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	Archbishop Divides Irish in Britain By Mal Rogers Irish Post April 7, 2010 http://www.irishpost.co.uk/tabId/60/itemId/271/Archbishop-divides-Irish-in-Britain.aspx OPINION amongst the Irish community in Britain is divided over the remarks made by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, in an interview with Andrew Marr on the BBC Radio 4 programme Start the Week. In the programme Dr Williams said that the Catholic church had lost all credibility in Ireland. Adding that the child abuse scandal had been a "colossal trauma" for Ireland in particular, he said: "I was speaking to an Irish friend recently who was saying that it's quite difficult in some parts of Ireland to go down the street wearing a clerical collar now." Leading Irish author Mary Kenny, who lives in Kent, said that in her opinion Dr Martin "is a clever and well-meaning man", but that the Church of England may have been suffering from some sense of upset over Pope Benedict's overtures to Anglicans to become Catholics. However, Mary went on to say that although anti-Catholic feeling amongst some sections of modern Irish society is high, vast numbers of the population in both Ireland and Britain are still devout Christians. "Down the country they're still going to Mass, and would deeply disagree with the Archbishop of Canterbury's statements about the Church losing credibility." Mary Kenny, whose book Crown and Shamrock was recently launched at the Irish Club in London, added: "It may all seem bad news, but all this has got people talking about religion again, which can't be a bad thing. And, you know, it's never bad for an Irish institution to be attacked by a British man," she added with a laugh. "Who knows — opinion may well solidify round the Catholic Church now." The author was less sanguine about Cardinal Sean Brady: "He is a terribly decent man, and his parish in Armagh absolutely looks up to him and respects him — but really, until he goes, the hullabaloo will go on." Father Pat Browne, parish priest in Pimlico and a Canon at Westminster Cathedral — who will be meeting the Pope during the Papal visit to Britain in September — feels that the Catholic Church should move on from the crisis. "No way was the Archbishop of Canterbury trying to make trouble. He's too big a man for that, he's not a petty man at all. He's a good leader and a man of integrity." As far as the Vatican trying to poach members of the Anglican community, Father Browne put this down to "an offer of hospitality" more than anything else. Within the Catholic hierarchy, however, the row has rumbled on. The Archbishop of Dublin, Dr Diarmuid Martin said he was "stunned" by the remarks. Dr Martin added that in all his years as Archbishop of Dublin he had rarely felt personally so discouraged as when he heard Dr Williams' comments. Dr Williams, the second most senior Catholic cleric in Ireland, said: "I still shudder when I think of the harm that was caused to abused children. I recognise that their church failed them. But I also journey with those — especially parents and priests — who work day-by-day to renew the Catholic Church in this diocese and who are committed to staying with their church and passing on the faith in wearying times. "Archbishop Williams' comments will be for them immensely disheartening and will challenge their faith even further. Those working for renewal in the Catholic Church in Ireland did not need this comment on this Easter weekend and do not deserve it," he said. Commenting publicly for the very first time on the troubles within the Catholic hierarchy, Dr Williams — who has something of a reputation for committing gaffes — said to Andrew Marr on Radio 4: "An institution so deeply bound into the life of a society suddenly becoming, suddenly losing all credibility — that's not just a problem for the Church, it is a problem for everybody in Ireland." Dr Williams voiced his strong disapproval at the Pope's plans for a new ordinariate to tempt dissatisfied Anglicans over to Rome: "I don't think it's going to be a big deal for the Church of England," he said, adding that he suspected few of his flock would be tempted into taking the step. He concluded: "They will take advantage of it because they believe they ought to be in communion with the Bishop of Rome. I can only say fine, God bless them. I don't at the moment. So we proceed on that basis and we talk with, I hope, a level of mutual respect on that basis." The Anglican Archbishop's remarks come in advance of the Pope's four-day visit to Britain in September, when he will give an address in Westminster on moral values in society as well as visiting Lambeth Palace where he will meet with Dr Williams. This latest schism will put further pressure on the Papal visit, with Dr Williams seeming lukewarm: "The Pope will be coming here to Lambeth Palace. We'll have the bishops together to meet him. I'm concerned that he has the chance to say what he wants to say in and to British society, that we welcome him as a valued partner and, you know, that's… that's about it." More than 10,000 people have signed a "Protest the Pope" petition on Downing Street's website against the £15million cost of the visit, which is to be shared by the British government and the Church. Protests are growing against the Holy Father's visit, with some lawyers even questioning whether the Vatican's implicit statehood status should shield the Pope from prosecution over sex crimes by paedophile priests. Although Pope Benedict has not been accused of any crime, British lawyers are considering whether he should have immunity as a head of state and whether he could be prosecuted under the principle of universal jurisdiction for an alleged systematic cover-up of sexual abuses by priests. The latest row between Dr Martin and the head of England's established church can only add to difficulties surrounding the Papal visit. In a move to defuse the row, Archbishop Williams telephoned Archbishop Martin and expressed 'deep sorrow and regret' for any difficulties his comments may have created for the Catholic Church in Ireland. Archbishop Martin has received warm support from both the Church of Ireland Primate Alan Harper — who branded the Archbishop of Canterbury's remarks 'unhelpful', and the Church of Ireland Archbishop of Dublin John Neill who said he had listened to Dr Williams' remarks with deep regret. The Church of Ireland Bishop of Meath and Kildare, Most Rev Richard Clarke, said whereas it was clearly true that the church was facing deep and serious challenges to its authority as a consequence of clerical abuse scandals, the "careless and reckless use of language by Archbishop Williams is extremely unfortunate". ■ The Vatican was further mired in controversy over Easter when Pope Benedict XVI's personal preacher to the Papal Household, the Franciscan Capuchin priest Father Raniero Cantalamessa, likened criticism of the Church's handling of paedophile priests to anti-Semitism. During a Good Friday ceremony at St. Peter's Basilica in Rome, Father Cantalamessa told the congregation, with Pope Benedict in attendance, that a Jewish friend had told him that the accusations reminded him of the "more shameful aspects of anti-Semitism". The attempt to equate criticism of the Church with the suffering of Jews is particularly embarrassing given the long history of accusations that the Vatican, under Pope Pius XII, failed to do enough to stop the Holocaust. In a subsequent statement Father Raniero Cantalamessa said it was not his intention to offend the Jewish community or the victims of paedophilia when he quoted a letter from a Jewish friend. Father Cantalamessa added that the Pope had no prior knowledge of the remarks and that his intention with the remark was to affirm solidarity with the Jews. "I sincerely regret [the remark] and ask forgiveness," he said.
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