set us free? Yes my heart goes out to Cardinal Brady and the bishops who for whatever reason felt they were doing the right thing, but for the sake of their own sanity and in order to heal the wounds of society they should go.
''What's happening at the minute doesn't speak to me of Jesus and the message of loving one another; it just seems to be a big institution stuck in time,'' he added.

Fr Creagh is currently dealing with his own trauma in the wake of second attack in South Africa earlier this year. A terrifying car chase by a gang of men triggered severe post traumatic stress and he was forced to return home where he has been receiving treatment.

''For me I just lost the joys of life. It's not like wearing a sling on your arm or something that people can see, this is internal, it causes you to cut off your feelings and I went into denial.

''Trauma is a dark place but you have to realise that if you survived it in the first place then you can go back to it - what you don't express you depress but talking about it will set you free. I'd encourage anyone suffering in this way to seek professional help - that way you will begin to see that life can be better again,'' Fr Creagh said.

SIC: IC/IE