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THE CATHOLIC ARCHBISHOP of Dublin has said former Irish President Mary McAleese’s criticism of the Catholic Church was “brutally stark”.
Speaking in Dublin last night, Diarmuid Martin said: “Probably the most significant negative factor that influences attitudes to the Church in today’s Ireland is the place of women in the Church.”
In recent days McAleese described the Catholic Church an “empire of misogyny”. She said the bar on women becoming priests should be lifted and called on Pope Francis to address gender inequality in the Church.
“Failure to include women as equals has deprived the Church of fresh and innovative discernment; it has consigned it to recycled thinking among a hermetically sealed cosy male clerical elite flattered and rarely challenged by those tapped for jobs in secret and closed processes.
“It has kept Christ out and bigotry in,” she said while giving a speech in Rome yesterday.
Martin made his comments while launching a new edition of Donal Harrington’s book Tomorrow’s Parish.
In his speech, he discussed “the factors that alienate people from the Church structures of today”. Martin said he wasn’t speaking about women’s roles in the Church just because of McAleese’s comments.
During her speech yesterday, McAleese referred to the fact that Martin previously felt compelled to remark that “the low standing of women in the Catholic Church is the most significant reason for the feeling of alienation towards it in Ireland today”.
Responding to this, Martin said: “Indeed, I was happy to note that President McAleese quoted that exact phrase of mine in her speech today.
“Her challenge to the internal culture of the Church today was brutally stark. Some may find it unpleasant or unwelcome. I must accept the challenge with the humility of one who recognises her alienation.”
Young people
Martin said another challenge the Church faces is “the situation of young people”.
A survey of young people’s attitudes to parish was recently carried out in the Dublin diocese in preparation for the upcoming Synod of Bishops called by Pope Francis.
Martin said the report about the survey’s findings was “one of the most disappointing documents that I read since becoming Archbishop”.
“Young people felt unwelcome in their parishes,” Martin said, quoting this statement from the report:
A number of young people noted that it was people in parishes (priests and parishioners) who were the greatest obstacles for young people getting involved.
He continued: “Where does the Church find itself in the midst of rapid cultural change in Ireland? Faith involves a different way of living within any culture. What is involved is not a negative reaction or simple rejection of a changing world.
In the past the Church and the Irish Church in particular was a highly moralising Church. Jesus did not write an arid rulebook as an inspiration for his followers. Jesus did not think that belief in him could be attained through imposition. Faith in Jesus is no ideology.
Martin said ministry in the Church in years to come “will have much less to do with management and structures” and instead be “about men and women who have the ability to speak the language of faith authentically in a world where that language may be alien and to speak in a way that attracts”.
He added that the fellowship of the early Church was “marked by a spirit of sharing of all goods by all in order to ensure that no one was left in need”, adding: “That is a real challenge to a wealthy Church living in a wealthy world surrounded by so many on the margins.”
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Athens enters the financial markets with a bang.!
About time.
Fair play… Should have been done here too seeing as protesting is absolutely useless.
So you think bomb’s should be set of in our streets? Idiot…we had enough of that carry on for 30 years on this Island.
In Northern Ireland you mean. The rest of the island didnt suffer any in comparison to up here.
Jamesy, I think you’ll find that Northern Ireland is on this island (nobody mentioned whose island it is). Or do you think that Northern Ireland is a separate island? Do we need to take a ferry to cross over to Northern Ireland? And, as far as I know, one person’s experience of a bomb exploding in Monaghan or Dublin is the same as another person’s experience of a bomb exploding in Omagh or Belfast – i.e. abject horror and psychological trauma at the very least. Or do you place a lesser value on casualties down south compared to those up north?
What sort of a cowardly animal would place a bomb in a car?
Bombing out the banks
And not even one banker dead.. what a waste of a good bomb!!!!!!
Can these lads not see this helps nothing ! Far from the empire they once were
When was the Greek state an empire?
Approximately 2,500 – 3,000 years ago when they had colonies stretching from Gibraltar to the Caspian Sea. There are still Greek speakers living today in Georgia, Ukraine, Turkey and Italy, albeit in dialects that are not mutually intelligible with modern Greek as spoken in Greece proper. The cities of Marseilles, Sevastopol, Trabzon, etc. were founded by the Greeks. Also, approximately 2,300 years ago we had Alexander the Great who built an empire that stretched from the Adriatic to Pakistan in which a multitude of cities were built in his name, such as Alexandria in Egypt, Alexandria in Afghanistan, Alexandria in Pakistan, and Iskanderiya in Iraq.
The Greek nation is less than 200 years old.
Jeremy, I think you’re confusing the word “nation” with the word “state”. The Greek nation has been in existence for thousands of years, sometimes under petty kingdom rule (Sparta, Athens, Macedonia, etc.), sometimes under the rule of foreign powers (Rome, Ottomans, etc.) and at other times as a unified independent state (Kingdom of Greece, Hellenic Republic, etc.). Greece’s current independence is less than 200 years old, but the nation is far older. You’re actually quite typical of a lot of Irish people when it comes to terminology – you use words in the wrong context and mix meanings up. Tell me this: without consulting a dictionary, can you tell me the difference between “ethnicity”, “race”, “nationality”, “citizenship”, “aboriginal”, “indigenous”?
By the way, just in case I’m misconstrued, that “You’re actually quite typical of a lot of Irish people” comment was not meant as an insult. I apologise if it came across the wrong way.
There are quite a few sick people commenting here which is understandable when you consider the number of Shinners who are attracted to the Journal.
Streamlining its bloated public sector. Why didn’t we do that?
We did.
The cost of governing was reduced including a reduction of 30,000 in staff numbers.
The majority of those 30,000 were temporary contracts that weren’t renewed, natural attrition, and people retiring early.
Correct Pierce. Nobody who was permanent was let go as the job for life still exists. I can only speak for county council staff but a few need firing as some are useless. They know they can get away with doing the minimum. These people will never stretch themselves or go out of their way to help. A lot of council workers become unemployable after being with the council any length of time.
When they wore awesome togas I can assume Jeremy :)
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