BishopAccountability.org
	Members of Catholic Church Living in Denial By John Manning Fingal Independent December 9, 2009 http://www.fingal-independent.ie/news/members-of-catholic-church-living-in-denial-1967545.html SENIOR members of the Catholic Church in Ireland are continuing to 'live in denial' of the abuses that took place in the Dublin diocese, revealed by the Murphy Report. That is the view of Deputy James Reilly TD who spoke on the issue in a Dáil debate on the report last week. The Fine Gael TD told the Dáil: 'I find the response of the Church to be disappointing. Many of its senior members seem to continue to live in denial, refusing to accept that as custodians of the moral values of our society they have failed grievously. 'Not only have they failed but they have been complicit in compounding that failure through their continued refusal to accept responsibility, particularly those bishops who were directly involved.' He said that it was 'unacceptable' that any member of the hierarchy look to the laity for support instead of examining their own consciences. Deputy Reilly said: 'Surely their consciences are informed enough to know right from wrong. As one journalist put it during the week, the Irish people certainly know what is right and what is wrong. 'Instead of continuing and ultimately succumbing, perhaps those who are in leadership roles in the Church will now show that leadership by doing the right and honourable thing - by listening to their consciences and remembering what brought them into the Church in the first place. They must restore Christian values and do what is right.' He said the report had shown that the reputation of the Church had been put first and 'consideration of child safety came a long way behind in second place'. He said anger was rightly directed at the hierarchy criticised in the report: 'They have preached oft and long from the altar to us about our conscience, Christian values, morals and doing the right thing, and yet they vacillate when it comes to themselves and that is a disgrace. 'It is not just a disgrace but also a rot that will destroy the Catholic church in the country.'
Any original material on these pages is copyright © BishopAccountability.org 2004. Reproduce freely with attribution.