Ireland: time of reform and renewal”These are momentous times for the Church in Ireland” which require “a new beginning”, a “time of reform and renewal”. And the forthcoming Pastoral Letter of Pope Benedict XVI to the faithful of Ireland would be “one important resource for this renewal”, said Cardinal Seán Brady, Primate of Ireland, in his deeply-felt homily in St. Patrick’s Cathedral at Armagh on 17 March, St. Patrick’s Day. “This week – said the cardinal – a painful episode from my own past has come before me. I have listened to reaction from people to my role in events thirty five years ago. I want to say to anyone who has been hurt by any failure on my part that I apologise to you with all my heart. I also apologise to all those who feel I have let them down. Looking back I’m ashamed that I have not always upheld the values that I profess and believe in”. “I believe -Cardinal Brady continued – that the two years up to the Fiftieth International Eucharistic Congress in Dublin will be among the most critical for us since the time of St. Patrick”. “We must – he said – humbly continue to deal with the enormity of the hurt caused by the abuse of children by some clergy and religious and the hopelessly inadequate response to that abuse in the past”. “We as Bishops, successors of the Apostles in the Irish Church today, must acknowledge our failings”. “For the sake of the survivors, for the sake of the Catholic faithful as well as the religious and priests of this country, we have to stop the drip, drip, drip of revelations of failure”. Recalling that Holy Week would begin in a few days’ time, the Cardinal said at the end of his homily: “I will use this time to pray, to reflect on the Word of God and to discern the will of the Holy Spirit. I will reflect on what I have heard from those who have been hurt by abuse. Pray for those who have been hurt. Pray for the Church. Pray for me”.France: a question long tackledThe French Catholic Church has long and seriously been tackling the question of paedophilia, declared Mgr. Antoine Hérouard, general secretary of the French Bishops’ Conference in an interview on the Conference’s website on 17 March. During his interview the bishop touched on the painful question of paedophilia in the Church that has emerged in various European countries. This is the first semi-official stance taken by French bishops on the question of the sexual abuse of children. “Perhaps earlier than others – he said – we have taken measures and put in place processes to tackle it. In particular since 2000”. In that year, during their general assembly, the French bishops placed the delicate question at the centre of their reflections, while in 2003 a “brochure” was published on the problem; it was written by an editorial committee composed not only of bishops and priests, but also experts in the field of psychology, psychiatry, penal law and moral theology. “It is clear – explains Mgr. Hérouard – that we need to denounce the episodes brought to our knowledge and prevent the persons involved from performing any kind of pastoral activity, especially if it has links with children”. Having said that, the general secretary warns however of the risk of going too far: “Not all priests should be denigrated. Fortunately, from a statistical point of view, these cases form only a very small minority. The great majority of priests who perform their ministry, do so in an irreproachable way, and it’s not fair that they should bear the blame for those who have conducted themselves in a shameful way”. Mgr. Antoine Hérouard also finds it “absurd”, as well as “injurious”, to claim that “celibacy leads to paedophilia”. “The argument does not hold up to scrutiny. Statistically the great majority of cases of paedophilia are perpetrated in families”. It is therefore “a time of challenge for the Church. We need to bear witness that the choice of priesthood is a path of joy and not of frustration”. Germany: abuses, “everything must come to light”In an interview with the Catholic press agency KNA in recent days, the Archbishop of Bamberg, the Most Rev. Ludwig Schick, has strenuously condemned the abuse committed on children in the past and spelt out the measures that need to be taken to prevent it. He declared that “the Church and other institutions have acted in the wrong way in dealing with past cases that have come to light. He also described the improvements that need to be made in the training of priests. They include, he said, the intervention of “psychologists and psychiatrists”, since “we need qualified and mature persons”. Ongoing formation is also important: “in the archdiocese of Bamberg seminars have already been held for priests and pastoral workers on the question of sexual abuse and its prevention”, he added. “For example, the project “strong children” may help youngsters to defend themselves better. They must be placed in a condition of being able to denounce an abuse or an aggression. Everything must come to light”. According to the Archbishop, “it’s important to consider all the cases of abuse. The majority of them occur in family contexts, in schools, sports associations, colleges and youth clubs. Abuse is a social problem that needs to be stamped out”.
