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| The Catholic Church: Faith and Reason Guardian May 22, 2009 http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/may/21/vincent-nichols-irish-child-abuse It should be the among the best of times to take over the leadership of the Catholic church in England and Wales. In the face of the collapse of establishment authority, both political and economic, there is an appetite for a conversation about ethics to which nearly all would accept that religious leaders might contribute. But by the time of his installation in the early afternoon yesterday, the new Archbishop of Westminster, Vincent Nichols, must have been wondering if it was instead the worst of times. The enormity of the story detailed in the Ryan report about the years of abuse in Irish children's homes was a bleak backdrop to the service introducing the 11th archbishop. But that was all it was until he praised the "courage" of the Christian Brothers and the Sisters of Mercy for facing their past – and put himself smack into the heart of it. The plea from both Westminster and Lambeth – Rowan Williams was a prominent guest yesterday – is for space for faith in the public discourse. In his homily, the new archbishop called for "respectful dialogue" and "creative conversation" conducted in a spirit of generosity. But although friends say he is a warm and compassionate individual, his recent record is that of a zealous defender of the status quo. No one can doubt his skill as a campaigner: he defeated the government on faith school quotas and wounded it on legislation allowing same-sex adoption. Lambeth's highbrow opacity was going to be translated into straightforward syntax by Westminster, however uncomfortable. For Vincent Nichols said from the start that he was not seeking to be friends with everyone. But as the archbishop was reminded, it is hard to persuade others to listen when you have just said something they find offensive. The position of the church's leadership on issues such as Aids and contraception, fertility treatment and stem cell research – not to mention its obdurate rejection of married priests and women clergy despite a crisis in recruitment – cannot be changed by a mere archbishop. On two of the central moral questions of the day, sexuality and scientific research, the Catholic leadership clings to an absolutist position that alienates liberals, even those brought up as Catholics. And it drowns out the church's other message on compassion and social justice. The terrible abuse in Irish Catholic children's homes endured as long as it did at least partly because of the church's rigid hierarchy and its institutional opposition to challenge. That could change, but sadly the new archbishop's unfortunate phrasing at this immensely significant moment in the history of Irish Catholicism has struck an unhappy note. Inevitably it will disappoint some who had hoped for a new beginning. |
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