The Archbishop of Canterbury made the comments during an interview with Andrew Marr for the BBC Radio 4 programme Start the Week, to be broadcast on Monday. (Times)
The Archbishop of Dublin today said he was “stunned” to hear the Archbishop of Canterbury declare that the Roman Catholic Church in Ireland has lost all credibility because of the child abuse scandal.
Diarmuid Martin, the second most senior Catholic in Ireland, responded to a rare breach of ecumenical protocol by Dr Rowan Williams in an interview with BBC Radio 4.
Mr Martin said he had “rarely felt personally so discouraged” as when he woke to hear Dr Williams’ comments. Those working to renew the church did not deserve the remarks, which “will be for them immensely disheartening and will challenge their faith even further”.
Dr Williams criticised the Catholic Church over its handling of the paedophile priests crisis and made plain his anger over the Pope’s plans for
It comes after Dr Williams said the paedophile priest scandal had been a “colossal trauma” for Ireland in particular as he commented for the first time on the crisis.
“I was speaking to an Irish friend recently who was saying that it’s quite difficult in some parts of Ireland to go down the street wearing a clerical collar now,” he told Andrew Marr for the BBC Radio 4 programme Start the Week, to be broadcast on Monday.
“And an institution so deeply bound into the life of a society suddenly becoming, suddenly losing all credibility — that’s not just a problem for the Church, it is a problem for everybody in Ireland.”
Dr Williams also made plain his anger over the Pope’s plans for a new ordinariate to tempt dissatisfied Anglicans over to Rome, pointedly refusing to give his blessing to Anglicans who seek to take up the Pope’s offer to help them convert.
“I don’t think it’s going to be a big deal for the Church of England.” He predicted that just a few people would accept the offer. “They will take advantage of it because they believe they ought to be in communion with the Bishop of Rome. I can only say fine, God bless them. I don’t at the moment. So we proceed on that basis and we talk with, I hope, a level of mutual respect on that basis.”
His comments will add to the cloud gathering over the Pope’s four-day visit to Britain in September, when he is expected to give an address in Westminster on moral values in society. More than 10,000 people have signed a “Protest the Pope” petition on Downing Street’s website against the £15 million cost of the visit, which is to be shared by the Government and the Church.
Dr Williams was less than effusive about the Pope’s visit to Britain. “The Pope will be coming here to Lambeth Palace. We’ll have the bishops together to meet him. I’m concerned that he has the chance to say what he wants to say in and to British society, that we welcome him as a valued partner and, you know, that’s . . . that’s about it.”
The Vatican’s troubles mounted further when Pope Benedict XVI’s personal preacher likened criticism of the Church over the sex abuse scandal to “collective violence” suffered by the Jews. At a Good Friday ceremony at St Peter’s Basilica, Father Raniero Cantalamessa told the congregation, with the Pope listening, that a Jewish friend had said that the accusations reminded him of the “more shameful aspects of anti-Semitism”.
The attempt to equate criticism of the Church with the suffering of Jews is particularly controversial given the accusation that the Church failed to do enough to stop the Holocaust, in which millions of Jews perished.
The Pope later followed a candle-lit procession to commemorate Christ’s suffering amid tighter security than usual. His spokesman said that Father Cantalamessa’s remarks were not the official position of the Church.
The head of the Church in Ireland, Cardinal Sean Brady, made only an oblique reference to its troubles when he detailed the need for repentance at Maundy Thursday and Good Friday services in the Armagh Archdiocese.
He was greeted with applause at Armagh Cathedral and at St Patrick’s Church, Drogheda, where he has strong support because of his reputation as a good pastor. On a wider stage he is under increasing pressure to go, and sources indicated last night that he was likely to announce his retirement by Pentecost in May, triggering further episcopal resignations and a radical reorganisation of the Church in Ireland.
Catholic bishops worldwide are using Easter, the Christian time of repentance and renewal, as an opportunity to seek forgiveness for the sins of the Church. The leader of the Catholic Church in Scotland will offer repentance to the victims of sexual abuse by priests in his Easter Day address.
Cardinal Keith O’Brien will say that Catholics are demoralised and confused by the “many evils” perpetrated by paedophile priests. He will speak of the shame the scandal has brought to the members of the Church in his homily at St Mary’s Cathedral in Edinburgh.
The leader of the Church in Germany denounced past failures and mistakes in the Church’s handling of complaints of child rape and other abuse. The Church in the country of the Pope’s birth is in crisis after dozens of people came forward alleging that they were abused as minors by priests.
Archbishop Robert Zollitsch of Freiburg said that news of sexual and physical abuse by priests left the Church with sadness, horror and shame. He said that clerics failed to help victims by a “wrongly intended desire to protect the Church’s reputation” and called on the Church to face this painful reality. He added: “Wounds were inflicted that are hardly curable.”
April 3, 2010
Ruth Gledhill, Religion Correspondent
Source: The Times
Related information:
– Pope Benedict XVI’s personal preacher: Abuse critique like anti-Semitism (AP)
– ABC Nightline: What the Pope Knew About Father Maciel (ABC NEWS)
– Pope Benedict Appointed Bishop Accused of Ritually Beating Orphaned Children (The Raw Story)
– 40% of Americans view Pope Benedict XVI favorably (Gallup)
– 1963 letter indicates former pope knew of abuse (AP)
– Germany’s Catholic Church sexual abuse hotline received 1,000 calls the first day (Digital Journal)
– Austrian Catholic Church Abuse Hot Lines Log 566 Reports This Year (Austrian Independent)
– Australian Bishop says ‘vast amount’ of sexual abuse cases yet to emerge (Sydney Morning Herald)
– Deaf Boys Tried to Tell of Priest’s Abuse FOR YEARS (New York Times)
– Christopher Hitchens Slams Vatican, Pope Over Sex Abuse Scandal (Huffington Post)
– The Pope Is Not Above the Law (Slate)
– Sex Abuse Victims to Sue Vatican (Times)
– Pope Benedict Signals Won’t Be Intimidated By Abuse Critics, Uses Popemobile For First Time On A Palm Sunday (New York Times/AFP)
– Vatican knew of abuse in Ontario: Victim (Toronto Star)
– A church sex scandal where the truth is crucified (Toronto Star)
– Sinead O’Connor: ‘There Should Be A Full Criminal Investigation Of The Pope’ (LA Times)
– Catholic Church quietly expelling and punishing children, homeless (Irish Central)
– Former Milwaukee Archbishop Rembert Weakland routinely shredded copies of weekly reports about sexual abuse by priests (Flashback):
Former Milwaukee Archbishop Rembert Weakland routinely shredded copies of weekly reports about sexual abuse by priests, according to formerly sealed testimony turned over to Milwaukee County’s district attorney on Thursday.
– Swiss Catholic Church Investigating 10 Abuse Cases (Reuters)
– Irish Catholic Church Paid Child Sex Abuse Victim To Keep Quiet (Guardian)
– Catholic Church Child Abuse: Nuns Now Also Accused (Radio Netherlands Worldwide)
– Church: Pope Had Role in Moving Molesting Priest (Bloomberg)
– Pope knew priest was paedophile but allowed him to continue with ministry (Times)
– Pope will struggle to survive abuse scandal (Irish Independent)
– Benedict’s involvement ’shows extent of cover-ups’ (Irish Independent)
– Sinead O’Connor: I’d help Jesus to burn down the Vatican (Irish Independent)
– RIGHTS-GERMANY: ‘Catholic Church Protects Paedophile Priests’ (IPS)