The Garda could learn from Catholic Church

Archbishop Diarmuid Martin recently commented in mild terms that while the Government appeared to approve of dialogue between the State and religious faiths, little appeared to be happening. This led to somewhat huffy declaration that the Government was working on it night and day, or words to that effect. Whatever about churches and faiths in dialogue with the State, another kind of dialogue might also be in order.

An Garda Síochána might reflect on what has happened to the standing of the Catholic Church in Irish society, and learn a thing or two.

While there are some parallels between the Garda and the church, there are obvious and major differences as well. Firstly, the Garda act as agents of the State, as enforcers of law and order. They have strictly regulated powers, and clearly laid out parameters within which they must work. On the other hand, churches and faiths are part of civil society.

In the case of the Catholic Church, it operates like a large voluntary organisation. A bishop effectively is autonomous in his diocese. Parish priests have a great amount of discretion in their parishes as well. Far from being a monolithic organisation, when you see the workings of the Catholic Church at close quarters, it is a miracle that it functions at all, given all the little fiefdoms that exist within it.

However, there is a certain disingenuousness in the way in which the church presents itself. The church speaks like a monolith when it suits, and pleads a lack of central structures when it suits, too.

The Garda and the Catholic Church do have a number of things in common.

Members are expected to maintain high moral standards. Nowadays, far from having automatic respect, both organisations are struggling to come to terms with increased public suspicion, but are at different stages in the process.

Within the Garda, and to a certain extent the Catholic Church, there is a strong culture of internal solidarity. The Garda in particular feel, with some justification, that no one outside the force understands the pressures of daily contact with the most dysfunctional elements of society. This point of view is perfectly illustrated by PJ Stone, general secretary of the Garda Representative Association, in a piece in yesterday's paper, where he writes about the hurt of rank-and-file gardaí following the publication of the Morris reports, and the lack of appreciation of their "difficult and dangerous job". A desire to keep a united front against the begrudgers can degenerate very easily into defensiveness, and a refusal to face adequately the fact that there are widespread problems.

It can also lead to a culture of silence even when there are obvious breaches of regulations within the ranks. This is a very, very dangerous situation, leading only to further loss of credibility. The trust of the public is easy to lose, and hard to regain.

Some gardaí may resent the attempt to compare what has happened to the Catholic Church with what has happened to the police force. The Garda are not being accused of widespread sexual abuse of children, they might point out, and neither have they set themselves up as experts in morality.

They merely enforce the law in a democracy. Yet such an appeal would have little credibility. Gardaí stand accused of preying on the vulnerable, and in some cases of violence and corruption. The fact that not everyone is guilty cuts little ice with the public, if there is not seen to be a culture of owning up to problems and making sincere attempts to change.

Any crisis of confidence in a respected institution requires a two-fold response, and the balance is very hard to get right. Firstly, there needs to be a frank acknowledgment of internal difficulties, and a credible and coherent plan in place which demonstrates a sincere attempt to overcome any problems. Secondly, there needs to be a refusal to accept unjust or unbalanced criticism.

PJ Stone's article attempted the second at a stage when there is no public perception that the first exists. This will please one of his audiences, that is, his own members, but will only reinforce the perception of the wider audience that the response of the police to criticism is always defensive.

Recovering public confidence is a path fraught with difficulties, including the danger that ordinary members of the organisation will feel that their rights are being trampled on in turn. To some extent, priests feel betrayed by their leadership. It has progressed to the level that respected theologians are writing articles in theological journals instructing priests on how to protect themselves if "sent for" by the bishop.

The tone of PJ Stone's article was similar. There was an undercurrent of bitterness that senior management appeared to be getting off scot-free, while lower-level members of the force were hung out to dry.

Again, this is a dangerous situation, as internal wrangling weakens and delays any attempts at reform. The Minister for Justice would do well to reflect on the fact that any reform strategy will only be successful if it is seen to be balanced and just, both by the public and the force itself.

Nothing will be gained if the pendulum swings so far that every complaint against a garda, no matter how far-fetched, is given credence.

Neither members of the Catholic Church nor the Garda should despair. The media are not as influential as they would like to think.

The public are well able to distinguish between unbalanced, hysterical reporting and fair comment.

Generations of service are not wiped out overnight. A culture of self-pitying victimhood is the greatest danger, which encourages an organisation to delay the difficult stages of reform while blaming outside malign influences for all its difficulties.

Changing an internal culture within an organisation is slow, painful and prone to setbacks. Yet the alternative is worse - a progressive weakening of moral authority that leads to less and less trust in the institution.

The Catholic Church, after more than a decade of scandals, is slowly recovering its moral voice, as shown by the attention paid to recent statements by Archbishop Martin.

The Garda would be wise to learn from the Catholic Church's difficulties, and in particular to note that fudging and defensiveness only makes the process of recovery longer and harder.