BishopAccountability.org
	Where Archbishop Stands after the Cloyne Report Irish Catholic July 20, 2011 http://www.irishcatholic.ie/site/content/where-archbishop-stands-after-cloyne-report Dublin’s Archbishop Diarmuid Martin said at the weekend he was angry at the reckless culture in the Diocese of Cloyne that meant child safeguarding was not taken seriously years after the extent of the problem had become evident. He might well have added that he is angry that his brother bishops still appear not to be taking the issue of accountability in the Church as seriously as he does in Dublin. It’s true that many bishops have worked hard to implement good child protection standards and there are thousands of volunteers ensuring their implementation in parishes. But it’s also true that the bishops have consistently been reluctant to make themselves accountable. Quite apart from the shockingly cavalier attitude of Bishop John Magee and Msgr Denis O’Callaghan’s approach to abuse allegations, the Cloyne Report sheds light on what many Church observers have noted for some time. Namely that Archbishop Martin is woefully outnumbered by bishops who are resistant to change. In her 400-page report Judge Yvonne Murphy recounts an emergency meeting of the hierarchy in January 2009 at which there was huge disagreements as to whether Bishop Magee should resign or not. Crucially the meeting took place just weeks after Cloyne’s policies were described as “inadequate and in some respects dangerous” by the National Board for Safeguarding Children in the Catholic Church (NBSCCC). Diarmuid Martin knew that Magee’s position was untenable and said so. He was, according to the report, backed up by three or four other nameless bishops. Cardinal Sean Brady, on the other hand, had stubbornly backed his close friend John Magee on national radio days earlier and wasn’t about to back down despite Martin’s insistence that Magee must go. In all honesty, though, Brady, who admitted to withholding evidence about the actions of notorious abuser Fr Brendan Smyth, wasn’t in much of a position to judge. What’s even more startling about Brady’s defence of Magee is the fact that Brady – and Archbishop Dermot Clifford of Cashel and Emly – were both aware at the meeting that Magee had admitted to inappropriate behaviour with a young man. Martin was kept in the dark about that incident and yet, still had the vision to see that Magee was damaged goods and undermined the sincere efforts that were going on in Dublin and other places. The fact that Magee’s indiscretion was kept from Martin speaks volumes about how Cardinal Brady – and indeed the other members of the hierarchal club – treat the Archbishop of Dublin. He is, after all, the second most senior Churchman in the country though you wouldn’t know it to speak to his colleagues. Diarmuid Martin was sent home after a glittering Vatican career to take charge of an increasingly desperate child abuse crisis in his native Dublin in 2003. He soon revealed himself as a prelate committed to absolute and full disclosure when it came to the issue of clerical sexual abuse. He handed over thousands of documents to the Murphy Commission and provoked the anger of his predecessor Cardinal Desmond Connell who sued Martin in a bid to stop some documents being sent to the commission. Connell, no stranger to public relations disasters, quietly withdrew his case just days later apparently after Martin used his influence in Rome to put pressure on the cardinal. Privately senior Irish bishops complain that Archbishop Martin has become “obsessed” about child abuse. But, who could blame him? Especially given the catastrophic effects the abuse and its subsequent mishandling has had for the victims and the reputation of the Church. Martin cuts a lonely figure at meetings of the bishops’ conference in Maynooth. It’s not unusual to see him pacing the corridors alone while the other bishops ate dinner in a nearby refectory. At the conclusion of bishops’ meetings Martin is invariably first out of the room and into his car while the other members of the hierarchy linger and indulge in a round of mutual back-slapping. All institutions have an innate tendency to protect themselves and to hide their dirty laundry. Martin has shown himself willing and able to face up to the sins of the Church believing that only full truth can help healing and renewal. He has suffered as a result. He is isolated at the level of the hierarchy here in Ireland. His stock has also reportedly dropped in Rome where his very public criticism of his fellow bishops has been seen as ‘just not the done thing’. It’s not easy telling the truth to an institution that had become so wedded to concealing the truth. He recently acknowledged in a homily “the truth hurts”. “The truth cleanses not like smooth designer soap but like a fire that burns and hurts and lances,” he continued. Irish Catholicism needs a lot more truth. And one truth that the members of the hierarchy would do well to heed is the fact the key reason the Church on this island still has some shreds of credibility is due to the bravery of Archbishop Martin. He is, for ordinary Catholics, a champion determined to cleanse the Church.
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