When the Pope's men arrive in Ireland, what difference will it make?
And to whom will they listen?
They are due here any time before the end
of next month.
Ireland's Catholic archbishops clashed last week
with the editor of Ireland's main Catholic newspaper, the Irish
Catholic.
Its editor, Garry O'Sullivan, had reported that they recently
sought in Rome to limit the terms of reference of the planned Vatican
inquiry. They describe his claim as "seriously misleading".
Pope
Benedict XVI is sending two cardinals and three archbishops to
investigate the Irish archdioceses and seminaries. Later will follow two
priests and two nuns to visit religious congregations.
There is
no lay presence among the papal representatives. With their names --
Murphy-O'Connor, O'Malley, Collins, Prendergast and Dolan -- his
episcopal visitors sound like they could have romantic delusions about
the old sod.
At St Patrick's College, Maynooth, last weekend, I
walked corridors hung with massive and gloomy portraits of various
princes of the Irish church.
Among the pictures, to my surprise,
hangs a fresh and full-length painting of Cardinal Desmond Connell,
former chancellor of that pontifical university.
Have Irish bishops, who
hold their regular meetings there, no mental reservations about this
tribute to a living man who dismayed so many Catholics by his response
to allegations against some priests?
Whatever it was that a busload of Northern Presbyterians made of Maynooth last weekend can only be imagined.
They
had come south for an unusual discussion about two intellectual giants
of the Reformation.
One was the Protestant John Calvin, and the other
the Roman Catholic Ignatius of Loyola.
To hear Maynooth ring to the
Bible-based teaching of the reformist Calvin, delivered in Northern
Irish accents, was both disconcerting and refreshing.
But it was
Catholic academics, not bishops, who were there to talk.
What
difference does dialogue make, either within the Irish Catholic Church
or between its members and those of other traditions? The organisation
is still run from the top down, with
bishops being imposed on both the
clergy and laity alike.
Many important matters are not even up for discussion.
The
Vatican has said that, "through this Visitation, the Holy See intends
to offer assistance to the Bishops, clergy, religious and lay faithful
as they seek to respond adequately to the situation caused by the tragic
cases of abuse perpetrated by priests and religious upon minors.
"It
is also intended to contribute to the desired spiritual and moral
renewal that is already being vigorously pursued by the church in
Ireland."
That big letter 'B' in "Bishops" seems like an
acknowledgement by the Vatican of where power still resides in terms of
the Catholic Church. The clergy, religious and laity just get lower-case
letters.
This month, following a preparatory meeting of the papal
visitors in Rome, the Vatican announced that its visitors "will give
particular attention to victims of abuse and their families, but will
also meet with and listen to a variety of people, including
ecclesiastical authorities, lay faithful and those involved with the
crucial work of safeguarding of children".
So who will those "lay
faithful" be? Will it be people belonging to conservative
organisations, and those on the secret list of lay people whom the Papal
Nuncio consults about matters such as the appointment of bishops? It is
still not known.
Will the Pope's men have any potentially
bruising encounter with disenchanted lay Catholics for whom Irish
bishops seem to meet in another universe behind the Victorian walls of
St Patrick's College? These are the many not-so-faithful, who are now
closer to Protestantism in their outlook than to the kind of Catholicism
that has rolled back attempted reforms.
Pope Benedict has
invited the Irish Catholic community to support his initiative with
their prayers. He hopes the visitation may be for the faithful "an
occasion of renewed fervour in the Christian life, and that it may
deepen their faith and strengthen their hope in Christ our Saviour".
But
it is going to be difficult for the visitation not to disappoint
people. It could be quite technical, concerned principally with new
procedures for training and decision-making among bishops.
It
cannot depend largely on the existing Irish bishops if it is to
contribute to a moral and spiritual renewal as Pope Benedict hopes. For
these are the same people who recently treated with scant regard a
protest about the role allowed to Irish women in the church.
And
will this Pope's men think any differently? For there is something of
the same attitude evident in the choice of survivors of child abuse whom
the Pope meets on his travels.
These are not representatives of
organisations that speak for a range of victims, but are people to whom
local bishops have given their informal imprimatur.
It is as though a
point is being made that the Pope and the hierarchy will not be
accountable to Catholic laity or non-Catholic citizens even in matters
of church organisation and crime.
Last week in Maynooth, one
speaker quoted the more modern Catholic theologian Karl Rahner, who
said: "The Christian of the future will be a mystic or will not exist at
all." By mysticism, Rahner meant "a genuine experience of God emerging
from the very heart of our existence".
Irish Christians are
baffled by the bishops. At a time when a vibrant church could have
something inspiring to say, these papal visitors will meet members of a
hierarchy stuck in a time warp.
The bishops are planning to revisit in
Dublin next year the Eucharistic Congress of 1932. It seems more like
nostalgia than renewal.
According to the editor of the Irish
Catholic, the bishops do not want the Pope's visitors to look at their
overall management of the Irish church.
The archbishops insist there has been "absolutely no attempt to try to restrict the mandate of the Apostolic visitors".
Either way, the prospect of radical or inspiring institutional reform seems somewhat remote.
SIC: II/IE