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	Vatican, News Corp. Share Self-destructive Arrogance China Post July 22, 2011 http://www.chinapost.com.tw/editorial/world-issues/2011/07/23/310729/Vatican-News.htm The past few weeks have been difficult for the some of the world's most influential private organizations, with News Corp. ensnared in scandals that could signal the end of its media dominance in much of the English-speaking world. In addition, the scandals have led many to question the role of the media and the percentage of the media market that a single company should control. However, there was another story that emerged late yesterday that could be equally significant. This story will undoubtedly receive far less attention than the one that has seen media-baron Rupert Murdoch get “pie” on his face at the UK Parliament. Still, this event resonates with the News Corp. debacle as it also involves an extremely powerful organization, and one considered among the most influential in human history: the Roman Catholic Church. Yesterday, the prime minister of the Republic of Ireland Enda Kenny launched a ferocious attack on the Vatican. The leader of Ireland made the comments during a parliamentary session discussing the Cloyne Report, an investigation into allegations of child abuse in the Roman Catholic diocese of Cloyne, which covers much of Ireland's largest county, Cork, in the south of the country. To understand the importance of the events, one must also understand the historical and cultural significance of the Roman Catholic Church in Ireland. Ireland, while still under British rule, remained a Catholic nation even after Henry VIII abandoned the Vatican and established the Church of England. When Ireland gained its independence, the Catholic Church still held huge power in the nation. Ireland remained one of Europe's most conservative nations during the 1900s. Contraception was illegal in Ireland until 1980 and abortion is still against the law. In the past, the Catholic Church had huge control over not only the nation's schools and hospitals, but also censored movies, books and magazines. The Irish Constitution, while guaranteeing religious freedom, even highlights the “special position” of the Catholic Church in Irish society. However, in recent years Irish opinion of the Church has changed somewhat. The sex abuse scandals that have plagued the Church globally have been particularly bad in Ireland. When the allegations of sexual abuse against children first emerged in 1996, the Irish bishops agreed to implement a set of self-regulatory procedures to handle any future cases. It was a deal that the Church would have received from few other nations in the world. However, the Cloyne Report discovered that two-thirds of abuse allegations made between 1996 and 2009 were not passed on to the police as required by the Church's 1996 guidelines. It also found out that in a secret letter to Church leaders, the Vatican described the 1996 guidelines as a “study document,” not a binding set of rules. In response to these discoveries, the Irish leader said that the report highlighted the “dysfunction, disconnection, elitism and narcissism that dominate the culture of the Vatican to this day.” No Irish prime minister has ever launched such a stunning attack on the Church. The Irish leader, justifiably indignant, also stated that the Catholic Church downplayed the rape and torture of children in order to uphold the primacy of the institution. The country's opposition leader also joined in stating that the Vatican's actions involved the willful refusal to respect basic moral and legal responsibilities. In the end, the Irish parliament agreed on an all-party motion deploring “the Vatican's intervention which contributed to the undermining of child-protection frameworks and guidelines of the Irish state and the Irish bishops.” It is shocking to consider how far the Vatican has managed to alienate the Irish people with its actions. Ireland is one of the most identifiably Catholic nations in the world. Irish people remained Catholic under British rule even while they were being tortured and murdered for their beliefs. They granted the Church huge power after independence and even today, more than 85 percent of Irish people are considered Catholic. When the original sex-abuse scandal emerged, Ireland was more lenient than the vast majority of nations would have been by allowing the local bishops to determine their own guidelines for future conduct, and in response the Irish state and its people were treated with incredible disrespect. The Vatican, much like News Corp., could have resolved this issue when it first emerged. However, instead they chose to bury the truth and allow more innocent people to suffer. These events may well signal the beginning of the end of the Catholic Church in Ireland. Ireland may just be a small nation, but it is, or rather was, a key jewel in the crown of the Catholic Church. If the Vatican had shown just a little more humility and honesty, perhaps it would still be.
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