If you want to understand the man who is Archbishop Diarmuid
Martin you have to look at who his heroes are, namely former Archbishop
of Dublin John Charles McQuaid.
If you want to understand why
the Archbishop of Dublin would go to Cambridge to tell us that the Irish
Church is on the brink of collapse, then look no further.
Firstly, the Irish Church is not on the brink of collapse; it has
been slowly shrinking for over 40 years now, and like a once great
company that is in strong decline, it struggles on with still
significant resources -- the Church has hundreds of millions tied up in
property, there are many thousands of priests and nuns in the country
and it is backed up by an international institution namely the Vatican.
It's not going anywhere just yet.
Reckless
I believe Archbishop Martin is suffering post-inquiry fatigue and
needs to take a rest. For any archbishop to say that he is not the
person to lead the necessary change in the Church and stay on in the job
is reckless.
Only days ago he led a wonderful liturgy of lament in the Pro
Cathedral with Cardinal O'Malley to atone for the abuse of children by
some priests in the diocese and it was the highlight of his seven years
as Archbishop.
Yet that intuitive brilliance on how to respond to victims of abuse
is not displayed in other areas of his role as archbishop.
Yes, there
is a mountain of change needed in the Irish Church, and to say that he
has not got the necessary talents and skills to manage that change,
while probably true, is a cop-out.
After all, has Enda Kenny got all the skills needed to be Taoiseach?
No, but no leader has all the skills, not even Obama.
Obama surrounded
himself with the best and brightest to make up for his shortcomings.
Hopefully Enda will do the same. That's what good leaders do.
So why can't Archbishop Martin do the same?
Well one of his heroes, as I say, is Archbishop John Charles
McQuaid, a funny mix of a man, part innovator and yet autocrat.
Archbishop Martin has a very small inner circle and has not brought in
the best and the brightest to advise him.
He has autocratic tendencies.
For all the talk about the problems of
the Church, he has refused to call a Diocesan Synod, something the
European-influenced Bishop Noel Traynor in Down and Connor has done.
For all the talk of problems, there is no talk that the Church is in a
wind-down mode that needs to be managed until something better is given
a chance to grow.
No, Archbishop Martin can only understand leadership
in terms of hierarchy and institution.
He can't effect change, so it
is the priests, the Government, young people, the Catholic press and
everyone and anyone else who is the problem.
When the Archbishop of
Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, said that the Catholic Church in Ireland
has lost all credibility, Archbishop Martin went on the offensive.
"I journey with those -- especially parents and priests -- who work
day by day to renew the Catholic Church in this diocese and who are
committed to staying with their Church and passing on the faith in
wearying times.
"Archbishop Williams' comments will be for them immensely disheartening and will challenge their faith even further."
Brilliant
So how can he square this with the 'Church is on the brink of collapse' comments? Is his journey now over?
Simply put, this is a knee-jerk analysis of the Catholic Church in
Ireland from a man who is quite brilliant but is unwilling to work with
his clergy and his laity in building a working consensus -- it's his way
or the high-way.
If Archbishop Martin longs -- as many suspect -- to walk away from
the deeper reform needed in Dublin, then he should say as much.
If not,
take a good, long rest and man up for the work ahead.