Up to 3,000 people have responded to Pope Benedict’s letter to the
Catholics of Ireland, according to the Bishops’ Conference of Ireland.
At the conclusion of their spring meeting, the bishops thanked
Catholics for their “helpful reflections” on the Pastoral Letter, which
was published by Pope Benedict XVI in March of last year.
An overview of the responses shows that just over a quarter of these
came through diocesan channels, a fifth from lay associations and almost
half from religious communities.
The rest came from informed groups
and individuals.
Respondents welcomed the fact that the Pope wrote to
the Irish as ‘brothers and sisters’ in a ‘quite accessible’ letter and
that he called for ‘the whole truth’ to be brought into the open.
However, there was “widespread disappointment” among respondents that
in the Pope's letter, “child sex abuse is not seen as a symptom of
shortcomings in structure and function in the Church.
In addition there
is no critique of the role of the Vatican,” said the feedback report
from the Council of Pastoral Renewal and Adult Faith Development.
Sr Ann Codd PVBM, a resource person at the Council, told ciNews said
that the feedback and Bishop Freeman’s response were the beginnings of
“structured dialogue” in the Irish Church.
“Things are changing because
there is more humility in the system. We have all been found very
wanting. No one can afford to be on the high moral ground.”
She said that while there is a “clamour” for a national assembly, this would take time, as “diocesan assemblies have to grow.”
“Voices calling that we need forums are increasing and the bishops
are listening,” she added.
The complexity is that there are 26 dioceses
each with its own episcopal head and “nobody makes a decision for the
26 dioceses at one go.”
In his Pastoral letter Pope Benedict wrote about the importance of
Friday Penance as “an outpouring of God’s mercy and the Holy Spirit’s
gifts of holiness and strength upon the Church.”