Archbishop Diarmuid Martin has warned of a climate of ''undeclared
heresy'' in the Church in Ireland brought about by a crisis of passing
on the Faith.
In an interview with Italian daily newspaper La Stampa in the wake of
the Cloyne Report Dr Martin also said the Taoiseach Enda Kenny's
failure to give credit to the ''radical reform'' of procedures
introduced by Pope Benedict XVI was ''unfortunate''.
He said: ''the crisis of the Irish Church is not simply a crisis
related to sexual abuse of minors. These are symptoms of a deeper
crisis.
''The crisis goes much deeper. It is a crisis of Faith, a crisis of
transmission of the Faith and in many cases a lack of understanding of
the nature of the Church,'' he said.
The archbishop added: ''Ireland is now a highly secularised society,
and many look to the Church through a secularised lens to the point
that, in a sense, one could speak of what I call 'a climate of
undeclared heresy' that pervades many dimensions of understanding of
Faith among Catholics''.
On the Taoiseach's speech in the Dáil in which he attacked the
Vatican Archbishop Martin said ''unfortunately,'' Mr Kenny, ''failed to
mention the radical reforms made to Church procedures under the guidance
of the Pope.
''There is no doubt that the Irish Church today is a far safer place for children than it was just a few years ago,'' he said.
He said Pope Benedict's norms ''have undoubtedly been a great support
in encouraging the Church in Ireland and elsewhere, in an attempt to
follow a clear cut and consistent course of action against
paedophilia.''