Sir, - The controversy since the publication of Suffer The Little Children highlights the fact that we have two co-existing realities: (a) many children were well served and cared for by dedicated Church persons; and (b) many other children were subjected to the most vile forms of abuse by other religious personnel.
It would be a dreadful injustice to lump all those who did so much good along with those who are guilty of terrible evils. The two realities must be brought into honest and meaningful dialogue with each other. Our response, therefore, to the issues raised by Suffer The Little Children, States of Fear and similar exposures, must be balanced, open and full.
While paying tribute to the heroism of many faithful servants of God who, thankfully, gave themselves lovingly to their vocation, the damage caused by the sins of others must also be admitted and repaired. The Church, because of its mission in society, has a vital obligation before God to face up to every aspect of these affairs as a matter of urgency.
Abusive attitudes and behaviour were prevalent, not just in industrial schools, but in many other areas of Church life. Sadly, the perception of most people is that the Church is doing and saying nothing to put things right. The day is long past when incompetence and inadequacy could be allowed to masquerade as prudence and reticence. Silence and inertia are a damning indictment of our stewardship as spiritual leaders.
On Ash Wednesday, March 8th, Pope John Paul will lead a Request for Pardon for sins committed throughout history by Church personnel. Is the Church in Ireland going to follow his lead? How many Irish dioceses, in their calendars of events for the Jubilee, have included days of repentance and reparation for those areas of sinfulness and darkness that are peculiar to the Irish Church? If the opportunity presented by the Holy Year is missed, then we will be guilty of an appalling negation of responsibility, a grave sin of negligence and cowardice.
Many voices have been calling on the Church to rouse itself and make some imaginative, generous and healing gestures towards all those who have been hurt by Church persons. Failure to act has serious implications for the effectiveness of the Church's witness in modern Ireland. Refusal to act will bring God's judgement on those who are supposed to be shepherds.
If the call to reform and repentance goes unheeded, the spiritual consequences will be disastrous and we will witness the decimation of the Irish Catholic Church. It has already begun. Have we to go down into the dust before we humble ourselves before God and turn to Him with all our hearts?
Face-saving exercises are useless. The moment of grace must be seized. God's transforming love must be allowed to cut deep into the heart of His Church. Otherwise, God will say of us what He said about the useless religious leaders of another age: "The watchmen are all blind. Dumb watchdogs all, they cannot bark!" (Is 56:10). - Yours etc., Fr Patrick McCafferty,
Glenview Street, Belfast 14.