Agenda: Now Is the Time for Hierarchy of Catholic Church in Scotland to Show Leadership

By Hugh Dougherty
Herald Scotland
May 18, 2013

http://www.heraldscotland.com/comment/columnists/agenda-now-is-the-time-for-hierarchy-of-catholic-church-in-scotland-to-show-leadership.21102711

Three months of agony may well be over for the Scottish Catholic in the pew, now that the Vatican has finally taken action on the Cardinal Keith O'Brien affair.

But uncertainty remains over what may happen at the end of his six-months' purdah, and there are disturbing questions about what really went on in seminaries in the past. And why was Cardinal O'Brien made both archbishop and cardinal when his failings must have been well known to many in the Scottish hierarchy and in the Vatican?

But, above all, ordinary Catholics are hurting. It has been shaming, embarrassing and faith-challenging to watch the whole sorry tale staggering on over three months, as the church ties itself in knots over its internal procedures, giving credence to the charge of it keeping parishioners and media alike guessing. There has been a lack of leadership and a woeful lack of appreciation of the damage done by the whole affair to the church's reputation and, by association, to that of all Christian denominations in Scotland.

What has been lacking, from day one, has been a statement to parishioners, an apology for failings, and a clear indication of how matters will be put right. Instead, ordinary Catholics have been gleaning what they can about their church's discomfort and actions, or lack of them, by scouring the media for crumbs of conjecture. The church has committed the ultimate sin of public relations, by failing to communicate, first and foremost, directly with its own stakeholders.

And all of the people of Scotland, those who agree with the church and those who do not, but all of whom have come to regard it as championing certain views on social and moral issues, also deserve that statement if the church is to regain its credibility as a force for good at a time when Scotland is facing fundamental decisions in so many aspects of society, culture and politics.

The vast majority of Scottish priests, hard-working, spiritual and conscientious men, also need that statement, rather than being left to find their own way through the needlessly-elongated crisis. Work needs to start immediately to rebuild the confidence, standing and authority of the priesthood. If this means that those who feel they can't live up to their vows have to admit that and go, then so be it, for there is no room for further revelations, scandals and damage. The vast majority of the laity will simply not stomach that and their already sorely-tried faith may not withstand it either.

Like many Catholics across Scotland, I rated and liked Cardinal Keith O'Brien and knew and suspected nothing amiss about his private life. The shock of the revelations about him has been severe, but, after the shock and sadness comes anger, anger about the fact that the Scottish hierarchy jointly and severally, must have known about his failings, yet seem to have done nothing.

Cardinals, archbishops and bishops are powerful people. They apply the laws of the Catholic Church to fellow clerics of lower rank and to the laity. They sit on tribunals, decide whose marriage can be annulled, who can be ordained, and who can be a Catholic teacher. That is why, as interpreters and enforcers of the law, they have to be beyond reproach. Anything else is unacceptable both morally and operationally, and the truth will out, bringing the sort of damage the O'Brien scandal has brought, and continues to bring, in its wake.

The faith of Scottish Catholics, which has survived a great deal historically, and which values forgiveness, cannot sustain more self-inflicted damage, so let's have a clear and definitive statement from the Catholic Church in Scotland charting out the way forward in both Christian charity and in faith.

Everyone involved, Cardinal O'Brien included, deserves as much. Better late than never.

Hugh Dougherty is a freelance journalist and a columnist with the Scottish Catholic Observer.