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THE CATHOLIC ARCHBISHOP of Dublin has said former Irish President Mary McAleese’s criticism of the Catholic Church was “brutally stark”.
Speaking in Dublin last night, Diarmuid Martin said: “Probably the most significant negative factor that influences attitudes to the Church in today’s Ireland is the place of women in the Church.”
In recent days McAleese described the Catholic Church an “empire of misogyny”. She said the bar on women becoming priests should be lifted and called on Pope Francis to address gender inequality in the Church.
“Failure to include women as equals has deprived the Church of fresh and innovative discernment; it has consigned it to recycled thinking among a hermetically sealed cosy male clerical elite flattered and rarely challenged by those tapped for jobs in secret and closed processes.
“It has kept Christ out and bigotry in,” she said while giving a speech in Rome yesterday.
Martin made his comments while launching a new edition of Donal Harrington’s book Tomorrow’s Parish.
In his speech, he discussed “the factors that alienate people from the Church structures of today”. Martin said he wasn’t speaking about women’s roles in the Church just because of McAleese’s comments.
During her speech yesterday, McAleese referred to the fact that Martin previously felt compelled to remark that “the low standing of women in the Catholic Church is the most significant reason for the feeling of alienation towards it in Ireland today”.
Responding to this, Martin said: “Indeed, I was happy to note that President McAleese quoted that exact phrase of mine in her speech today.
“Her challenge to the internal culture of the Church today was brutally stark. Some may find it unpleasant or unwelcome. I must accept the challenge with the humility of one who recognises her alienation.”
Young people
Martin said another challenge the Church faces is “the situation of young people”.
A survey of young people’s attitudes to parish was recently carried out in the Dublin diocese in preparation for the upcoming Synod of Bishops called by Pope Francis.
Martin said the report about the survey’s findings was “one of the most disappointing documents that I read since becoming Archbishop”.
“Young people felt unwelcome in their parishes,” Martin said, quoting this statement from the report:
A number of young people noted that it was people in parishes (priests and parishioners) who were the greatest obstacles for young people getting involved.
He continued: “Where does the Church find itself in the midst of rapid cultural change in Ireland? Faith involves a different way of living within any culture. What is involved is not a negative reaction or simple rejection of a changing world.
In the past the Church and the Irish Church in particular was a highly moralising Church. Jesus did not write an arid rulebook as an inspiration for his followers. Jesus did not think that belief in him could be attained through imposition. Faith in Jesus is no ideology.
Martin said ministry in the Church in years to come “will have much less to do with management and structures” and instead be “about men and women who have the ability to speak the language of faith authentically in a world where that language may be alien and to speak in a way that attracts”.
He added that the fellowship of the early Church was “marked by a spirit of sharing of all goods by all in order to ensure that no one was left in need”, adding: “That is a real challenge to a wealthy Church living in a wealthy world surrounded by so many on the margins.”
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The ‘who killed your granny’ budget
@John F doe: The “fix Britain after 14 years of the Tories” budget
@Anthony Curran: by killing off the elderly? I know you shinners have a low value on life but this is disgraceful
@John F doe:
A quick Google search will show you just what the tories thought of the elderly…Savage cuts to resources for vulnerable people..
@John F doe: if SF get in this is exactly what will be facing us if not worse.
I wonder will Ireland be loaning money to the U.K.? As the loaned money to us when we were in a very dire state but we still are unfortunately.
@Tommy: we should absolutely help our wonderful nearest and dearest if needs be, they did it for us
@John F doe: dearest?
@Tommy: Economics clearly isn’t your strong suit.
@John F doe: In fairness they provided jobs for the Irish for decades, and still do, not that we need them as much these days.
@Tommy: let’s go Tommy Robinson
@John F doe: And maybe charge them an outlandish rate of interest like they did to us !!
Mad how the Torys can do whatever they like, recklessly destroy the economy BUT Labour oOOoooo ‘pure evil’… politics is truly pathetic
@Thesaltyurchin: the conservatives never launched an attack on the elderly
@John F doe: You’re absolutely dense.
@John F doe: Are you thick?. What age group do you think uses an underfunded NHS more than any other ?
@Ian: I agree
@John F doe: neither have Labour so what on earth are you talking about?
so she can take the blame when it will backfire
For all those ppl in ireland u say “the government can’t get any worse” of course it can get worse
The Budgies won’t be impressed with a tax hike.
Labour a bit like our own, pretend to be sympathetic and be the voice for the working class, yet when in power, o difficult decisions will have it be made. A conservative landslide is likely when they eventually put in a motion of no confidence against this travesty. Stammer the worst Labour PM since Ramsay MacDonald
@Alan: the Tories ran the country in to the ground for over a decade. That Labour would actually try and fix that by taxing the people that can afford it isn’t the “travesty” you think it is. The Tories are trying to paint this budget as crippling the working class but that’s, once again, is an utter lie.
Yep, how do you tax all the profits from State assets sold for a pittance to cronies and then offshored and shielded from view forever?
The once Great Britain is now little Britain a byproduct off Brexit.
What is this talk of Labour having promised not to raise taxes? Let’s be clear what they promised was not to raid Texas, and so far they have honoured that!
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