THE Bishop of Cork and Ross, Dr Michael Murphy has said he believes the present disenchantment with the Catholic Church in Ireland has little to do with universal questions like celibacy and more to do with the church's structures.
Last summer, when speaking in support of the right of the Bishop of Ferns. Dr Brendan Comiskey, to raise the issue of priestly celibacy, Dr Murphy became the first member of the Hierarchy to suggest a national synod to discuss the crisis in the church.
Writing in the current issue of The Furrow, Dr Murphy says "issues that have been raised in society have not had clear responses from the church. Few, if any, of these are doctrinal issues in fact, most have to do with the structures and administration of the church."
He goes on "Church administration has been clearly ill equipped to deal with the recent series of allegations against priests and members of religious communities. While significant progress has been made in dealing with this problem, the underlying causes of the inadequate way it was initially dealt with need to be identified."
It is known that as long ago as the late 1980s Dr Murphy was urging his fellow bishops to take seriously the issue of child sexual abuse by priests.
He also writes "Some of the controversies surrounding the church's pastoral practice, including the timing of First Communion and Confirmation, and other issues surrounding the celebration of sacraments, appear to meet with a response from the institutional church only when a controversy is already raging."
Dr Murphy continues "It is abundantly clear that the current structure of the church in Ireland does not reflect the vision of the church that is enshrined in the official documents of the church, especially those of the second Vatican Council.
"In spite of the council's clear message that the bishop and clergy are not the church, most people still equate them without hesitation.
"There is no structure for real participation by the non ordained in the administrative and pastoral life of the Irish Catholic Church."
Dr Murphy writes that "proper and fair consultation" by priests with parishioners should be "part of every decision about parish life
He goes on "The traditional view of priesthood as being aloof from the community is unhealthy both for the priest and the community as a whole.
"Recent events in the church here in Ireland have also pointed out that blind trust without co responsibility and accountability is like the Gospel's house that is build on sand. It can crumble easily when the winds of change and human frailty blow.
He says there is evidence in other European countries of "growing polarisation between clergy and laity in the church".
"We have an opportunity in Ireland," he adds, "to emphasise and give expression to the second Vatican Council's emphasis on collaboration and partnership."