Pope's Letter Published

[ellie08]

Some Key Messages from Pope’s Letter

(The numbers refer to paragraphs in the original letter)


1. “I can only share in the dismay and the sense of betrayal that so many of you have experienced on learning of these sinful and criminal acts and the way Church authorities in Ireland dealt with them.” He mentions the IRISH church and how it dealt badly with abuse. Sorry Ratzo, it wasn't just the irish church as you well know.

[jtd]

Not speaking as a Catholic, but as someone with a knowledge of law, which is what alot of these terms draw upon, the term visitation generally refers to an inspection by a designated person. For example, the Universities Acts provide the Minister for Education with the right to order a visitation upon any University in the State. It does not mean the Pope is making a visit as such.

Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition... Seriously though, it could rattle a few diocesan cages if there's a Vatican official putting them under the microscope.

[Anarene]

Presumably because in actuality there are relatively few legislative provisions in this jurisdiction dealing with child protection. We only have national guidelines, they are not legislative - as a consequence there is essentially no civil law in this area.

Is that you, Monsignor Dooley?

[milipod]

Also available here.

http://212.77.1.245/news_services/bu...=25286&lang=en

Official reaction from Cardinal Brady here.

20 March 2010

Blah blah blah

[johnfás]

Is that you, Monsignor Dooley?

You're a bit of a turd. I would fully support the State placing mandatory reporting on a legislative footing - the fact is that is not the law. It should be the law, but it is not the law. Therefore, how can you be encouraged to comply with a law that does not exist? In the absence of the State providing such a law (which they should) the Catholic Church (of which I am not a member) should have its own rules which require mandatory reporting to the civil authorities and these should be fully complied with. This does not mean that the Church can comply with a civil law on mandatory reporting, which objectively does not exist. Perhaps you might read up on the law, you are clearly confused.

[Didimus]

Some Key Messages from Pope’s Letter

(The numbers refer to paragraphs in the original letter)


1. “I can only share in the dismay and the sense of betrayal that so many of you have experienced on learning of these sinful and criminal acts and the way Church authorities in Ireland dealt with them.” He mentions the IRISH church and how it dealt badly with abuse. Sorry Ratzo, it wasn't just the irish church as you well know.

Think this might be a letter to the Irish church?

[TradCat]

It doesn't matter what is said but what is done. If the procedures that are in place deal with the issue properly in the future that will be one thing that is necessary and welcome.

But in terms of the past the only people who count are the victims. When they tell us they have had justice then we can think about forgiving the institution. But only then. Full disclosure which we have yet to see and hard cash will have to be part of it. Not because money is important to the victims but because it is important to the Church.

[Cornerman]

From my reading he blames the church in Ireland, and is sorry about that. He's not sorry for his own actions in directing the leadership of the church, and I don't see where he accepts any responsibility personally or as the pope. Of course to do either would open him and the Vatican up for legal action. In any case, ordinary people here aren't all that interested in what he has to say. He's not "the pope" as was his predecessor - he's just "a pope." That nasty little man with the nasty name. The damage is done, there is only one generation of catholics left. 25 years will see the last gone.

[danger here]

Not speaking as a Catholic, but as someone with a knowledge of law, which is what alot of these terms draw upon, the term visitation generally refers to an inspection by a designated person. For example, the Universities Act provide the Minister for Education with the right to order a visitation upon any University in the State where there is a suspicion that such a university is acting in breach of the Universities Act. It does not mean the Pope is making a visit as such.

He's just sending Bishop Len Brennan

[sondagefaux]

I don't think that the letter has passed the tests that Colm O'Gorman set for it.

Colm O'Gorman

Firstly, it must not make any attempt to blame anyone else for Church failures. Pope Benedict must not suggest the revelations of clerical crime and cover-up are part of a global media conspiracy as he has previously done. He must not seek to blame the decadence of Western society, the sexual revolution, gays, secularisation or even the Devil, as senior church leaders have asserted over the years.

From the letter.

4. In recent decades, however, the Church in your country has had to confront new and serious challenges to the faith arising from the rapid transformation and secularization of Irish society. Fast-paced social change has occurred, often adversely affecting people’s traditional adherence to Catholic teaching and values. All too often, the sacramental and devotional practices that sustain faith and enable it to grow, such as frequent confession, daily prayer and annual retreats, were neglected. Significant too was the tendency during this period, also on the part of priests and religious, to adopt ways of thinking and assessing secular realities without sufficient reference to the Gospel. The programme of renewal proposed by the Second Vatican Council was sometimes misinterpreted and indeed, in the light of the profound social changes that were taking place, it was far from easy to know how best to implement it. In particular, there was a well-intentioned but misguided tendency to avoid penal approaches to canonically irregular situations. It is in this overall context that we must try to understand the disturbing problem of child sexual abuse, which has contributed in no small measure to the weakening of faith and the loss of respect for the Church and her teachings.

The letter clearly blames secularisation as one of the factors contributing to child sexual abuse.

Colm O'Gorman.

He must end the denial and deceit typified by his constant refusal to properly engage with the charge of cover-up, never mind admit it. In the face of findings of fact in Ireland, the US, Australia and Canada which have detailed the institutional corruption at the heart of these scandals, to do otherwise would be to continue to cover up by a wilful denial to address the issue.

From the letter.

It cannot be denied that some of you [bishops] and your predecessors failed, at times grievously, to apply the long-established norms of canon law to the crime of child abuse. Serious mistakes were made in responding to allegations. I recognize how difficult it was to grasp the extent and complexity of the problem, to obtain reliable information and to make the right decisions in the light of conflicting expert advice. Nevertheless, it must be admitted that grave errors of judgement were made and failures of leadership occurred.

From the letter.

Only by examining carefully the many elements that gave rise to the present crisis can a clear-sighted diagnosis of its causes be undertaken and effective remedies be found. Certainly, among the contributing factors we can include: inadequate procedures for determining the suitability of candidates for the priesthood and the religious life; insufficient human, moral, intellectual and spiritual formation in seminaries and novitiates; a tendency in society to favour the clergy and other authority figures; and a misplaced concern for the reputation of the Church and the avoidance of scandal, resulting in failure to apply existing canonical penalties and to safeguard the dignity of every person. Urgent action is needed to address these factors, which have had such tragic consequences in the lives of victims and their families, and have obscured the light of the Gospel to a degree that not even centuries of persecution succeeded in doing.

The closest that comes to recognising a cover-up is where it recognises that 'a misplaced concern for the reputation of the Church and the avoidance of scandal, result[ed] in failure to apply existing canonical penalties and to safeguard the dignity of every person', that 'Serious mistakes were made in responding to allegations' and that 'grave errors of judgement were made and failures of leadership occurred'.

Colm O'Gorman.

He must take responsibility for the cover-up, and apologise for it. As supreme head of the Catholic Church he must use his power to enforce proper child protection across the global Church. He must also make it clear that those who fail to act to protect children will be properly held to account.

Nothing in the letter about any of this.