THROUGHOUT its considerable history, many attempts have been made to challenge or dilute the power of the Catholic Church.
None have inflicted as much mayhem as the behaviour of the church itself.
In
the flurry of scandals engulfing this institution in Ireland, it has
been the hierarchy's reaction to clerical sex abuse rather than the
crimes themselves which have caused most havoc.
Archbishop
Diarmuid Martin clearly realises that.
But amid the upper echelons of
the church he represents, this upright and isolated man is a lone voice
in the wilderness.
Meanwhile, with their scattergun public
statements, often clumsily worded, senior clergyman after senior
clergyman demonstrates persistent and perhaps even wilful blindness
about the extent of the problem.
Hardly surprising, then, that they seem
incapable of offering leadership.
One after another they trot out
declarations which probably do more harm than good.
The latest is the
Bishop of Raphoe, who has referred to the arrows of a secular and
godless culture attacking the Catholic Church.
What slow learners
these people are.
How embedded is their sense of entitlement.
Bishop
Philip Boyce appears not to understand -- any more than many of his
fellows do -- how their arrow wounds are self-inflicted. The authority
of the Catholic Church is undermined because the hierarchy's arrogance
and narrow self-interest have been revealed.
Not because of godlessness.
Decent
Catholic priests on the ground, horrified at the destruction wreaked by
their inept leaders, do grasp the extent of the harm.
They are, after
all, at the coal face.
Though slow to act initially, some have formed
themselves into an Association of Catholic Priests and to their credit
make sensible suggestions, such as enhancing the role of the laity.
The
association's response to Bishop John Magee's belated statement this
week, almost six weeks after the release of the Cloyne Report, is
uncompromising.
It calls his remarks "inadequate" and questions whether
"like many other senior clerics" he fully understands the extent of the
problem.
The association also suggests something more is needed to
convince people of the Catholic Church's sincerity.
That shows a
better grasp of the facts than a Donegal bishop grumbling about
secularisation.
It recognises that the general public is far from
persuaded about the Catholic Church's bona fides -- perhaps because it
turns to lawyers first, and only drip-feeds admissions when there is no
choice but to 'fess up'.
Bishop Magee looked coached for that
interview with RTE's Paschal Sheehy.
While he said the right things, his
procrastination casts doubt on the good faith underpinning them.
Apologies are most credible when immediate.
By dilly-dallying he damaged
himself and the church he represents.
Even after a flurry of
scandals, the Catholic Church remains a sophisticated institution with
influence and broad appeal, as we saw with the Pope's visits to Britain
and Spain.
Yet it operates no discernible cohesive approach to
addressing its scandal-ridden status.
Instead, delay, denial and
disarray are its modus operandi.
It is baffling for the faithful to
witness priests and bishops pulling in different directions.
It is
confusing for them to be on the receiving end of a patchwork quilt of
personal views from high-ranking officials, rather than a coherent
communication policy.
Is reform on the cards?
Hard to say, when
bishops concentrate on arguing with critics rather than implementing a
strategy to deal with their own shortcomings.
Complaints need to
be taken on board and addressed.
But in the Catholic Church's universe,
criticism -- even valid or constructive -- is not well received.
There
is a distinct 'shoot the messenger' response -- it makes a change from
excommunication, the weapon of preference in previous centuries.
Attacks
are increasing, not because society is more irreligious but because the
Catholic Church continues with inaction or evasive action.
It has
lawyers to burn but is light on crisis management.
Signs of Christianity or fellow-feeling for victims are thin on the ground, too.
Condemnation
does not spring entirely from anti-Catholic rhetoric, as some
apologists insist.
A number of observers are simply expressing the view
that the law should apply equally to everyone, and be observed by
everyone, irrespective of whether they wear a clerical collar or not.
That's
actually what the Catholic Church in Ireland has been missing.
A
groundswell of honourable members criticising from within, as Enda Kenny
did so eloquently recently.
Too many remain silent.
They hope it is
enough to do their personal best and make their individual
contributions, and that this allows them to look away from the abuses.
It is not enough.
They prop up a flawed organisation.
They legitimise it
and provide it with some semblance of credibility.
They give it no
reason to change.
While that situation continues, 'mea not really
culpa' apologies such as Bishop Magee's will continue to undercut the
Catholic Church.
As personal secretary to three popes, he was an
experienced administrator -- his lapse at Cloyne is indefensible.
The
best to be said about him is he was oddly incompetent; the worst is that
he was careless about child protection and up for his church.
The
personal views of bishops, emerging piecemeal, reflect an inability to
accept how their behaviour contributes to the present crisis within the
Catholic Church.
On the contrary, they feel unjustly frogmarched into
the firing line.
Hardworking priests, regrettably tainted by
association both with abuse and concealment, have always relied on the
support of the people.
But that backing has been weakened by the
hierarchy's attitude.
They are ill-served by their leaders.
Perhaps
the upper echelons regard transparency and reform as irrelevant, and
consider prayer -- and better still, blind obedience -- to be the
answer. I say there is no substitute for self help.
But I see precious
little evidence of it in the church.
One way forward would be
women priests, another is optional celibacy.
Don't hold your breath,
though.
Reform is not a swear word -- there is no 11th commandment
preventing it.
But someone forgot to tell senior Catholic churchmen.