Madam, - The welcome appointment of Archbishop Séan Brady to the College of Cardinals is an opportunity to reflect on the meaning of position and influence in the Catholic Church.
Higher office in Christ's Church brings honour, but also, in the vision of Jesus Christ, an even greater degree of responsibility - for "the greatest among you must be your servant" (Mark 10:43). Therefore, the office of Cardinal is also a call to an even greater degree of self-sacrificial love and selfless service.
Cardinal-elect Brady has spoken well in recent times about the dangers to Christian faith in Ireland posed by secularism and materialism. These are enemies we can recognise.
Arguably, however, much more insidiously dangerous, poisonous and destructive to faith are the evil and darkness that exist within the Church itself. For example, the immense spiritual devastation wrought by clerical sexual abuse is a very long way from being healed.
The pastoral response of many Irish bishops to these deep wounds seems lethargic, negating, disengaged, lacking in zeal, fearful and on the run. Why? The lack of pastoral charity towards victims, for whatever reason, is shocking and bewildering. So far, only two Irish dioceses have co-operated with some form of public scrutiny and accountability into clerical sexual abuse - Ferns and Dublin, both in the 26 counties.
In the interests of genuine healing, truth and contrition for the evils perpetrated against the most vulnerable of God's children by some priests and religious, there needs to be a 32-county-wide independent inquiry.
Last year the Pope asked Irish bishops "to bring healing to the victims and all those affected by these egregious crimes". Where then, one year later, is the energetic and focused pastoral outreach to victims of clerical sexual abuse? In February 2005 the Irish Episcopal Conference published its pastoral letter on clerical sexual abuse - Towards Healing - a flawed and inadequate document. We were promised further reflection, but since then there has been silence. Why? Many victims truly believe that, for a large number of bishops, expressions of care and regret for victims are merely masks donned for the cameras and microphones of the media.
Jesus's own words in the Gospels are very apt: "When the Son of Man comes, will He find any Faith on earth"? (Luke 18:8.) Religious leaders, as well as secularist forces, can be responsible for loss of faith: "For if the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!" (Matthew 6:23.)
Many victims of child abuse and clerical abuse, who continue to look to the Church for a message of hope, pray that Cardinal-designate Brady will use his new influence and position to create new ways of outreach to all who are suffering because of the actions of predatory Catholic clergy.
- Yours, etc,
Fr PATRICK McCAFFERTY, Glen Road, Belfast 11.