Dublin Archbishop Discouraged by Denial

The church’s unwillingness to begin “a painful process of renewal” in the wake of the clerical sexual abuse scandal has left Dublin’s Archbishop Diarmuid Martin “disheartened and discouraged.” The archbishop was most discouraged by the “drip-by-drip, never-ending revelation about child abuse and the disastrous way it was handled.” He said, “There are still strong forces which would prefer that the truth did not emerge.... There are worrying signs that despite solid regulations and norms, these are not being followed with the rigor required.” Noting the continuing need for accountability, Archbishop Martin said, “I am struck by the level of disassociation by people from any sense of responsibility.” Archbishop Martin also said the Irish church needed to look carefully at priestly formation. He said that in the future Dublin’s seminarians, deacons and lay pastoral workers will share some of their studies together with an eye to creating a better culture of collaborative ministry. “The narrow culture of clericalism has to be eliminated,” Archbishop Martin said.