Vincent Doyle, who is the son of a priest, received a letter from the Vatican last week inviting him to participate in a worldwide study.
Research was originally established by Pope Francis a decade ago in relation to the protection of minors, but is now including adults.
Vincent said that it had taken ten years to get this stage and while “exhausted”, he is extremely happy to be asked to contribute to a body of research that will recognise the thousands who are the children of priests and the religious.
“I’ve been dialoguing with the Vatican since 2014, pressing them and pushing them to look at this issue. Initially there was some hesitancy. It took them a while to do this. I'm privileged and honoured to get an invitation at this level – it is phenomenal,” he said.
“It’s the first time ever this has been done and to be able to contribute is humbling - it’s amazing, you know, for a guy who lives in Lisacul. I’ll be contributing to a body of knowledge that will be in the Vatican archives until the end of time.” Discovering that he was the son of a priest at age 28 has brought the Lisacul resident on a decade long global journey aimed at supporting thousands of people just like himself.
Before the life-changing discovery about his biological father Vincent had just known the priest as his godfather. He was 12 years old when he died in 1995.
The Longford native moved to Lisacul seven years ago from Galway and works as a psychotherapist with clients at his home and online, around the world. He lives there with his wife and young son.
Ten years ago, Vincent established Coping International, a voluntary mental health organisation that promotes the well-being of children of Catholic priests and religious, as well as their parents worldwide.
He has dedicated years to researching the mental health related effects of imposed secrecy and stigma upon these children, and their parents and families.
The Vatican letter he received last week has been a huge moment for him. “It's the first time that the Vatican and the Church are openly acknowledging ‘Yes, we have children. Yes, we acknowledge that these people are vulnerable and yes, we acknowledge that there's a problem.
“It’s the first time in history under the authority of the Pope, they are holding their hands up and saying ‘Mea Culpa’, we’re wrong, we have kids and we have to do something about it.” Vincent explained that the Vatican was undertaking a global study across 175 countries. “That's the reach of Coping: 175 countries, 275,000 people in 26 languages, so far.
“The timing of this prestigious invitation is notable, since we are mid-Synod, which means ‘walking together’ and in typical Francis style, he has gone beyond the margins of any Pope before him, building on the work Benedict XVI began in 2009,” he said.
Vincent said that he had informed the Catholic bishops and various other religious authorities across the world of the Vatican correspondence, and wanted to thank the bishops for their continued support.