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Irish PM: time to move Catholic church from centre of society Irish PM: time to move Catholic church from centre of society
(35 minutes later)
The Irish prime minister has called for a new relationship between church and state in which religion is no longer at the centre of society, as the pope made his first visit to Ireland on Saturday. The Irish prime minister has called for a new relationship between church and state in which religion is no longer at the centre of society, as the pope made his first visit to Ireland this weekend.
In a blistering speech focusing on the failings of the church, delivered in the presence of Pope Francis, Leo Varadkar, the taoiseach, said a new relationship was needed that reflected the modern country Ireland had become and learned from “our shared mistakes”. In a blistering speech focusing on the failings of the church, delivered in the presence of Pope Francis, Leo Varadkar, the taoiseach, said a new covenant for the 21st century was needed that reflected the modern country Ireland had become and learned from “our shared mistakes”.
Also speaking at Dublin Castle on the first day of a two-day papal visit to Ireland, the pope added little to earlier acknowledgements of the abuse scandals that have engulfed the church. Pope Francis, who is in Ireland for a two-day visit, repeated his earlier acknowledgements of what he called the “grave scandal” and the church’s failures to confront child sexual abuse, but failed to meet survivors’ growing demands for action.
“I cannot fail to acknowledge the grave scandal caused in Ireland by the abuse of young people by members of the church charged with responsibility for their protection and education,” Francis said. Francis said: “I cannot fail to acknowledge the grave scandal caused in Ireland by the abuse of young people by members of the church charged with responsibility for their protection and education.
“The failure of ecclesiastical authorities – bishops, religious superiors, priests and others – adequately to address these repellent crimes has rightly given rise to outrage and remains a source of pain and shame for the Catholic community. I myself share those sentiments.”“The failure of ecclesiastical authorities – bishops, religious superiors, priests and others – adequately to address these repellent crimes has rightly given rise to outrage and remains a source of pain and shame for the Catholic community. I myself share those sentiments.”
Varadkar’s speech, delivered first, highlighted the “dark aspects” of the Catholic church’s history. “The failures of both church and state, and wider society, created a bitter and broken heritage for so many, leaving a legacy of pain and suffering. It is a history of sorrow and shame,” he said. Varadkar’s speech focused on the “dark aspects” of the Ireland’s history. “The failures of both church and state, and wider society, created a bitter and broken heritage for so many, leaving a legacy of pain and suffering. It is a history of sorrow and shame,” he said.
Child sexual abuse, the Magdalene Laundries, mother and baby homes, and illegal adoptions were “stains on our state, our society and also the Catholic church. People kept in dark corners behind closed doors, cries for help that went unheard.” Child sexual abuse, the Magdalene Laundries, mother and baby homes and illegal adoptions were “stains on our state, our society and also the Catholic church. People kept in dark corners behind closed doors, cries for help that went unheard.”
The taoiseach also referred to the recent grand jury report on clerical abuse in Pennsylvania, saying “brutal crimes [were] perpetrated by people within the Catholic church, and then obscured to protect the institution at the expense of innocent victims. It is a story all too tragically familiar here in Ireland.” The taoiseach also referred to the recent grand jury report on clerical abuse in Pennsylvania, talking of “brutal crimes perpetrated by people within the Catholic church, and then obscured to protect the institution at the expense of innocent victims”.
He added: “Wounds are still open and there is much to be done to bring about justice and truth and healing for victims and survivors.” “It is a story all too tragically familiar here in Ireland,” he said.
Varadkar called on the pope to listen to victims, insisting: “We must now ensure that from words flow actions.” He also said there was “much to be done to bring about justice and truth and healing for victims and survivors … We must now ensure that from words flow actions.”
The Ireland of the 21st century was “a very different place today than it was in the past,” Varadkar said. The country was more diverse, less religious and had modernised its laws, “understanding that marriages do not always work, that women should make their own decisions, and that families come in many different, wonderful forms, including those headed by a grandparent, lone parent or same-sex parents, or parents who are divorced.” Turning to the profound changes in Irish society since the last papal visit in 1979, Varadkar said the country was more diverse, less religious and had modernised its laws on divorce, contraception, abortion and same sex marriage, “understanding that marriages do not always work, that women should make their own decisions, and that families come in many different, wonderful forms, including those headed by a grandparent, lone parent or same-sex parents, or parents who are divorced”.
The changes meant the time had come “for us to build a new, more mature relationship between church and state in Ireland – a new covenant for the 21st century”.The changes meant the time had come “for us to build a new, more mature relationship between church and state in Ireland – a new covenant for the 21st century”.
It would be one “in which religion is no longer at the centre of our society, but in which it still has an important place”. It would be one “in which religion is no longer at the centre of our society, but in which it still has an important place”, he said.
Pope Francis’s brief visit to Ireland will be dominated by demands for action at the highest levels of the Roman Catholic church to deal with the systemic cover-up of abuse by priests and church institutions. Pope Francis’s brief visit to Ireland will be dominated by demands for action at the highest levels of the church to deal with the systemic cover-up of abuse by priests and others.
An Alitalia flight carrying the pope, his entourage and the Vatican media corps touched down at Dublin airport just before 10.30am on Saturday for only the second papal visit to Ireland. Although he received a rapturous welcome from thousands of pilgrims who have travelled to Ireland for the Catholic church’s World Meeting of Families, there are also protests planned over the church’s handling of clerical abuse scandals.
At a low-key ceremony on the tarmac, he was greeted by politicians, bishops and dignitaries, and presented with flowers by the five-year-old daughter of Ireland’s foreign minister, Simon Coveney. A Skoda bearing a papal flag stood by to take Francis to his first engagement, meeting the Irish president, Michael Higgins, at his official residence. As Francis celebrates mass with 500,000 people at Phoenix Park on Sunday, survivors of sexual abuse and their supporters will hold a vigil at Dublin’s Garden of Remembrance.
In the next two days, Francis will have a rapturous welcome from thousands of pilgrims who have travelled to Ireland for the Catholic church’s World Meeting of Families. But there will also be protests over the church’s handling of multiple clerical sexual abuse scandals that have catastrophically damaged its moral authority and standing in Irish society. Another vigil will be held at the site of a mass grave containing the remains of infants discovered last year at a Catholic mother-and-baby home in Tuam where almost 800 children died.
Simon Harris, the health mininster, said it would be a weekend of mixed emotions. He tweeted ahead of the pope’s arrival: The Vatican has confirmed that Francis will hold a private meeting with survivors of clerical sexual abuse, but no details will be disclosed in advance.
Weekend of mixed emotions -for many; excitement, for others; feelings of hurt. Whatever your perspective, let’s hope for a weekend where reconciliation & healing can commence, journey for justice is furthered & a country which respects religious freedom & choice #PopeinIreland Maeve Lewis of the survivors’ organisation One in Four said the pope’s speech at Dublin Castle was a missed opportunity to set out concrete steps to deal with child sex crimes in the Catholic church”.
The itinerary for Francis’s short trip is filled with events typical of a papal visit: meetings with politicians, dignitaries and church leaders, homilies and speeches, popemobile tours, and masses. He will address the World Meeting of Families, a triennial gathering of Catholics from more than 100 counties, and visit the huge Marian shrine in Knock. “Until recently the Vatican encouraged local bishops to deal discreetly with allegations, placing other children at risk,” she said. “No pope has ever accepted responsibility for the Vatican’s role in the cover-ups. Acknowledgement of this complicity would have been a good start in Dublin Castle today.
At Phoenix Park, Francis will celebrate mass with half a million people on Sunday. At the same time, survivors of sexual abuse and their supporters will hold a vigil at Dublin’s Garden of Remembrance. Another vigil will be held at the site of a mass grave containing the remains of infants which was discovered last year at a Catholic mother-and-baby home in Tuam where almost 800 children died. “Survivors are weary of apologies that are not followed up with real action.”
The Vatican has confirmed that Francis will meet privately with survivors of clerical sexual abuse, although no details of the meeting will be disclosed in advance. As Francis was driven through the centre of Dublinon Saturday afternoon, there was a generational divide in attitudes.
Louise Clifford, 24, a designer from Limerick who now lives in the capital, said: “If this was 20 years ago this street would be full, but there are about 20 people and the pope is about to drive by.”
She said she and her friends were “not really religious” but described herself as a “cultural Catholic”. “It’s the norm in Ireland,” she said.
Bernard Connelly, 82, from Rimnheh on the outskirts of Dublin, was waiting eagerly. “I’ve seen five popes in my lifetime and I think Pope Francis is fantastic. He tells it like it is.
“This abuse scandal has gone on for years and years. There is no getting away from it. Please God it will be fixed soon. Let’s hope Pope Francis is the man to do it.”
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