Martin Says Church Has Learned

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Martin Says Church Has Learned

October 25, 2007

By Cahir O’Doherty

ARCHBISHOP of Dublin Diarmuid Martin was in New York last week to deliver the Inaugural Irish Institute Lecture at Ireland House on the subject: “New Ireland, New Church?”

The 2004 successor to Archbishop Desmond Connell, whose tenure was marked by widespread episodes of child sex abuse, Martin struck a conciliatory note in his wide ranging lecture that indicated the Catholic Church in Ireland had learned from the recurring clerical abuse cases involving priests and other religious personnel. However he underlined that he had “no game plan” for the road ahead.

“There is a temptation to think that the church must react to changes in society within an agenda that is set by somebody else. The church isn’t just there to react; it has its own contribution to make – welcome or not – to shaping the Ireland of the future. If the church’s task was simply to react to the changes in society it would inevitably be yesterday’s church.”

The role of the church in regard to the quality of Irish education – particularly primary education – establishes it as an important agent as well as an object of change in Ireland. Martin admitted that the church’s role in that education would certainly change but it would not vanish.

He acknowledged that strong adherence to the church which was necessary in times of difficulties had loosened. The new Ireland would be more secular, but that was not a thing to fear.

“Let me be clear, I’m not among the merchants of gloom who feel that a little bit of economic downturn will be good for the Irish soul and will bring people back to church,” said Martin. “It’s important that we recognize and celebrate the advances that have taken place here. Economic programs have brought the temptations of affluence but it has also greatly reduced the extent of harsh poverty and limited opportunity that characterized Ireland for so long.”

Consumerist and materialist values brought on by the increased prosperity in Ireland have eclipsed more traditional values, Martin suggested. But the notion that personal success is determined by economic achievement was misplaced. In the past, professions such as nursing and caring for the elderly would have enjoyed a certain social prestige in Ireland, but nowadays they are simply looked on as low paying.

Dr. Martin noted that no political party in Ireland has so far cynically tried to play the fear of immigrants card. Ireland, he asserted, is very much a welcoming community. He added that fostering social cohesiveness in an increasingly pluralist Ireland will be an important task for the church.

In his lecture, growth with equity was Martin’s central concern.

“We need to build a civil society that will hold politics answerable by judging its results and how it affects the life of each citizen and society as a whole,” he said.

Reflecting on whether there room for God in the new Irish public square, the Archbishop concluded, “The Christian message has changed lives for good throughout all the ups and downs of the history of society and the church and that message is as vital today as ever. It offers us meaning and purpose and hope, if we allow that message to enter into our hearts in its integrity and its fullness.”

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