We learned a painful lesson when the Titanic met its demise in the north Atlantic. Ocean liners today have adequate life boats and sophisticated guiding devices so you rarely hear of a shipwreck.
Yet, some have compared the condition of the Catholic Church these days to a shipwreck. While I think that is nothing more than hyperbole, we cannot deny that the perception of leadership in the Catholic Church has taken a severe blow. As always, those talented and sincere Bishops who have steered the Church carefully through recent rough seas have suffered a somewhat thankless task. I have great confidence, however, that much good will ultimately develop out of this crisis but there is one country which has been hit particularly hard – Ireland.
I ran across a copy of a speech given by Archbishop Diarmuid Martin, the Archbishop of Dublin, entitled: The Future of the Catholic Church in Ireland. As we consider what that Church has recently been through, the title is loaded. It is a long reflection by the Archbishop but I was struck by his honesty about the challenges ahead of the Church in that famed land.
My heart goes out to this man. More than once he states, “Why am I discouraged?” As you read you can feel his sadness for the tragedy of, “the drip-by-drip never-ending revelation about child sexual abuse and the disastrous way it was handled . . .” It is a call to deep reform but Ireland could become a model in the extreme where much good, over time, could develop.
He speaks of faith in Ireland and how, “I do not believe that people have a true sense of the crisis of faith that exists in Ireland . . .” The Archbishop comes across as brutally honest about what he feels is deficient in his country: Catholic education and that, “I am not sure that we all really have an understanding of what Catholic education entails.” That religious education is, “in fact being shifted to the margins of school life in many Catholic schools . . .”
The scriptures and their influence in Catholic life is lacking, the Archbishop feels: “The Irish Catholic tradition has greatly neglected the place of the scriptures. Catholics do not know the scriptures. They do not know how to use the scriptures . . .” He bemoans the fact that the use of “modern media mechanisms” are sorely lacking in parishes. “Yet the Church still continues in many ways to live in a way which fails to recognize that culture has indeed changed so much” and the Church has drifted, “into a heavily secularized culture. For many, faith no longer plays a major role in their lives . . .”
His greatest disappointment, though, seems to be among the youth. “Why am I so discouraged?” the Archbishop states, because of the failure “of interaction between the Church and young people. I visit parishes where I encounter no young people . . . Parishes offer very little outreach to young people . . .”
As far as clergy go, he states: “Already in the Archdiocese of Dublin we have ten times more priests over 70 than under 40. There is no way we can put off decisions regarding the future. . .”
He closes with an honest reflection: “Perhaps the future of the Church in Ireland will be one where we truly learn from the arrogance of our past and find anew a fragility which will allow the mercy and the compassion of Jesus to give us a change of heart . . .”
I offer these little snippets from his speech not to single out Ireland. Some of what the Archbishop states can be said of our own Church in this country. Yet, I think the Catholic Church here has come a long way and allowed itself to adapt more creatively. I think our parishes are mostly vibrant, though not all by any means. We deal with a multi – cultural situation, likely more than Ireland, and that has caused us to be more open-minded and to be more resourceful in our ministry. Catholicism in this country is far newer than in Ireland and Catholics have thrived in an essentially Protestant Christian society.
The Church of Ireland has been hit very hard by this crisis but I hope the good Archbishop is able to set a more positive tone. Hopeful leadership is essential at this time. Our prayers are due for the victims of abuse in Ireland and for the Church itself that has been deeply embedded in Irish identity.
They will have a long way to go. Archbishop Martin states, “I have never since becoming Archbishop of Dublin felt so disheartened and discouraged about the level of willingness to really begin what is going to be a painful path of renewal and of what is involved in that renewal.”
But, in the end the Archbishop reflects what I think we all mostly feel about our Church: “Thank God there are many who love their Church: lay persons, religious and clergy. We love the Church because the Church is our home, the place where we encounter the love of God revealed in Jesus Christ and where we gather in love to break bread in his memory.”
Jesus promised, “I will be with you all days until the end of the world.”
Feel free to leave your comments, as always.
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