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	Church 'Moving on after Sex Scandals' — Martin By John Cooney Irish Independent April 28, 2008 http://www.independent.ie/national-news/church-moving-on-after-sex-scandals—-martin-1360968.html The head of the Catholic Church in Dublin has claimed that the country's biggest diocese is moving forward after the damage inflicted on it by child sex abuse scandals. Archbishop Diarmuid Martin yesterday urged over 1,200 lay volunteers to regain the goodwill of all Dubliners who were alienated from the Catholic Church over the revelations of abuse of children by priests. Addressing the first major assembly of 200 recently formed parish pastoral councils, Archbishop Martin acknowledged that the people of Dublin had also reacted against what appeared as the Church's "near arrogance" in not realising the damage that had been done to the weakest in society by the abuse scandals. "The Church in Dublin must regain the goodwill of all," he said. "The Church in Dublin must be a place where all the necessary measures for the safeguarding of children and vulnerable persons are in place. But on a more upbeat note, exactly four years after taking over from Cardinal Desmond Connell, Archbishop Martin declared that the Church in Dublin was now "strong and vibrant". "The Church in the Archdiocese of Dublin is forward looking," he added. The Archbishop outlined plans for teams of priests, deacons and lay persons to work together "in fellowship" to support a number of communities. He also announced that it was his intention this summer to establish a Diocesan Pastoral Council to assist him in the process of renewal and mission, which would address priest shortages and a dramatic decline in numbers receiving the Eucharist at Mass. "In a society which is changing we have to address new realities," he said. "Our parish boundaries do not always reflect the current demographic reality of the diocese. There is a new sense of mobility that already exists in the lives of people. There has been unprecedented growth in some parts of the diocese in the past five years. In other parts the population has dwindled." Challenge Noting the attendance of representatives of practically all 200 parishes in counties Kildare and Wicklow, Laois and Wexford as well as Dublin county and city and the Parish for Travelling People, he explained that the challenge facing parish pastoral councils was that of revival and encouraging others to be more active in their life of faith. Because of their predominantly lay character, he advised members of parish pastoral councils to foster reflection on the family, a priority for a new Diocesan Office for Evangelisation would be to be to support this. "This Office will operate a programme of outreach to renew our Christian communities... touch the hearts of those who have drifted from religious practice and challenge the areas where modern Irish culture is being shaped," he said.
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