In an unusual intervention, which raised eyebrows in Catholic circles, the Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams on Saturday said the Roman Catholic Church had lost “all credibility'' following revelations of widespread child abuse by Catholic priests in Europe and America, and the way the scandal had been dealt with by the Church.Dr. Williams, normally very measured in his utterances, said the scandal had been a “colossal trauma'' not just for the Catholic Church but had also affected the public.
“I was speaking to an Irish friend recently who was saying that it's quite difficult in some parts of Ireland to go down the street wearing a clerical collar now. And an institution so deeply bound into the life of a society, suddenly becoming, suddenly losing all credibility — that's not just a problem for the Church, it is a problem for everybody in Ireland.”
Dr. Williams' remarks, in a BBC interview to be broadcast on Monday, provoked a sharp reaction from the Irish Catholic Church.
Archbishop of Dublin Diarmuid Martin, head of the biggest Catholic diocese in Ireland, said he was “stunned” by the comments.
The Irish Church was taking the abuse issue “very seriously” and it was being addressed by the Pope and the Irish bishops, he said adding that Dr. Williams' remarks would be “immensely disheartening'' for those who were working to “renew'' the church.
Normally, Anglican Church avoids commenting on Roman Catholic affairs and Dr. Williams' unusually strong statement was described by one religious affairs commentator as a “rare breach of ecumenical protocol''.
His remarks came as pressure grew on head of the Irish Catholic Church Cardinal Sean Brady to resign over his role in an attempted “cover-up'' of two cases of child abuse.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Disclaimer
No responsibility or liability shall attach itself to us or to the blogspot ‘Clerical Whispers’ for any or all of the articles placed here.
The placing of an article hereupon does not necessarily imply that we agree or accept the contents of the article as being necessarily factual in theology, dogma or otherwise.
SIC: THN