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	Churches Are Ready to Serve in Challenging Times Ahead By Alf McCreary Belfast Telegraph December 24, 2008 http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/opinion/columnists/churches-are-ready-to-serve-in- challenging-times-ahead-14119841.html The Christmas period is traditionally a time when the Churches attract large congregations from all backgrounds as they celebrate the birth of Jesus, but the new year is also a time for taking stock of the challenges which are ever on the horizon The Catholic Church has again been making the wrong headlines with yet another apology for some of the sins of the Reverend Fathers and its appalling record on child sexual abuse. At the end of last week, Bishop John Magee of Cloyne in the Republic apologised to victims of sex abuse after an independent report found that the diocese had put children at risk of harm through an inability to respond appropriately to allegations of abuse. The National Board for Safeguarding Children in the Catholic Church was highly critical of the way in which the diocese had handled complaints of sexual abuse made by five people against two of its priests. Such revelations are deeply embarrassing to the Catholic clergy at all levels, despite the strenuous attempts in recent years by the Hierarchy to ensure that such failures and abuses do not take place. These developments continue to cast a dark shadow over a Church which has been trying, and not without justification, to present its more positive achievements in a period of great challenge from secularism and materialism — particularly as this litany of sexual abuse may not yet be over. Another major worry for the Catholic Church is the serious shortage of priests and earlier this year the Archdiocese of Armagh announced a long-term plan to use its dwindling number of clerics more effectively. It is difficult to know whether the sex abuse scandals or secularism or both, as well as other factors, are resulting in such a shortage of priests, but Cardinal Brady — a respected Primate — and his colleagues have much to ponder in the approach to 2009. So, too, has the Church of Ireland, where a shortage of vocations is already causing a severe workload for existing clergy. Archbishop Alan Harper, the Primate, already referred to this in the context of his own diocese, which no doubt mirrors those in other parts of the Church. The Church of Ireland also faces the challenges of living with the strains in the worldwide Anglican Communion, following the failure to agree on a policy in dealing with the vexed question of same-sex relationships. The Lambeth Conference earlier this year created some breathing space but the issue will continue to cause headaches, and not least at grass-roots level where it could create serious divisions almost everywhere, including Northern Ireland. The Presbyterians face their own challenges, and not least in the future of the Presbyterian Mutual Society where the funds are currently frozen, both to investors and borrowers, following the ravages of the so-called 'credit crunch'. Further details about this complex issue are likely to be revealed in the new year, and many Presbyterians remain apprehensive about the outcome. Despite the challenges facing the individual churches, as outlined above, they all have achievements to their credit in doing their best to contribute to society, across a wide range of spiritual and community activities, ranging from the education of the young to the care of the elderly. However, they all face the problem of trying to make the challenge of Christianity relevant to the wider world. The past year has shown that the financiers, the warmongers, the tyrants and those who thought they knew best, have created such chaos for so many others on a major scale. At the end of a traumatic year, many people are looking for spiritual guidance and a sense of security in a changing world, but the question for 2009 and beyond is how far the Churches can rise to that challenge. The answer remains to be seen.
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