Sea change in Catholic Church at last evident

Refusing to acknowledge the progress made by Church in hnadling abuse claims does a disservice to its watchdog, writes, Micheal Kelly

MANY Catholics breathed a collective sigh of relief this week upon the publication of the independent audits into the handling of allegations of sexual abuse against priests in six Catholic dioceses. The reports, damning as they are about egregious failures in the past, show that a definite cultural shift has happened in the Catholic Church when it comes to ensuring that the welfare and protection of children trumps all other concerns such as the avoidance of scandal and the preservation of the reputation of the Church. It’s been a long time since there was much positive news to report in the sphere of child safeguarding but the progress, belated as it undoubtedly is, is a real transformation.

The audits — carried out by the National Board for Safeguarding Children in the Catholic Church (NBSCCC) — reveal the same depressing pattern of behaviour as the judicial reports into dioceses in Ferns (2005), Dublin (2009) and Cloyne (2010). Time and again little or no attention was paid to the needs of those most vulnerable members of the Church who allege they were abused by those the Church raised up to teach, govern and sanctify them (to quote Canon Law). In the Derry audit, to choose one example, the NBSCCC found that in the past “priests about whom there were clear concerns were not robustly challenged or adequately managed and problems were often ‘handled’ by moving them to postings elsewhere.

“There is evidence that abusive behaviour continued to be exhibited by priests who were moved on in this manner,” the audit noted. It makes for depressing reading. This must never be allowed to be forgotten both for the sake of the victims and the duty to honour the memory of what they suffered.

What is heartening, however, in these six audits is that there has clearly been a dramatic cultural shift since the mid-1990s away from the tendency of self-preservation towards a stance where children are truly cherished and those who would do them harm find no comfort or succour from bishops or religious superiors. Even the Church’s most trenchant critics must acknowledge the sea change that has taken place in attitudes. Much of the credit for that attitudinal change has to go to the head of the NBSCCC watchdog Ian Elliott. With skilful determination he has stubbornly pushed Church leaders towards accountability and transparency. His 2008 audit of the Diocese of Cloyne, where policies were shown to be “inadequate and in some respects dangerous”, forcing the resignation of Bishop John Magee was a decisive moment. It showed that the NBSCCC had the moral clout and authority hold once all-powerful bishops to account. Mr Elliott revealed earlier this year that he had considered resigning over a lack of co-operation with his office from senior clerics. When he reported this week that he had received full co-operation from the six audited dioceses there was little fanfare for what was a tremendous achievement in a Church where words like accountability and transparency are new concepts.

THERE’S no room for complacency. There are 180 more audits to filter out in coming years. Mr Elliott was asked to audit the Catholic Church in Ireland and that is what he is doing. Every part from the largest diocese to the smallest convent will be subject to his close scrutiny. The reason for such thoroughness: the risk of slippage. Mr Elliott knows that the Catholic Church, like any other institution, runs the risk of falling back into old patterns of behaviour and the old ways of doing things the moment the spotlight is dimmed or the heat turned down. Child safeguarding is not something to be done and then shelved.

The Church in Ireland has rightly paid a heavy price for the failure to tackle the crime of child sexual abuse by priests. The Church’s reputation is in tatters. Referring to the Church in Ireland Pope Benedict himself has noted that the scandals “have obscured the light of the Gospel to a degree that not even centuries of persecution succeeded in doing”.

Public trust might be rebuilt in the Church but the lives of those ruined by abuse and let down when they were let down by the Church that they trusted to protect its move vulnerable members may never be restored.

A new Papal Nuncio, New Yorker Archbishop-elect Charlie Brown, is due in Ireland early in the New Year. It will be his responsibility to chart a path of renewal and reform for the Church here. The report of the Pope’s crack team — the Apostolic Visitation — charged with leading an investigation into the state of Irish Catholicism will also report early in the new year and is expected to recommend a series of reforms including the amalgamation of dioceses from 26 to 11.

The Church must move forward, marked by the sins of the past, to claim a new space for itself in a rapidly changing Ireland. Many Angelou, the Black American poet wrote that “history, despite its wrenching pain, cannot be unlived, but if faced with courage, need not be lived again”. Let’s hope she’s right and that the courage is there.

* Michael Kelly is deputy editor of The Irish Catholic newspaper.