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	Rome's Wider Remit By Patrick Claffey The Tablet March 21, 2011 http://www.thetablet.co.uk/article/16018 The Vatican's visitation of the Church in Ireland comes in the wake of the country's clerical abuse scandal, but moral theologians at seminaries and houses of formation have been dismayed to find that it is their loyalty to the Magisterium that has been under scrutiny While the public face of the Apostolic Visitation of the Church in Ireland has shown the determination of the visitators to listen to those who have been abused by priests or Religious and to demonstrate the Church's remorse, there has been another aspect that has been unreported. Part of the team's remit has been to investigate seminaries and institutes of theology, and this task has been entrusted to the Archbishop of New York, Timothy Dolan. The Irish College in Rome and Ireland's national seminary, St Patrick's College, Maynooth, have come under particularly close scrutiny. I was able to obtain part of the visitation's working document or instrumentum laboris that relates to the seminaries. This sets out the intention to "cover all aspects of priestly formation", noting that "special attention will be given to the criteria for admission of candidates, and the programmes for human and spiritual formation aimed at ensuring that they can faithfully live in chastity for the Kingdom. Furthermore, attention will be reserved for the intellectual formation of seminarians, to examine its fidelity to the Magisterium, especially in the field of moral theology" (Instrumentum laboris [IL], 1, 3). While it is clear that Archbishop Dolan is simply following the guidance given in the working document, this part of the visitation appears to have caused some concern to staff involved and members of the wider theological community in Ireland, particularly in the field of moral theology. Although the college authorities would not comment on any aspect of the visitation, it is widely reported in the small Irish theological world that lecturers in moral theology, and only in this discipline, were asked to provide copies of their lecture notes, including PowerPoint presentations. This raises several questions, not least that of the trust that should exist here. The visitation appeared determined to seek out any scent of "the influences of New Age and eclectic spirituality" (IL 6.8) but most particularly any traces of "contemporary subjectivism and in particular … moral relativism" (IL 7.2) in the taught syllabus. One person who participated in this part of the visitation said that what it seemed to be seeking was an adherence to moral absolutes, traditional forms of piety and a particular understanding of "the concept of priesthood" based on strict readings of Magisterial teaching. Another was particularly worried about what seemed like a desire to remove candidates from the world and from contact with modern daily life in a quasi-monastic setting that would do little to advance their personal formation and readiness for ministry. The working document refers repeatedly to the need for an awareness of child abuse and protection issues. It also refers to the issue of homosexuality and asks how "faculty members watch out for signs of 'particular friendships'". One could also ask whether this implies that there is some link between homosexuality and child abuse, a view that would be largely disparaged as intellectually flawed. The overall tone of this document appears to be quite inquisitorial and has caused considerable unease. The visitation was announced by Pope Benedict XVI in his "Pastoral Letter to the Catholics of Ireland" in March 2010. Its stated purpose was "to offer assistance to the bishops, clergy, Religious and lay faithful as they seek to respond adequately to the situation caused by the tragic cases of abuse perpetrated by priests and Religious upon minors. It is also intended to contribute to the desired spiritual and moral renewal that is already being vigorously pursued by the Church in Ireland." The Pope appointed five senior prelates to head the visitation to the four archdioceses of Ireland: Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor, Emeritus Archbishop of Westminster, for the Archdiocese of Armagh; Cardinal Sean Patrick O'Malley, Archbishop of Boston, for the Archdiocese of Dublin; Thomas Christopher Collins, Archbishop of Toronto, for the Archdiocese of Cashel and Emly, where another report soon to be published on the Cloyne Diocese is expected to be very damaging; Terrence Thomas Prendergast, Archbishop of Ottawa, for the Archdiocese of Tuam. As we have seen Archbishop Dolan was appointed to head the visitation to houses of formation for the future priests of the Church in Ireland. The Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life will organise a visit of the religious congregations in Ireland led by male and female Religious. In preparation for the meetings, the participants were asked to consider three specific if rather broad questions: reaction to the Murphy report; people's thoughts on the visitation itself; and how they saw the future of the Church in Ireland. In Dublin Archdiocese Cardinal O'Malley received up to 250 people individually or in groups, with many meetings running well over the scheduled time. It was clear from the comments of those who participated that they were impressed by the cardinal's listening skills and they consider the meetings to have been open and honest. One senior priest, Mgr Dan O'Connor, was keen to emphasise that there was no way that this part of the process could be considered a whitewash and says that all the painful issues were raised, and some were very painful indeed. Daire Keogh, a historian at St Patrick's College in Dublin, requested a meeting with Cardinal O'Malley, offering his views as a historian and as a practising Catholic. He was very positive in his appreciation of a meeting that "surpassed [his] expectations in its candour and interest in detail". Also impressed by what she saw and heard at a meeting with Cardinal O'Malley was Dr Margaret Downes, chairwoman of the parish council at St Mary's, Haddington Road, who attended with 16 other representatives of parish pastoral councils. "Celibacy and the position of women in the Church will have to be looked at if the Church is to be more responsive," Dr Downes told me, adding that there was a great need for a change of attitude in Rome, which often appears not really to understand the realities on the ground. She wanted to see a synod set up in the Irish Church with lay participation but she suspected there would be no radical change in a Church she saw as being "increasingly out of touch". There is widespread debate among the clergy on the subject of Archbishop Diarmuid Martin's handling of the abuse scandal. Some feel that he has been unsuccessful in communicating with his priests and even that he has lost the confidence of some as the pastor with a responsibility to them as well as to others. Yet Archbishop Martin probably has more credibility with survivors of abuse than any other member of the Irish hierarchy. Maeve Lewis of the victim support group One in Four said Archbishop Martin had become a real leader in the field worldwide. She was fearful that if, as is often rumoured, he were to move on from Dublin, it would represent a step back for child protection. She added that while many survivors rejected the Church, others struggled to hold on to their faith and therefore the approach of the Church was of great importance to them. Sr Elizabeth Cotter, vicar for Religious in Dublin Archdiocese and a canon lawyer, said that while she accepted the absolute importance of facing up to the scandal and the immense pain caused by the Church's cover-up, she feared that the aspect of renewal that was central to the visitation at the outset had somehow become obscured. "How", Sr Elizabeth asked, can we come to a point where "we fall on our knees and listen to the call of the Gospel? How can we achieve renewal for the Church? What will bring us back to the Scriptures as Archbishop Martin has so often said?" She sees the need for a broad renewal across the Church but questions the will for it in many circles. Among the priorities for the future, Mgr Dan O'Connor cites "the need for a meaningful report that will be part of a new beginning for the Church in Ireland, survivors and others who have lost their faith because of the great suffering inflicted upon them, active laity, priests and Religious". He added: "If this does not happen committed Catholics will walk." The fear is that what will be presented in the end will be a document couched in what many will see as the usual turgid Vaticanese that will inspire little confidence or hope. The broader socio-political reality in Ireland today could hardly be starker: our economy is in considerable difficulty; politics is seen to have failed, as have several of our public-sector institutions, notably banking and finance; and the Church also has failed us. What is called for is something that will give us both faith and hope, faith in ourselves and our institutions and hope for the future. If this can be achieved in any small way it will be an important contribution. We stand and wait.
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