BishopAccountability.org
	10 Questions for Archbishop Diarmuid Martin Dublin's Archbishop Talks to Time about Secularism, Celibacy and Personal Time Time Europe Magazine [Ireland] April 30, 2006 http://www.time.com/time/europe/magazine/article/ 0,13005,901060508-1189185,00.html It's not your father's Irish Catholicism. Attendance at mass is down, birth control is commonplace, and not one new priest was ordained last year in the Dublin archdiocese — which estimates that more than 100 of its priests since 1940, about 4% of the total, have abused children. Diarmuid Martin, a Vatican diplomat who speaks five languages, was made Dublin's Archbishop in 2004 and has sought to clean up and revitalize the church. He spoke with Time's J.F.O. McAllister. How has Ireland changed since you left it for the Vatican 30 years ago? It used to be that Irish society as such was a vehicle for passing on religious values. [In the meantime,] there's been a broad secularization — but it's an Irish secularization. People haven't rejected religion; they've rejected certain aspects. Is that a bad thing? It's the reality, whether good or bad. So you don't disapprove? Secularization can create a culture of self-centeredness, where everything is measurable, packageable, you buy your single-portion meal and go eat it at home alone. Here the contribution of religion is extremely important. You don't become a full person simply by having or by achieving, but by giving. Still, the act of faith can only be a free personal act. A faith that's imposed would not be a proper act of faith. And you'd be deceiving yourself to think there can be an imposed Christianity in today's world. Is that why church attendance has dropped? We still have the structures of managing mass Catholicism but that's not the reality anymore. I find people are sensitive to a religious message that's in dialogue with the way they're thinking. If I meet with young people, almost inevitably they ask about suicide, which stems from their own experience. Faced with the fragility of human existence, they are very eager to talk, and to listen. The church has been better at getting young people to run marathons for a good cause than engaging them in faith issues. Most Irish people now reject the idea that celibate men should set the rules on birth control. This isn't a specifically Irish problem. And it's a divergence not just on birth control, it's the basic understanding of marriage. I feel you have to reach out to as many as you can, to create a climate in which a culture of fidelity can flourish. The church used to think that obedience to its rules was the way to create that culture. You have to bring people to understand what Christian marriage is all about, what human love and sexuality are all about, so they can come to an understanding of why there are rules. How important have the abuse scandals been in driving people away? People's confidence in the church has suffered greatly. Do you think you have the problem under control? You would be very foolish to say you know everything because pedophiles are extremely devious and deliberate in covering their tracks. All I can say is that we are working to establish structures that will reduce the possibility that any church employee can do that. Is there something in the nature of priesthood that attracts pedophiles? Priesthood offers privileged access to young people. And because of celibacy, it's one of the few institutions that prizes not being married. Those two factors might create a higher risk that pedophiles would consciously or unconsciously be attracted to the profession. I wouldn't say celibacy is the cause. But celibacy requires a high level of emotional and personal maturity. Can an Archbishop ever kick back and have fun? Being thrown in at the top of a big organization, there's a sense of loneliness. The loss of anonymity is extraordinary. But I like to eat; I like to cook. I'm news dependent. And I do get a lot of variety in my work. Yesterday I met with people who look after intellectually handicapped people; today I'm meeting with chartered accountants.
Any original material on these pages is copyright © BishopAccountability.org 2004. Reproduce freely with attribution.