THE Archbishop of Dublin, Dr Desmond Connell, has criticised attempts to politicise and "institutionalise dissent" within the Catholic Church.
In an interview in the current issue of the Redemptorist magazine Reality, Dr Connell says "there has been a kind of politicisation of the church, which is fundamentally a mystery of life and not a political institution".
The Archbishop also criticised what he called "unfair" treatment of the church by some politicians and the media. He said an allegation was made during the Dail debate on the fall of the Reynolds government that Cardinal Cabal Daly had interfered with the course of justice by seeking to influence the Attorney General.
That allegation remained on the record of the Dail. It had never been withdrawn and there had been no apology for it. "The insult to the Cardinal was never taken up nor was anybody asked to withdraw the calumny.
Dr Connell said "We are told that there should be within the church a loyal opposition. Curious, because the people who are putting this kind of thing forward are so critical very often of what they call the institution. But they are trying to do is institutionalise dissent.
"After all, the loyal opposition is a structure of the British constitution, the parliamentary constitution. Once you do that, then of course the Pope no longer teaches, he enunciates policies. Policies are the kind of things that are presented on television, as on Budget day, for example, when you get d'the experts coming in and criticising the Budget.
"So the theologians appear as the technical experts every time the Pope opens his mouth. Then, of course, the Pope is no longer the successor of Peter. The Pope is Karol Wojtyla or Giovanni Battista Montini and you're looking, forward to the next one.
He says the "whole question of dissent within the church is very serious". It is a challenge not Just for the Irish church, but for the universal church. "I was quite shocked when I heard one of my own priests on radio during the summer saying that the Pope is simply the first among equals, not the successor of Peter."
Asked about the alienation of young people from the church Dr Connell says they have "a less secure awareness of their identity in the full Christian sense of their identity there is an air of permissiveness which in the long run is destructive".
Dr Connell denies that in the past, cases of clerical child sex abuse in Ireland generally were covered up and the priest concerned given a warning and moved to another parish. "Speaking with the knowledge of what was done in this diocese, I can say that the priest was sent for assessment by medical professionals and that he was not given a pastoral assignment unless he was declared fit." "Turning to media perceptions of how he had handled such cases, he says "This is a matter on which it is impossible to win. If I say one thing, I am saying too little, covering up. If I, say thing, I am accused of exposing one of my priests".
Dr Connell says he has been "working towards a diocesan synod for the past number of years". However, he believes it unlikely that it will be held during his time in office. "It would be absolutely useless to try to celebrate a synod diocesan or national without the proper preparation."
Dr Connell expresses concerns about the tension between social, cohesion and the stress on the rights and freedom of the individual" in Ireland. As social cohesion declines, people get a "feeling of abandonment", a loss of their sense of community.