Among the online responses to the pastoral letter on
www.irishtimes.com
were:
Vincent Xavier: Everybody speaks about victims and for the victims and nobody wants speak about the victims of this media frenzy. Why don’t you speak for the innocent priests and religious who suffer humiliation because some criminals in the church did criminal activities. You are victimising the innocent people and don’t you think what you are doing is wrong.
Patrick Brennan: What appears to be an apology is in reality an opportunity for more Catholic Church propaganda. As soon as I read the opening lines where the pope makes it sound like all this information is new to him, frankly I switched off. Does anyone really believe that this is the first time he’s heard of this type of behaviour?
Ivan: The pope carefully distances the Vatican from the criminal cover-up. According to teachings a confession should be full and open for absolution. This is not. The pope also has this carefully worded so as to maintain primacy of canon law over civil law. So, we have two issues: the Vatican response – ignored; and the issue of the paedophiles. Neither are satisfactorily addressed.
Declan O’Riordan: While we would like to think that the pope could “fix” the situation, clearly there is absolutely nothing which he can do to correct past wrongs or indeed prevent future wrongs. It is up to the Irish people to take control of their destiny and not be led by or dictated to by the church or indeed any other privileged, authoritarian group (of which there are many in Ireland). The first essential step is total separation of church and State, both in theory and practice.
Dave Morgan: A cynic might say it was unwise to put in so much local detail; makes it harder to use word-swap to send an identical letter to America, Canada, Australia, Austria, Germany, and so on. And goodness knows what goes on in the Third World. It makes you shudder to think about it.
Gerard Martinez: Words are inadequate and, for those who hate or misunderstand the church, anything the pope says will fall short or, worse, add insult to injury.
Jim McQuinn: The death throes of a corrupt and hypocritical man-made organisation.
Colin J Morris: Concrete initiatives? Where? A visit? Too little, too late. Way too little!
Rory O’Callaghan: Now that this latest script for Fr Ted is out of the way, can we please have some serious suggestions as to how to bring to justice those who have carried out a criminal cover-up which allowed children to be sexually abused?
Paddy Murray: So what is the pope supposed to do? Would a mass hanging of priests and bishops satisfy those who appear to want vengeance and no more?
Ryan: While some aspects of the letter are to be welcomed, I am bemused that the pope chooses to foist at least part of the blame on the advances of liberalism and secularisation in Ireland. He suggests that had we been more resistant to social change, that the scandal of sexual abuse would not have happened. This ignores the plain fact that much of the abuse occurred at a time when Ireland was deeply repressed and illiberal, profoundly confessional and in thrall to the Church of Rome. It is indeed telling that the abuse has gradually been exposed in tandem with liberalisation and secularisation in Ireland.
Conal O’Sullivan: Were the Catholic Church a business organisation, those responsible for mismanagement would have been fired long ago.
John McGuirk: People wanted a “full apology” from the pope. They have it. It is still not enough for them. As a young Catholic, this letter speaks to me. I am willing to forgive and move on. The pope could have himself crucified in Saint Peter’s square and sectors of Irish liberal thinking would call it an inadequate response. But I’m proud of my pope today.
Damian Walsh: If you are looking for any concrete plans to atone for the abuses of the Catholic church then it is pointless to read the pope’s letter. He is working entirely within the confines of Catholicism, where the answer to the problems of the world can be found through Jesus. The pope and bishops may believe hours of prayer and Mass will ease the suffering of victims, but I find it hard to believe that the prayers of others will have any tangible effect on the suffering of an abuse victim.
Kevin Coyle: The church as an institution is made up of humans who are part of the human condition and who are frail. This is not to excuse in any way the dreadful acts committed against children, some done in the name of God. It behoves us all to be more humble.
Christopher Harvey: A revolting piece of self-pity and deflection of responsibility.
That this man has the mendacity to say that the crimes of the church are in any way to blame on liberal and secular progress in Ireland is disgusting to say the least.
It reveals the utter contempt this man and his organisation feel for the victims and for those who exposed these scandals in the first place.
Jerry Larkin: The sad thing is that this letter will probably be enough for the flock of sheep that are Catholics in this republic. The fact that this nefarious organisation still runs the vast majority of our schools and hospitals, and is still looking after children after raping thousands of them, shows that nothing is going to change and this abuse will just happen again.
Hugh Masterson: A beautiful and sincere letter. He is doing what he can.
There are those who will always choose to hate, no matter what is said or done, and those whose solution is to add violence to violence. It’s time to try and forgive.
Philip Doyle: The letter is a disgusting response to a church in crisis and ensures the continued demise of the Catholic church in Ireland.
Jenny Kenny: It is the secularisation of Irish society that gave people the confidence to stand up to priests, demand justice from an inherently corrupt church, and the realisation that the only forum for dealing with criminal matters is the secular courts system. The pope’s letter is the greatest possible advert for the continued secularisation of Irish society.
Paul Cullen: I have read the full text of the pope’s letter and have to say I am shocked by the intemperate and frankly hysterical tone of nearly all of the comments here. The letter is written by a Catholic Christian to Catholic Christians and has to be understood in that light. To the many critics I have a question: just what would have been a satisfactory response by the pope?
Eimhin Walsh: Empty criticism based on what the letter could have been is futile. Take it for what it is – a step in the right direction and an acknowledgement.
Eamon: The letter is a clinically cynical piece of writing that for me rings false. It is written by someone who has been for years distanced from the real world.
Barbera: Those of us who are sincere practising Catholics are greatly moved by this solemn, eloquent, healing, gentle and most sincere epistle from Christ’s Vicar on Earth. God bless and protect His Holiness, Pope Benedict XVI.
Cara: Though I am probably a minority view looking at the comments so far, I think the letter is a real effort to move things forward in the right direction. I did not have high expectations of this letter but the reality is different. To me it shows a real understanding of the pain of what is going on in Ireland. It is important that justice is done and where crimes have been committed that the courts call people to account. Other nations have faced the pain of the past and found a way forward. What is to be ours?
Further reaction can be viewed here irishtimes.com