IRELAND
The Association of Catholic Priests
Approximately 75 people attended the ACI meeting in Leighlinbridge, Co. Carlow, on Wednesday the 6th February. The meeting was held in the Lord Bagenal Hotel and was organised by local man, Pascal O’Dea, from Bagenalstown. …
At the end of the ‘break out’ session the appointed rapporteur from each group summarised the views of the group members. The following are the key issues identified.
The church is seen to be in crisis following the revelations contained in the Murphy and Ryan Reports and the subsequent diocesan reports on the clerical sex abuse scandals. Despite the passage of time there is still anger and disbelief at the way some senior church leaders in Ireland, and elsewhere, placed the reputation of the institutional church above the well-being of victims.
A clear ‘disconnect’ was identified between the local church at parish level and what is seen as the institutional church at diocesan and national level, not to mention at the level of the Vatican. People expressed general satisfaction with the way the church operated at local level but highlighted the absence of leadership from those in positions of authority in the church in our country.
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