Tuesday, April 17, 2012

A Church and a leadership in denial

If similar surveys were undertaken in other countries, the results would be pretty much the same, writes Fr Seán McDonagh.

This survey raises serious questions not just for the Catholic Church in Ireland, but for the Catholic Church worldwide

THE Association of Catholic Priests (ACP) came into being in Sept 2009 to be the voice for Irish priests promoting the reforms of Vatican II.

Many priests feel that these reforms have been eroded during the past 40 years. In the intervening 18 months, the ACP has been involved in critiquing the new translation into English of the missal, in protecting the good name of priests against false accusations in the media — especially in the Fr Kevin Reynolds’ case — and in organising an assembly of the Church scheduled for May 7.

In February, the ACP commissioned the market research company Amárach to conduct a survey on the views of Catholics on contemporary religious issues across the island of Ireland such as Church governance, ministry, liturgy, ethics and the forthcoming International Eucharistic Congress.

The research utilised a sample size of 1,005 people which makes its results robust. It found that 35% attend Mass once a week and 51% attend once or more each month. Only 5% never attend Mass. This significant number of people attending Mass is higher than in most European countries.

Recent remarks by Archbishop Diarmuid Martin on CBS’s 60 Minutes programme that only 2% attend Mass in some parishes, if taken out of context, might lead people to believe that Mass attendance in Ireland has completely collapsed. The survey shows this is not the case.

But Irish Catholics are critical of the institution and its leaders. In response to the question: Do the leaders of the Catholic Church in Ireland, including bishops, understand the challenges facing Irish Catholics? Only 12% felt they understood them very well; 45% were of the opinion that bishops did not understand these challenges.

One of the aims of Vatican II was to improve the level of dialogue within the Church, yet only 12% of lay people believed bishops actively sought the views of lay people and priests before making important decisions in their diocese. When it came to consultation around worship, priesthood and morality, 46%, 48% and 49% believe that bishops do not seek the views of lay people.

Many people feel the rightful autonomy of local Churches envisaged in Vatican II has been rolled back by the Vatican in recent decades. The imposition of the new English translation of the missal without any real consultation is a good example. 

In the light of this tension, 57% feel the Irish Catholic Church is too subservient to Rome. Only 14% believe the relationship between the Irish Church and Rome is right.

One of the major surprises of the survey is that 87% believe priests should be allowed marry. Another surprise is that 77% believe that women should be ordained to the priesthood.

In 1994, Pope John Paul II, in the Apostolic Letter Ordinatio Sacerdotalis stated that "priestly ordination... has in the Catholic Church from the beginning always has been reserved to men alone".

Furthermore, the Pope insisted the Church’s ban on women priests is definitive and not open to debate. In recent years, the Vatican has taken severe action against anyone who has even questioned this position.

In 2006, Bishop William Morris, formerly, of Toowoomba in Australia, reflected on the ageing clergy and lack of priests in his diocese in an Advent pastoral letter, wondering whether the Catholic Church should be open to all eventualities, including ordination of women. He was reported to Rome, investigated by the then archbishop of Denver, Colorado, Charles Chaput and eventually, in 2011, sacked by Pope Benedict XVI without sight of Chaput’s report. At Mass for the blessing of holy oils on Holy Thursday, Pope Benedict XVI claimed that priests who raise questions about voluntary celibacy and ordaining women are being "selfish in disobeying [his] authority".

In my own experience, people who support both married priests and ordaining women do so, not out of "selfishness", but out of love and concern for the future of the Church.

They have watched a greying and declining number of priests and have seen the level of alienation from the Church among young women, grow exponentially. Since the 1970s, numerous bishops conferences have pleaded with Rome to be allowed to ordain married men so that the faithful, especially those who are poor and often live in rural areas, can have regular access to the Eucharist.

Rome has turned a deaf ear to these requests. Similar requests are not as common today, not because there has been a dramatic increase in the number of priests, but because Rome ensures that all candidates for the episcopacy accept its position on celibacy and women priests, even though such candidates may lack leadership skills.

In the new survey, of the 52% who had attended Mass where the new English translation had been used, one-in-two preferred the previous version. The use of ‘sexist’ language is viewed unfavourably. Some 67% opt for the phrase "for us and for our salvation", as against 16% for "for us men and our salvation".

In the area of sexual morality, 75% believe Catholic teaching on sexuality is not relevant to themselves or their families. Three-out-of-five Catholics disagree with the teaching that any sexual expression of love between gay couples is immoral. Some 87% believe divorced or separated people in a steady second relationship should be allowed to receive communion.

The final section of the survey was about attitudes towards the forthcoming International Eucharistic Congress. More than 50% saw a value in having the congress in Dublin, but only 13% indicated involvement with the preparation.

This survey raises serious questions not just for the Catholic Church in Ireland, but for the Catholic Church worldwide. I believe that a similar survey in other countries would produce much the same results. Such surveys should be undertaken before the Synod on Evangelisation in October. Many dioceses in Ireland and elsewhere are involved in "listening" exercises to discern where the Spirit is leading the Church at this time.

Surely bishops must be hearing similar views to those expressed in the survey from lay people and priests involved in these sessions. 

This raises the question; why is this information not being conveyed to Rome? 

Are the bishops afraid of what Rome might say? 

 Or have they decided that, since Rome will not listen to their concerns, there is no point bringing them up in the current "restorationist" climate? 

In either situation the leadership of the Catholic Church seems to be in denial on these issues, exactly as it was with clerical sex-abuse 25 years ago. 

Which brings to mind Talleryand’s comments about the Bourbons — they learned nothing and forgot nothing.

* Fr Seán McDonagh, MA, PhD is founder of the ACP.