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(Regrettably the NCPI dissolved itself in
September, 2007. This was due entirely to the collapse of the
morale of many priests in Ireland in the wake of many scandals and poor
leadership from Irish Catholic bishops.)
Voice of the Faithful (Ireland)
Submission to the National Conference of Priests of Ireland,
2nd July 2007
Introduction
Voice of the Faithful is an international lay Catholic organisation
formed in the wake of the clerical child sex abuse catastrophes,
beginning in 2002. Aiming to support abuse victims and clergy of
integrity, and to work towards church structures that will bring greater
openness and accountability in the administration of the church, it has
over one hundred members throughout Ireland, and has already networked
victims of abuse in six Irish dioceses.
Although our specific mission relates to the problem of clerical sexual
abuse, it is our firm intention to assist our church in meeting all of
the challenges that now face us - including the rapid growth of a
secularism hostile to religious faith. We believe that the church has
ample latent resources that will enable it to recover and to develop a
new dynamism capable of overcoming all obstacles. Among these resources
are:
The unfailing help of God;
The warmth and humility of many priests and religious, founded on a
strong spirituality and an appreciation of the role and gifts of laity;
A rich theology that can illuminate the proper role of laity, and help
us all realise our common baptismal mission in the life of the church;
A strong idealism in our younger generations, waiting only to be given a
heroic role.
There is, however, one very serious obstacle to the harnessing of all of
these resources.
The Problem of Clericalism
In meeting with and listening to victims of clerical sexual abuse we
have become convinced that this critical problem is linked in many
important ways with clericalism - an attitude that exaggerates the role
of clergy and retards the maturation of lay Catholics in the Irish
church.
In a submission earlier this year to the ongoing Irish State Commission
of Investigation into the handling of clerical child sex abuse in the
Dublin Archdiocese, we explained how clericalism impacts upon all major
aspects of this problem.
Defining clericalism as the expectation on the part of too many clergy
of unquestioning compliance from lay people, and the traditional lay
sense of obligation to grant that compliance, we pointed out how this
was central to the specific imbalance of power that makes children
especially vulnerable to ordained paedophiles. We pointed out also how
it disempowers victims and their families in their subsequent dealings
with church authorities; how it may continue to weaken any child
protection measures the church may adopt; and how it remains a grievous
obstacle to the healing of victims, and of their relationship with their
church.
We attach a copy of this submission to the Dublin inquiry to this
document, as it is highly relevant to what we want to say here.
Although many victims of clerical sexual abuse - and many of their
relatives also - are alienated completely from faith and church by this
experience, we have found that a minority are enabled by the experience
to disentangle Catholic clericalism from Catholicism per se, understood
as faith in the Trinity. They come to see that the clericalism that had
disempowered and injured them is an unnecessary and naive hindrance to
an adult conviction that all of us are radically equal in dignity. In
that more mature Catholic faith they become reconciled to the essential
belief system of their childhood, and reconciled also, to a degree, to
their church.
However, they continue to see Catholic clericalism as an obstacle to a
full reconciliation, and as a continuing source of danger to Catholic
children and vulnerable adults.
So do we.
Clericalism as a Wider Problem
A young Catholic in a northern diocese had the following recent
experience after an evening prayer service. An elderly priest had
expressed some annoyance about this young man's youth group staying late
in chapel that night. Trying to make friendly conversation, the young
man privately asked the priest if he would be joining a pending diocesan
pilgrimage to Lourdes. The response was as follows:
"Oh, things like that are not decided by curates like me, but by the
parish priest. Curates are almost the lowest form of life in the church.
There's only one lower form of life - and that's lay people like you!"
(Fortunately this young man then got a crash course in the difference
between clericalism and Catholicism and his faith has not wavered.)
We offer this story not as proving something generally about all Irish
Catholic clergy, but as an extreme illustration of an attitude of mind
that lingers because of the historical experience of the church - and
that can only continue to alienate younger generations especially. It is
founded upon an inadequate theological formation and it continues to
survive because of the undeveloped nature of the church's communal
structures - i.e. the complete absence of structures that would allow
all members of the church to commune, and communicate, as equal brothers
and sisters in Christ.
It could not have survived if our Irish church, after Vatican II, had
set out to become fully aware of the priesthood of the laity, and to
allow the laity to realise their own special mission and responsibility:
to consecrate the world to God.
We are convinced that the phenomenon known as secularism has been
greatly strengthened in Ireland by Catholic clericalism - because the
latter works against the maturation of the Irish laity, frustrates their
need to become proactive adults, denies them an heroic role in
developing their church and consigns them to the absurd role of eternal
flag-waving extra in a clerical pageant. It denies them also a speaking
role - a confident sense of their own empowerment to speak of their
faith when it is challenged - and therefore frustrates the action of the
Holy Spirit also.
Clericalism can be seen as an attitude that undervalues all Catholic
sacraments save one: ordination. In doing so it tends to deprive laity
of confidence that sufficient graces are available through Baptism,
Confirmation, Eucharist - and prayer - to enable them to become
effective ambassadors for Christ in their own family, employment and
social spheres. It also tends to deprive them of the intellectual
confidence necessary for their continuing growth in the understanding of
their faith.
Clericalism the Central Obstacle to the Recovery of the Irish Church
Clericalism is therefore intimately connected in a multitude of ways
with the unfolding tragedy of the Irish church since 1965, and its
current continuing decline. We have no hesitation in identifying it as
the central obstacle to the recovery of Irish Catholicism at this time -
and especially to the full reconciliation of those injured and alienated
by clerical abuse and by the culture of concealment that enabled that
abuse for so long.
Clericalism subtly distorts Catholicism, shifting its focus from faith
in God to an exaggerated, childlike - and therefore dangerous - faith in
clergy. It denies to lay Catholics - especially women - the full
development of their gifts, role and mission. We do not understand why
it has never itself been formally identified and condemned by the
magisterium, and feel that such a development is long overdue.
The Route to Recovery
Confident that this obstacle of clericalism is itself being weakened by
the seriousness of the present situation, we recommend the following
priorities to the NCPI:
-
The identification and abandonment of clericalism as a hindrance to
the life of the church;
-
The exploration together of the role of lay people in 'consecrating
the world to God' - and especially in building a society that is safe
for children and young people;
-
The recognition that the Holy Spirit will enlighten lay people on
this, and give them a speaking role in their own church;
-
A new collaboration between priests and people, based on openness,
mutual accountability, and a spirituality of Communion.
Knowing that already there are 'green shoots' heralding the emergence of
a more vibrant church, we applaud especially the NCPI proposal that
there should be as soon as possible a national assembly of the Irish
church. This is needed to allow us to share the gifts of insight that
the Holy Spirit is already endowing us with in different dioceses; to
allow us to celebrate our Catholic heritage and our Baptism; and to
dissipate the cloud of despondency that has settled over the church in
recent years.
Aware of the slow progress of this proposal through the deliberative
machinery of the Irish Conference of Bishops, we wonder if in the
interim the NCPI could sponsor some kind of central conference for all
in Ireland who are interested in celebrating our tradition and in
developing an effective collaboration of priests and people. We would
strongly support any such event, as a vital step towards a genuine
communion of the whole Irish church.
Aware also that this brief first meeting between VOTF and the NCPI
executive will not in itself permit a full understanding of one
another's issues and concerns, we would especially welcome ongoing
contact with the NCPI - perhaps through a periodic forum of interested
members of both the NCPI and VOTF.
Conclusion
We are grateful for this opportunity to present our mission and
perspectives to the NCPI, and look forward to a fruitful collaboration -
in fidelity to Christ.
Representing VOTF Ireland:
(Signed)
Sean O'Conaill
Marie Collins
Teresa Mee
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VOTF™
Mission Statement
To provide a prayerful voice, attentive to the Spirit,
through which the Faithful can actively participate in the governance
and guidance of the Catholic Church.
Our Goals
1. To support
survivors of clergy sexual abuse.
2. To support priests of integrity
3.To shape structural change within the Catholic Church.
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