From the Irish Times: "Pope Benedict was 'visibly upset' when he heard details contained in the Ryan report on abuse in State institutions run by religious orders, Archbishop of Dublin Diamuld Martin said today."
"In a statement to journalists after today's meeting, Cardinal Brady said the Pope had 'listened very carefully, very attentively, very sympatheticly to what we had to say and he said in reply that this was a time for deep examination of life here in Ireland in the Church.'"
"He said the Pope urged them to establish the truth of what has happened, ensure that justice is done for all, put in place measures that will prevent these abuses happening again with a view to healing the survivors."
See previous commentary on this situation here.
Here we have a carefully planned, conscious assault on the authority of the Church in Ireland. The report itself is ambiguous, short on details, highly provocative, and opens the door for anyone wanting to make a buck to sue the Church.
The preliminary Vatican response described above indicates that the Vatican and the Irish Church officials will follow the pattern of the American response to similar charges, which was so successful (sarcasm) in the United States. In short, this response assumes the charges are legitimate, expresses deep sorrow, launches all manner of 'healing' procedures, sets up ineffective measures to prevent recurrence, and above all, forks over the money.
The alternative is to fight. It is not an easy fight to conduct. The opposition has all the emotional cards in their hand. But to not fight means the death of the influence of the Church in Ireland.
The Vatican officials seem oblivious to the concerted efforts to undermine the Church authority. There are many very powerful individuals, groups, and institutions in the world who are anti-Christian, and who are constantly looking for ways to destroy the Church's influence on humanity. Their efforts never stop.
The Vatican, sooner or later, is going to have to meet these challenges. That is, if it wants to survive. The Irish report is cleverly written and puts the Church on the defensive, but the Church leaders have to fight back somewhere. The Church will be lost in Ireland if the current accommodationist approach is followed.
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