Papal letter is ‘completely and utterly inadequate’

Papal letter is ‘completely and utterly inadequate’


Áine Ryan

‘COMPLETELY and utterly inadequate’. That was the reaction last night of the Director of the Mayo Rape Crisis Centre (MRCC), Ms Ruth McNeely, to the Pope’s pastoral letter, to the Catholics of Ireland, about clerical sexual abuse.
Also responding, Mayo News columnist, and leading commentator on the scandal, Father Kevin Hegarty (pictured below) said ‘it was only the victims themselves that can judge whether Pope Benedict’s letter meets their pain in any way’.
Published at the weekend, details of Pope Benedict XVI’s pastoral letter were read at all Masses throughout the country. In it he apologised for the deep hurt caused to abuse victims and their families. “You have suffered grievously, and I am truly sorry,” the Pope said.
However, speaking to The Mayo News, Ms McNeely said: “The impact this ongoing controversy is having on the victims is so profound. This Pope is not in touch with reality. I am really concerned about the pain the survivors are enduring. It has been one disappointment after another.”
Ms McNeely also expressed sympathy for ‘the many members of the clergy who are good men trying to get on with their daily pastoral work’ amidst this storm that has rocked the church.
Meanwhile, on a positive note, Fr Hegarty observed that ‘it was good the Pope had recognised the failure of the church leadership in Ireland’.
Reiterating comments made on Sunday last on RTE Radio One’s, This Week programme, Fr Hegarty said: “I would have liked some acknowledgment of the significance of the Ryan and Murphy reports, these reports have been of enormous value for bringing the truth to life. The church often talks about the truth. Unfortunately, it was unable to discern and reveal this awful truth about itself. It took the State to do that.”
He stressed that the trust of ordinary practising Catholics who – week in, week out attend Sunday Mass and contribute to the upkeep of the church – was severely eroded and undermined.
“It’s a good thing that the Pope has spoken out at last, it’s a good thing but it’s a small step. It will take a long time to build up any level of trust in the Catholic Church in Ireland, I believe,” Fr Hegarty also said.
He also argued ‘it was trite to indicate that this problem was caused by the secularisation of Irish society’.
“I think the roots of this are a lot deeper and are related to what [psychologist] Maureen Gaffney, some months ago termed ‘the archaic psychology of sexuality within the church’,” he continued.
He also welcomed Archbishop Diarmuid Martin’s call for ‘full accountability and revelations’ and noted it was his intuition that ‘the cover-up extended beyond Ireland into the Vatican’.
Fr Hegarty tellingly said that a call in the letter for increased penance on Fridays exposed the chasm between the Vatican and the very real human suffering of victims.

Pastoral Letter extracts
To the victims of abuse and their families
“You have suffered grievously and I am truly sorry. I know that nothing can undo the wrong you have endured. Your trust has been betrayed and your dignity has been violated. Many of you found that, when you were courageous enough to speak of what happened to you, no one would listen.”

To priests and religious who have abused children
“You have betrayed the trust that was placed in you by innocent young people and their parents, and you must answer for it before Almighty God and before properly constituted tribunals. You have forfeited the esteem of the people of Ireland and brought shame and dishonour on your confreres.”

Concrete initiatives to address the situation
At the conclusion of my meeting with the Irish bishops, I asked that Lent this year be set aside as a time to pray for an outpouring of God’s mercy and the Holy Spirit’s gifts of holiness and strength upon the Church in your country now invite you all to devote your Friday penances, for a period of one year, between now and Easter 2011.”

Time for reparation for the sins of the fathers