A good friend of mine phoned me recently. He is a committed believer who makes an effort to explain the Church's position on controversial issues to his work colleagues who are often unsympathetic. It was the Tuesday of the Rome meeting between the Pope and the bishops.

He would ordinarily be quite feisty but on this occasion he simply asked ''what did we do to deserve this?'' The Rome meeting had flopped and there appeared to be no end in sight to the never-ending story of the Catholic Church and abuse. That perhaps was the biggest disappointment of the Rome meeting. Reconciliation and healing seem to be no closer now than anytime before.

He was feeling low. He wasn't claiming the role of victim. Those who were harmed as children are the victims. But he was at least being honest. The experience of the last fifteen years has been emotionally wearing. Watching adults weep as they tell their stories of abuse has been heart-rendering. Watching the Church's often faltering steps forward has been frustrating.

Nobody gets to choose what time they live in. It would be nice to live in better times but these are the only times we have. The challenge is to make the most of the situation one is in. As an elderly religious brother once said to me - ''bloom where you're planted''.

We can look with envy at the glorious chapters of other ages. We can think of the pivotal role played by the Irish monks in the development of Western culture and history during the Dark Ages.

We can look with some pride at the work of Irish women and men during the massive explosion of missionary activity in the last century.

Against this backdrop it looks as though our age has nothing at all to contribute to society and the universal Church other than shame and embarrassment.

However, there is something very valuable for us to share out of the current painful experience. These scandals have highlighted the sickening reality that some adults will use their position of power to hurt a child. It's an uncomfortable truth. But it is the truth.

We have a duty to share this with the rest of the Church. In places where it is not yet a problem there may be resistance to listening to it. But we are obliged to help the younger churches in particular to be aware of the dangers of unaccountable power, clericalism, and the recidivist nature of abuse.

We are uniquely placed to do that. Our religious congregations have vast international networks and our charitable organisations reach across the globe.

We've made giant steps of progress here at home with impressive Child Protection policies and we should be encouraging others to do the same.

And if this results in a child being spared the terror of abuse in the future it might be a legacy to equal anything that Irish Catholicism has contributed before.

Suffering Christians

A cynical media has made it difficult to speak about one's faith in recent years. However, it's nothing compared to the trials facing believers in other parts of the world.

Four Christians were murdered in as many days this month in Mosul in northern Iraq. They include a shopkeeper, an engineering student and a 20 year old teacher. The Archbishop of Mosul has described the mood in the Christian community as approaching panic. His predecessor died last year after being kidnapped by terrorists.

In Malaysia, several churches have been attacked in the wake of a court ruling that non-Muslims were allowed to use the word ''Allah'' to refer to God.

The Coptic Christians of Egypt have been living in fear too. Six were killed in a drive-by shooting on the Orthodox Christmas Eve as they chatted with family and friends outside their church.

Lent is a good time to remind ourselves of those who are travelling a very real and frightening Via Crucis.

It certainly puts concerns about a hostile media into perspective.

The Light's Still On

The Archdiocese of Boston has come up with a novel and creative project this Lent. It's called The Light Is On For You. The idea is simple. Every church and chapel in the diocese will be open for confessions from 6:30pm to 8pm on each Wednesday of Lent.

The diocese has produced a professional looking website complete with downloadable examinations of conscience, Frequently Asked Questions, and even a YouTube video containing a step by step guide of how to make a confession.

It's encouraging to see that a diocese which was brought to its knees by scandal in 2002 now has the confidence to publicly promote this often misunderstood sacrament.

Rather than bemoaning the decline in the popularity of confession perhaps we should be explaining it better and promoting it more.