Saturday View
It was reported during the week that the Irish branch of the Society of Jesus — the religious order of which Pope Francis is a member — is donating three large Victorian houses in Dublin to accommodate homeless families. Whether it’s homework clubs for children from challenging backgrounds, halfway houses for released prisoners, or residential care for the elderly, the Church continues to be in the forefront of providing vital services for vulnerable individuals and communities.
It is a far cry from the often lazy caricature of the Church in Ireland, which paints the institution as a power-hungry monolith that has brought nothing but misery to these shores.
Next week’s visit of Pope Francis has brought out some very ugly commentary — particularly online — against the Catholic Church and an event that some 750,000 people, all said and done, will enjoy.
Don’t get me wrong: often people protest against the Church with good reason. There’s much to criticise. Those who have experienced abuse, or felt let down by the Church, have every reason to be angry.
Many survivors will tell you that the abuse they suffered was compounded by the fact that when they found the strength to report their experiences to someone in authority in the Church, their pain was minimised, or even ignored.
And yet, Catholics go on finding solace and inspiration in a Church that is so deeply compromised and mired in scandals of its own making. A Church that has hurt and disappointed so many people.
It gets harder and harder to explain to my friends who have
long since left the Church why I stay. And yet the Church remains a huge force for good in Ireland and throughout the world. It is also, for many people, a place
where they find space to mark their joys, hopes, sorrows and despairs.
Roughly a third of Irish Catholics say they attend Mass every
week. No one defends the indefensible. They are as offended by abuse and cover-up as anyone outside the Church. But they know that the current crisis engulfing
the Church is part of the story of the Church, but not the entire story. Nor is it the final word.
The Bishop of Limerick, Brendan Leahy, spoke for many this week when he said: “It is good for us to recall with a grateful heart just how much the Church contributed to Irish society. But to acknowledge with gratitude the good can never eclipse recognition of sin, criminality and evil.
“Catholics can be downbeat today, because it is painful to acknowledge in our family story that we have wounded people. It isn’t easy, not least for those who are proud of their Church and the good work that it does and they do in it, to hear our own Catholic identity pilloried daily in one way or another.”
Many of those currently lining up to criticise the Church for both real and perceived wrongs should have the honesty to admit that they are really just hostile towards what the Catholic Church stands for. Abuse becomes a convenient pretext in which to veil dislike and hostility.
Whether it is same-sex marriage, or abortion, the Catholic Church in Ireland today finds itself considerably out of step with current thinking and many people just can’t stand it.
Yet, Catholics are entitled to be enthusiastic about the visit of Pope Francis.
They are entitled to celebrate their faith with joy, humbly acknowledging the Church’s failures, but proud, too, of the Church’s huge positive impact on so many lives.
They don’t deserve to have the crimes of clerical abusers and their enablers hung around their necks.
The history of Catholicism in Ireland is a complex one — it is a story of both grace and sin, often sitting side-by-side. Any fair reading of the facts will reveal a Church that has let people down, but also a Church that has hugely enhanced people’s lives.
The history of the Catholic faith in Ireland has not been all glorious — but it hasn’t been all bad, either.