Church and State, The Economist, July 28, 2011

Church and State

The Economist
July 28, 2011

http://www.economist.com/node/21524866

Enda Kenny scores some palpable hits against Brussels and Rome

End of the receiving line for Enda

WHEN the Vatican recalled its envoy in Dublin, Archbishop Giuseppe Leanza, on July 25th it marked a low point in diplomatic relations between Ireland and the Holy See. The papal nuncio’s sudden departure came after an outspoken attack by the Irish taoiseach (prime minister), Enda Kenny, on Rome’s interference in Irish affairs. Mr Kenny accused the Vatican of undermining the work of an official inquiry into clerics’ sexual abuse of children in a Catholic diocese, Cloyne.

Over a 13-year period to 2009, most of the 19 alleged cases of child abuse by priests in Cloyne were not reported to the civil authorities. The Cloyne inquiry report, Ireland’s fourth investigation into child sexual abuse by clerics, laid most of the blame on the bishop of Cloyne, John Magee, who resigned in March 2010 (he had been private secretary to three popes). The report found that Bishop Magee had misled an earlier inquiry and failed to implement child-protection procedures set up by Irish bishops in 1996. The Vatican dismissed these procedures as “merely a study document” and, the report claimed, was “entirely unhelpful” to any bishops who wanted to implement them. Last year Pope Benedict XVI apologised to victims of sexual abuse by members of the clergy.

Mr Kenny is a practising Catholic in a country where 87% of the population profess Catholicism. Until quite recently, any attack on the Vatican would have been political suicide. Yet his outspoken remarks won strong support both in parliament and from the public. The Vatican had, he said, played down “the rape and torture of children” so as to uphold the primacy and reputation of the church. The government has asked it to explain why it helped so many priests to ignore child-protection rules. Archbishop Leanza’s public recall is without recent precedent in papal diplomacy and shows the extent of the Vatican’s dismay over such a public rebuke.

As the government’s row with the Vatican deepens, its relations with the Catholic church at home are also worsening. At issue is who should pay for compensation to the victims of clerical sex abuse, which has so far cost the state ˆ1.4 billion ($2 billion). The Catholic church has offered ˆ374m, but it is under pressure to pay half the overall bill—if need be, by signing church property over to the state.

Mr Kenny was elected as head of a Fine Gael-Labour coalition in March with Ireland’s biggest-ever parliamentary majority. He has emerged as the new government’s surprise success. Just over a year ago his political survival was in doubt, as he fended off a vote of no confidence in his leadership of Fine Gael, then in opposition. But since March, despite Ireland’s severe economic problems, he has enjoyed a political honeymoon. His poll ratings are at their highest in nine years. He has become Ireland’s dominant political figure, to the astonishment of many in his own party. His row with the Vatican seems only to be boosting his popularity.

One of Mr Kenny’s main goals has been to renegotiate the onerous terms of the ˆ85 billion European Union-IMF bail-out, accepted in November 2010 by the previous government. At the euro-zone summit in Brussels on July 21st, he claimed victory when the interest rate on loans to Ireland was cut and their maturity was extended. He saw off pressure from the French president, Nicolas Sarkozy, to raise Ireland’s low (12.5%) corporate-tax rate.

Ireland’s prime minister has banked useful political capital in his first four months. He may have to draw on it when he has to sell a fresh round of austerity measures to a weary public. Another ˆ4 billion or so in savings must be made in the December budget if Ireland is to meet the targets set by its EU-IMF paymasters. In the past week Mr Kenny has chalked up successes in Brussels and against Rome, but many testing battles lie ahead.