In May and June I published several posts on the story of clergy abuse of children in Ireland in residential care and other institutions for children between 1940 and the 1970's.
Rocco has a summary of the today's news from the Archdiocese of Dublin:
After a three-year state inquiry, today saw the release of the Murphy Report into clergy sex-abuse in the archdiocese of Dublin, which implicated the city's four previous archbishops in its conclusion that "no doubt" could be had over the presence of a decades-long cover-up of abusive clergy coupled with the mistreatment of survivors -- a state of affairs in which both the government and the police were complicit, and for which both quickly apologized this afternoon.-ConcordPastor
(Read the complete summary, with links, here)
This is sad news indeed, Father Fleming. No one can deny it. And yet, I wonder if this determined focus on sex abuse could not be balanced by posts on things that are going right with the Catholic Church in the larger world (beyond the happy stories of life at Holy Family). As a relief in the holiday season, maybe you could tell us about the nice young bearded men in robes who collected turkeys from your youth group members. Just to lend some balance to dismal stories of woe and betrayal that so often appear here.
ReplyDeleteIrish Gal
"But no report can give an indication of the suffering and trauma endured by the children, and indeed the suffering also of their family members."
ReplyDeleteSad to say but the only way to restore the moral authority of bishops is for them to take responsibility and be held accountable for their cover up.
The Episcopacy has failed the People of God.
Re "things that are going right with the Catholic Church"...The female religious, their courage and example of how to live out the Gospel..
Dear Anne,
ReplyDeleteI would not count the LCRW as among the things "right with the church." I recall, with horror, a recent keynote address to this group that urged them to go beyond Jesus, to break boundaries -- ideas that would lead them straight into the abyss. If their idea of living out the Gospel is lawyering up and stonewalling, then it is perverse. I recall being taught that "Thou shalt not lie" included not only the positive act of telling an untruth, but also the act of withholding information from those who had a right to it. This certainly includes the actions of women religious who whose congregations are answerable to the Pope and his appointed representatives.
As for the bishops, I agree many have failed. One of the keenest betrayals there, as I see it, is their failure to treat their priests and pastors with charity and dignity -- as shown by the bishops' failure to bind themselves by the rules removing from ministry anyone with a credible accusation of abuse. They have also failed in charity those priests falsely accused (see http://www.blogcatalog.com/blog/these-stone-walls).
However, the female religious lack courage, not even allowing their names to be attached to their rebellious pronouncements to NCR.
Irish Gal
IG, You and I do not see things in the same light. That's fine. You asked for balance. I gave you an example but you respond with negativity toward women who live out their lives serving Christ, building up his Body, in peace, love, hope and joy. There's much to be said about how you see the church but I will not try to persuade you to see things differently. It wouldn't be possible in this small com-box.
ReplyDeleteAnne,
ReplyDeletePerhaps we could agree on Mother Teresa and the Missionaries of Charity.
(Actually, I was asking Fr. Fleming for balance and for reporting of good things in this blog, which is the blog of my parish.)
IG
which is the blog of my parish
ReplyDeleteCorrect me if I'm wrong but I don't believe that this blog is the blog of Holy Family/Concord alone. The title states "Commentary on life and ministry in my parish, in the Roman Catholic Church and in the world around us." That covers a lot of territory. I am not a member of Holy Family. Now I'm curious. Am I in the minority? Do most posters live in Concord?
Anne: I've mentioned a couple of times that this is not a parish blog, it is the blog of the pastor of a parish. (For the parish site, go to www.holyfamilyconcord.org) Many of my visitors are neither from Concord nor from the surrounding area. While I know a few of the regular commenters are parishioners, I don't know the locale of most of them.
ReplyDeleteP.S.
ReplyDeleteI've also mentioned several times that parishioners with concerns about parish life and business should contact me directly and not through this venue.
I think CP's blog is filled with good things, in fact, in the spirit of Thanksgiving, I would say a cornucopia of good things!
ReplyDeleteWhile we all would probably like to get beyond the abuse crisis, unfortunately, it remains something that we all need to continue to hear about. The Irish revelations are just coming to light. Many dioceses in Ireland have not opened their files, so we have a long way to go before the Irish part of the abuse story is completed. And we don't know what else will come to light in other countries.
If we try to think of what those who were abused for decades have endured, perhaps we may find ourselves more willing to endure hearing about the abuse revelations. If we start to become impatient, we can stop and offer a prayer for those who have been abused and betrayed. This act of loving charity will help us to realize what our priorities should be.
Rosemary
Not only have I never thought of this as strictly a Holy Family Parish blog, I also never thought that only Catholics could read it and write to it! CP has never asked for a Catholic baptismal certificate or proof of same from contributors!
ReplyDelete