APOSTOLIC VISITATION:THE VATICAN inquiry into church practices in Ireland will be carried out by senior figures, most likely led by a cardinal, according to Vatican sources.
The inquiry, in the form of an Apostolic Visitation, was signposted in Pope Benedict XVI’s pastoral letter to the Catholics of Ireland at the weekend.
Although no final decisions have yet been made about the nature and the timing of the inquiry, Vatican sources yesterday confirmed that the visitation will focus primarily on the handling of sex abuse cases.
The visitation is expected to include the Archdiocese of Dublin, the Diocese of Ferns and many of those institutions which featured in last summer’s Ryan report, while it may also take in a number of, or indeed all, the other Irish dioceses.
The visitation will be carried out by a Holy See “team” led by a heavyweight figure, most probably a Curia cardinal.
Throughout recent months, there has been a deal of speculation that part of the outcome of both the Murphy report and the pope’s pastoral letter would involve a major reorganisation of the Irish church, particularly with regard to the number of dioceses.
Vatican sources confirmed yesterday that, while such a reorganisation may well be enacted at a future moment, the Papal Visitation will be much more specifically concerned with the handling of the sex abuse crisis.
In theory, a visitation could choose to look at everything from parish bookkeeping to the management of Confirmation classes. In practice, this one will be much more specific in its focus.
Vatican sources confirmed that, even though much of the ground has already been covered by the Murphy and Ryan reports, the Holy See wants to make its own inspections, ask its own questions and draw its own conclusions.
In keeping with the tone of a pastoral letter which issued a resounding vote of no confidence in the Irish hierarchy, the visitation will not be a cheerful Irish holiday for some senior clerics.
Rather, “head office” will be sending in a heavyweight team which will be expected to ask a lot of awkward questions.
It is not clear yet who will lead the visitation but what is clear is that the Irish hierarchy will have no say in its composition.
The Holy See feels that, having met with the Irish bishops last month, the pope has had all the Irish input he requires.
In keeping with the tone of a letter which spoke of the “failure to apply existing canonical penalties” and of the failure “to apply the long-established norms of canon law to the crime of child abuse”, the Holy See believes that the handling of the Irish clerical sex abuse crisis highlights an especially bad case of Episcopal incompetence.
The visitation’s major function will be to identify the root causes of this incompetence. Its eventual conclusions may well include calling for the resignation of a number of senior Irish bishops.
Even though the Catholic Church is currently facing a tsunami of sex abuse revelations, Holy See sources argue that the Irish church’s negative and horrendous experience is, relatively speaking, on a much larger and more serious scale than that of other countries.
The timing of the Apostolic Visitation will depend on a number of factors. For a start, the Holy See will wait both for the current Murphy investigation into the diocese of Cloyne to be concluded and also to see if the Government opts to hold investigations into other dioceses.
The visitation may take place within six months even though the Holy See acknowledges that it may take place later.
With regard to the pastoral letter itself, Holy See sources seemed relatively undismayed by negative Irish reaction, arguing that such a reaction was to be expected and that, in this case, it had been less virulent than anticipated. Asked if the pope had been disappointed by the Irish reaction, one Vatican commentator replied simply that “Benedict wasn’t born yesterday”.
Vatican sources confirmed yesterday that, although the pope consulted widely while preparing the letter, the final draft was entirely the fruit of his own labours.
Apostolic Visitations: What They Are And How They Work
APOSTOLIC VISITATIONS are not routine matters but rather represent a Holy See response to particular and difficult situations in church affairs. Some idea of what a visitation might be about comes from that one most recently concluded among the Legionaries of Christ, the congregation founded by the late Marcial Maciel.
Various media reports had suggested that Maciel lived a second life which involved sexual affairs with men, women and boys in many different parts of the world. In May 2006, Pope Benedict sentenced him to a “retired life of prayer and penitence”.
Concern about the congregation prompted the pope to order a visitation to the Legionaries following Maciel’s death in January 2008. The visitation, comprising five bishops from Mexico, the US, Chile, Italy and Spain, began in July of last year and ended this month.
The working brief of every visitation is different and relates to a particular situation. When the Apostolic Visitors conclude their visit, their confidential report is assessed by all the relevant Vatican departments. In the case of the Irish visitation, this means that the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, the Congregation of Bishops, the Congregation for the Institutes of Religious Life and the Congregation for the Clergy are all likely to offer their views. As always, however, the final word will rest with the pope.