Sir, – I am greatly disappointed at Mr Kenny’s misquoting of Pope Benedict XVI in his speech on the Cloyne report, stating that “the workings of a democracy cannot be purely and simply applied to the church”. The context in which Mr Kenny states this implied that the Vatican is unwilling to subject Catholic clergy to the regular proceedings of civil justice.
Mr Kenny could have informed his audience, the Irish and international public, that the quote is taken from a document entitled “On the Ecclesial Vocation of the Theologian”, where its author, the then cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, argues that a democratic consensus is not “the source of all truth”. Nothing in this document suggests anything of non-co-operation with civil law.
Given that Mr Kenny did not have the fairness of mind to quote the Pope accurately, should we question his reliability in other public utterances? – Yours, etc,
Sir, – The Vatican directive, cited several times in your columns over the past few days, that “civil law concerning reporting of crimes to the appropriate authorities should always be followed”, dates from 2010, not 2001.
The 2001 norms, while not explicitly precluding civil reporting, did not explicitly recommend it either. There was a good deal of confusion about the Vatican position on this matter well into the first decade of this millennium, despite several pointers in the direction of present policy. It is unhelpful to deny the steep learning curve involved until the unequivocal statement of the 2010 norm. – Yours, etc,
Sir, – The Taoiseach was right when he said: “Far from listening to evidence of humiliation and betrayal with St Benedict’s ‘ear of the heart’ . . . the Vatican’s reaction was to parse and analyse it with the gimlet eye of a canon lawyer”. Vincent Twomey’s article (Opinion Analysis, July 25th) merely carries on this long-standing but deplorable tradition. – Yours, etc,
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Sir, – Given the fact that, according to Mr Kenny, a significant number of parish priests have indicated their support, may I suggest these clerics establish a local church on the lines of the Chinese Patriotic Church, possibly with Enda as titular Pope? – Yours, etc,