IRELAND
The Irish Catholic
by Michael Higgins
March 17, 2016
If the Roman Catholic Church hoped to escape from the “spotlight”, as it were, at the Academy Awards Ceremony in Hollywood last month, no such reprieve was granted.
Spotlight, the American film that explored with searing forthrightness the rot at the heart of the Archdiocese of Boston around clerical sex abuse, won Best Picture of the Year Award. Statements, testimonials and public declarations of outrage, accompanied the cinema hoopla, the book version of the film is showcased in all major book chains, media outlets are abuzz with commentary and ancillary revelations, and the Church, beleaguered and spiritually depleted by the scandal, once again faces the seemingly endless task of trying to get ahead of the depressing news focus around this institutional blight.
Measures
It is not that the Church hasn’t reacted with new protocols, disciplinary measures, appropriate suspensions, and a refreshing transparency of effort and accountability. In many jurisdictions it has.
There is a Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors and Vulnerable Adults, bishops have been fired for negligence, alleged cases are now pursued with commendable rigour, and an abundance of educational and pastoral efforts to ensure compliance with civil law have taken shape.
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