FR JOE McGuane speaks for most of us when he says it is time for
Bishop Magee to return to Cloyne to answer criticisms outlined in the
Commission of Investigation report.
The continuing refusal of
Bishop Magee to explain his actions and more importantly, to explain the
reason for the diocese's failure to tell the civil authorities about
nine out of 15 allegations of child sexual abuse against a number of his
priests, isn't just an example of personal cowardice.
It hangs all
Catholic clergy out to dry.
My heart goes out to all the good
priests and bishops who are left to clean up the mess of cowardly
individuals who run away rather than stay to explain their actions.
Even
more scandalous is the Vatican's complicity in this 'hide the bishop'
episode.
This runaway bishop is the same guy who was private
secretary to no less than three popes -- Paul V1, John Paul 1 and John
Paul 11.
This is also the guy who was implicated in the church's 'white
lie' in relation to who found the body of Pope John Paul 1, (why the
church felt the need to cover up the fact that a nun found John Paul 1's
body is baffling).
He is obviously well trusted at the top level
within the Vatican.
The very idea that he has gone into hiding without
the knowledge, the sanction, even the collaboration of the top men
within the church is, frankly, unbelievable.
The Catholic Church
can issue all the apologies it likes. Archbishop Dermot Clifford can
hold all the meetings he likes to discuss the Cloyne report, but he is
fighting a losing battle in rebuilding confidence in his church until
Bishop Magee faces the music.
The public perception is that the
church is operating avoidance tactics.
It is grossly unfair to
hardworking priests throughout the country to expect them to suffer the
wrath of the public when the individuals responsible for the cover-up of
abuse cases are too cowardly to face the public, and powerful sections
of the officer-class within the church are too terrified of what might
be exposed were they to have the courage to face the public.
It's
easy to issue a statement of apology.
Far more difficult to explain
yourself and face, in person, the consequences of your actions.
The
victims of abuse need to know what happened.
The public needs to know
what happened.
They need to know who exactly in Rome reacted -- or
failed to react -- when it became public that Bishop Magee deliberately
presented forged documents to Ian Elliott, head of the church's own
Child Protection Board, when he was investigating allegations of child
abuse in the Cloyne diocese.
Because, make no mistake, whatever way you
dress it up, that is what happened.
Cardinal Josef Ratzinger, now
Pope Benedict XVI, sent a letter to every Catholic bishop in May 2001
which stated that the church can claim jurisdiction in cases where abuse
has been 'perpetrated with a minor by a cleric'.
It ordered that
'preliminary investigations' into any claims of abuse should be sent to
Cardinal Ratzinger's office, which had the option of referring them back
to private tribunals in which the 'functions of judge, promoter of
justice, notary and legal representative can validly be performed for
these cases only by priests' and that the church's jurisdiction 'begins
to run from the day when the minor has completed the 18th year of age'
and lasts for 10 years.
The letter stated that 'cases of this kind
are subject to the pontifical secret'.
It went on to say breaching the
pontifical secret while the 10-year jurisdiction order was operating
carried penalties, including the threat of excommunication.
Cardinal
Ratzinger is also quoted as saying 'standards of conduct appropriate to
civil society or the workings of a democracy cannot be purely and
simply applied to the church.'
Since then, the Pope has made a
number of statements that strengthen the church's position on child sex
abuse.
Long overdue.
But good, nonetheless.
But there can be no
hope of confidence being restored in the church for as long as those
responsible for the cover-up of abuse continue to behave in a secretive,
duplicitous and cowardly fashion.
No amount of 'mental reservation' can
white-wash the fact that senior members of the Catholic Church
effectively lied to the State by failing to report cases of child sex
abuse ("mental reservation is a concept developed and much discussed
over the centuries, which permits a church man knowingly to convey a
misleading impression to another person without being guilty of lying").
Thankfully
we live in a democracy and no person can be above the law.
If the
church is to survive, then it needs to operate in an open,
compassionate, honest and humble way.
Issues of such magnitude as
addressed in the Cloyne report don't just disappear.
Questions need to
be answered and until Bishop Magee comes forward to answer the
criticisms laid against him, the fallout from the report will endure
like a running sore on the body of the church in Ireland.
After
all, this is the bishop who, up to now, had no problem communicating
with the public.
He had a website that published everything he ever said
about anything.
He's curiously quiet now.
Fr Joe McGuane is
right when he says that if Bishop Magee doesn't come forward he will be
tracked down.
He can run.
He cannot hide forever.
Nor should the church
help to conceal him.
If the Vatican believes that confession is good for
the soul, they might usefully start to prove it by ensuring Bishop
Magee makes a full public confession.
In person.
Soon.