France has traditionally been regarded as “la fille aînée de l’Église”, the oldest daughter of the Church, reflecting the fact that there have been Christians there, in communion with Rome, since the second century.
Irenaeus of Lyon, who died in 202AD, was one of the first great defenders of orthodox faith, having been taught by Polycarp of Smyrna, who had himself been converted by the teaching of the apostles.
However, in recent times the relationship between the French and their religious adherence has become rather complicated. As Pope Francis joked a few years back, if France is the eldest daughter of the Church, she is an unfaithful one.
Now a most extraordinary item of news has emerged from across the Channel.
The French Bishops’ Conference has announced that all French priests will have to carry a form of ID card.
People will be able to scan this card with their mobiles to find out not only whether the priest has the faculty to say Mass validly or hear confessions, but also whether he has any restrictions on his duties as a result of allegations or findings of sexual misconduct.
Want to be sure of your priest’s holiness and integrity? There’s an app for that!
What a tale of our time. Intrusive technology mediating human relationships and a breakdown of trust in priests and the Church are two of the saddest and most relentless trends in modern society. And yet, we are where we are.
On one view, the abuse crisis, and the accompanying cover-ups that have destroyed the credibility of Catholic leadership in countries across the globe, arguably leave us no choice but to bring in stringent safeguarding rules and to monitor the behaviour and status of priests very closely.
Only recently a major report revealed that hundreds of thousands of children have been abused by French priests since 1950.
It is worth noting, however, that this new digital monitoring has not been welcomed by groups who campaign on behalf of abuse victims, nor was it recommended in the report mentioned above. I can see why – it has the distinct air of a gimmick designed to look good and give the illusion of a fool proof system.
Over the last twenty or thirty years, we have become used to a constant drumbeat of revelations about priestly abuse, and there is one phenomenon that has arisen again and again: the dishonest, careless, or morally compromised bishop or religious superior, who refuses to take the appropriate action.
Whether that means forcing parents of victims to stay silent, or quietly moving priests to new posts without informing anyone of the reason for the move, or actively destroying evidence, it has happened time after time and it is a disgrace to the Church.
This has not been the only “failure mode” in the system, but it is one of the worst and most inexcusable.
So it seems quite reasonable to me for people to look askance at a new supposed technical fix.
The fundamental problem is with the people
who should be shepherds of the flock forgetting their duty, and until we
can find a way to stop such failings from happening, smartphone gizmos
are a mere sticking plaster.