It is not so much that some in the Vatican 'don't get it' than what they do consider important is at odds with what the ordinary Catholic perceives as important writes Fr Alan Hilliard

There will be no fallout from the recent decision by the Vatican not to accept the resignations of the two auxiliary bishops in Dublin. Fallout suggests a worsening of the situation; to be honest from the point of view of the average Catholic, it can't get any worse. The most frequent comment is ''they (Vatican Officials) just don't get it''. This may not be absolutely true. They do ''get it'' but from an entirely different perspective.

Let's be clear. Rome won't be beaten into a corner by media opinion. Neither will they be dictated to by the institutions of a secular government. Furthermore if they accept without question the findings of the Murphy Report and accept that this is the line in the sand for bishops then they would find that they'd have to replace a significant number of bishops worldwide. Added to this is the perspective that the Church as it is presently constructed is not a democracy, nor will it ever be one.

Done their best

Over the years many have tried to effect change. Incredible energy has been invested in consultations, conferences and writings. Many people have done their best, they work hard, they are filled with evangelical fervour until they hit the glass ceiling and their good work comes to nothing. An instance of this in Ireland was evidenced in the great efforts of the National Conference of Priests of Ireland (NCPI). In the late eighties the NCPI made some proposals regarding the manner in which bishops are selected. The then president of NCPI, Fr Seamus Ryan, was called to the Nunciature where he was told by the Apostolic Nuncio that he was a 'nobody' and he represented 'nobodies'. It is quite amazing that people even wonder why the organisation is no longer in existence and efforts to rejuvenate NCPI (until recently) have proved futile.

Furthermore, the Dublin Council of Priests commissioned a survey among the priests of the diocese in 1996. The findings reported that the greatest source of stress in their lives was Church leadership. Nothing changed; in fact the man that represented leadership was promoted to the rank of Cardinal five years later.

The lack of a real response is evidence of the presence of a glass ceiling where those that ascend to its realm play by different rules. The term 'glass ceiling' refers to a phenomenon whereby people are excluded from progression. One cannot generalise. There are many good men who are bishops who prefer life away from the glass ceiling. They enjoy and engage those they serve. However, they cannot ignore the rules of engagement that haunt them and constrict them.

Immense damage

Towing the party line has caused immense damage and accepting the lethargic approach of official responses has caused immense damage. If the damage was confined to the institution it might be excusable but inexcusable damage has been done to innocent human lives not just by offenders but by an institution that went to extremes to protect itself and its ever more fragile ceiling. In actual fact the institution has created a problem for itself in that the present position of Bishops Donal Murray, Jim Moriarty and Dermot O'Mahony there is the inherent claim that no one else did wrong. This is not fair on these men.

While the episcopal game playing continues the rift between what matters to the people of God and the people that are entrusted with leadership deepens. In truth here has been no magnanimous gesture by those responsible for the Church in the wake of the report. No epic sign to show that real learning has taken place and real change will happen. There has been little engagement with the challenge of nurturing the people of God apart from that offered by a small number of inspiring clergy on a Sunday morning. I am reminded of something that the famous sociologist, Fr Andrew Greeley said many years ago: ''we throw everything we can at people but they still won't go away''.

Change

There is change occurring. The people are changing. The sense of obligation is evaporating. People will go to church and sacraments when they feel like it. Contributions to church collections are dropping. Parents that did everything by the book discover that their children not only don't go to church but they even profess that they no longer believe in the possibility of God. Their stance is supported by the evidence of the injustice, pain and hurt that the institution that claimed to promote Christ's message on earth did untold damage to human beings made in God's image and likeness. I can empathise with them. There have been occasions for me when faith in God as mediated through an institution that ignored the pain and hurt it caused to people was very difficult, if not nearly impossible. There were three things that provided inspiration. Firstly, a line I read in a book which looked at the story of God's people in exile. They were exiled from their institutions and their temple. Simply put it said that in exile your faith either grows or dies. If I possess something really important I'm left to my own resources to nurture it. Secondly, the remarkable and inspiring insights of the older generation.

Obedience

For many years they put up with absolute obedience and trust but when the crunch came could make a clear distinction personal faith and religious belief and the significance of local community in the face of a dysfunctional diocese and a universal Church that ''didn't get it''.

Thirdly and most significantly, the faith of people I know who were abused by clergy of Dublin Diocese. Not just their faith, but that of their families. Despite the hurt and anguish they can distinguish between what is good and what is not so good. This is why I suggest that there will be little fallout. While respect for the institutional Church is at the point where it can't get any worse, personal faith that relies less on the edicts of the institutions has grown. The task now for the Church is to learn the lesson that most clergy (who feel that they have been hung out and are now wrung out) have learnt in the last few months is that the Church must do all in its power not to come between people and their God.

Fr Alan Hilliard is Director of the NOSTRA Programme at Mary immaculate College, Limerick www.nostra.ie