Sir, – It may well be Sean O'Conaill's opinion ("Is the Association of Catholic Priests slipping back into clericalism?", Rite and Reason, May 13th, 2014) that the Association of Catholic Priests (ACP) has faltered in recent times. But it is just that, an opinion. As are the contributions of priests and others to our website. But it is unrealistic to expect the ACP to adjudicate and comment on every opinion expressed on our website and explain to those who view it whether it accords (or does not accord) with the policies of the ACP.
The ACP has argued for and is committed to the highest standards of child protection. Any suggestion – based on little more than a failure to respond formally to Mr O’Conaill’s question – that there is a diminution in that policy is unfair and not in accord with the opinion of our 1,000-plus members and the policy of our association. – Yours, etc,
Fr BRENDAN HOBAN,
Association of
Catholic Priests,
Moygownagh,
Ballina,
Co Mayo.
Sir, – Sean O'Conaill dismisses retired judge Fergal Sweeney's assessment of the Murphy report as "minimisation" and Fr Pádraig McCarthy's Unheard Story as "jaundiced". He thus repeats the allegation that "Irish bishops had begun insuring their church's financial assets against liability for clerical child sex abuse in 1987 – eight years before they began taking steps to protect the children themselves", ignoring Fr McCarthy's correction: "the derisory premium and insured sum in such a serious matter are an indication that neither the archbishop nor the insurance company, with all its business experience, had any realistic understanding of how serious the whole issue would be". Mr O'Conaill does not even attempt to consider the case argued by Mr Sweeney, that the Murphy report proceeded on a hostile presupposition which prevented it from seeing that Dublin's bishops did take cases of child abuse with the utmost seriousness.
Reacting to a suggestion that the Murphy report might be “deconstructed” (or critically assessed), Mr O’Conaill calls for a “decisive rejection of that troubling option”, as if the Murphy report were sacred scripture. Mr O’Conaill confronts the Association of Catholic Priests with “a challenge to clarify its policy on the boundaries to be advised for clergy in relation to young adults”. This sounds a bit like “how do you propose to stop beating your wife?” It is based on Mr O’Conaill’s annoyance that so many people remember Fr Michael Cleary as a compassionate man and in many ways a good priest, despite (or even because of) his common-law marriage with Phyllis Hamilton. Mr O’Conaill’s scathing commentary about this relationship on the ACP website showed scant human sympathy for any of those involved. – Yours, etc,
Rev JOSEPH S O’LEARY,
Sophia University,
Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo.