The new Association of Catholic Priests, which emerged this week, will aim to give a voice to the ordinary foot soldiers labouring in parishes up and down the country. Many priests have felt as let down as their parishioners by sexual abuse by some of their brethren and the reckless cover-up and hopeless mismanagement of the abuse by their bishops.
Uniting Ireland’s disparate priests will not be an easy task. Uniting them behind this new movement’s one-sided manifesto will be even more difficult.
It’s not the first time priests in Ireland have tried to raise their voice in the Church. The National Conference of Priests of Ireland (NCPI) emerged in the 1970s as a kind of trade union. The group began agitating for better pension rights and employment conditions for priests but was hugely resisted by the hierarchy. Down through the centuries the Catholic hierarchy has become adept at dealing with bothersome movements within the Church: they either suppress it, or if a movement can’t be suppressed, they take it over. And so it was with the NCPI. The bishops soon appointed one of their own to be a ‘delegate’ to the body and orchestrated a clever takeover. The group started organising on a national basis with complex elections taking place in every diocese in the country. Within a few years a bureaucratic nightmare was born as a vast and unwieldy infrastructure became dominant and the original mission became less-and-less important.
Many priests were left disillusioned and felt that the body lacked the teeth or the direction to give the leadership needed. Starved of spontaneity the group soon floundered.
In the midst of that losing battle one priest, Fr John Littleton, was elected President and struggled valiantly to represent his brother priests in an often cynical and harsh environment. When bishops were treating priests unfairly, it was John Littleton who was highlighting their plight. When overly-strict child protection measures left innocent priests kicked out of ministry by bishops keen to avoid taint, again it was John Littleton who spoke out often making him an unpopular character with the bishops.
When time came for John to retire in 2007 a meeting was called to elect a new president. Not one of Ireland’s 6,000 or so priests came forward to offer their name and the group was unceremoniously disbanded with some faint disappointment but by-and-large apathy.
It that context, it’s hard to see any form of vibrant group emerging. Priests by their training and ministry increasingly have to act as lone rangers. From a time in the 1950s when Ireland produced so many priests it had to export half of them, dioceses are now suffering the adverse effects of the vocations crisis with many priests covering several parishes alone. The Church, Maynooth sociologist Fr Liam Ryan recently observed, “will go the same way as the rural garda stations, there’ll be two curates in a squad car covering half a county”. His observation, while amusing, is coming to pass in many dioceses where some parishes no longer have a resident priest.
Another problem is that the manifesto adopted by the would-be priest-leaders of the fledgling movement is divisive and unlikely to appeal to a majority of priests, especially younger priests. One of the organisers, Ballina-based Fr Brendan Hoban, has been campaigning for liberal reform in the Catholic Church for decades. At a conference of liberal-minded Catholics in 2007 just weeks after the NCPI collapsed admitted that, by now, his fellow travellers were “an ageing and diminishing coterie of Vatican II aficionados huddling together for warmth”. Despite that realisation the new manifesto is narrow in its appeal and is decidedly aimed at liberal elements within the Church. The organisers are clever, however, not to challenge the Church calling for a “re-evaluation” of Catholic sexual morality rather than change, “an equal place for women” rather than an outright call for ordination for women.
But where the restive clerics are likely to fall down is that while the issues they seek to address may be within the sphere of concern of Irish priests they are most definitely not within their sphere of influence. Most of the matters covered in the manifesto are reserved to the Pope and the Vatican. Priests in the west of Ireland can huff and puff all they like about a “re-evaluation” of sexual morality without the Vatican taking a blind bit of notice. Policy is decided in Rome and core teachings will not change. Besides, many priests, particularly those for whom “the spirit of Vatican II” is a distant reminder of a bygone era, don’t want the Vatican to change the Church’s core teachings. A number of prominent priests who have been canvassed for support have already poured coldwater on the idea. Many other priests are likely to be left cold by a movement seeking to represent them that they have not been involved in moulding.
Crucially the new grouping is silent on the day-to-day issues that affect many priests: the distant and sometimes cold leadership of their bishops, the disconnectedness of the hierarchy, an increasingly elderly clergy taking on a huge workload, dwindling pension pots, uncertainty about retirement care etc.
There’s hardly another body of people in Irish society who are not represented in some fashion, so it’s certainly true that Catholic priests in Ireland need some sort of movement that will represent their interests. When the reformers meet in Portlaoise on September 15 they will be hoping that their movement will gain wide appeal among their brother priests and become such a movement. I don’t fancy their chances.
Follow Michael: www.twitter.com/MKellyIrishCath
Now this Heretical Group wants to support a Priest who promotes Homosexuality and also today they suggest rejection of The New Missal.
Do they think the Apostles guided by the Holy Ghost would not have meant everyone when they used the word "Men".These Priests are taking their Orders from those who want to destroy the Church.
These priests seem intent on going against Papal Authority,promoting the ordination of women,which is simply not possible,and blatant Heresy.
The greatest virtue practiced by the Saints was obedience.
If you like myself almost had a seizure of joy when you read the above headline, then either look away now if you want the feeling to remain or read on to be filled in on the real motivation.
I receive my preview of the Irish Catholic newspaper this morning which tries to give us a flavour of what is coming up in Thursdays issue. The second headline was the above. Immediately I had visions of clerics uniting together to defend Orthodox Catholic values and practices. As I began to read this is what I learned: "A new priests' movement is being planned to push for a reformation within Irish Catholicism. The push, which will include a call for the Church to re-evaluate its teaching on sexuality as well as "an equal place for women in all areas of Church life" is the brainchild of three prominent priests."
Even though my heart sank deeply, I should have known better. Having watched that excuse of a 'Would you Believe special' on RTE which ran with the title "A faith in crisis", I had resigned myself to thinking that we are not to expect much in the way of proper renewal within the Church for some time to come. If anything we are to prepare ourselves for further disappointments and scandals with respect to 'faith development'. I thought I had seen it all. These 3 prominent priests whose names I can probable guess are simply jumping on the bandwagon of what is very misguided and ignorant opinion. Yes people are angry and rightly so. I have no problem with this anger and even feel it myself. What I have problems with is the fact that justifiable anger is being communicated through deep seated ignorance. I do not use the term ignorance as a derogatory term but one that communicates a lack of knowledge. The ignorance that is now sprouting from this anger must be challenged, corrected and rebutted. Who in this country is going to do it? How is it to be done? What we are witnessing is the domination of what is called 'vincible ignorance', and this ignorance i.e. that which can be corrected must be met head on and challenged by moral diligence. There's the challenge of renewal right there.
In my opinion ignorance is having it's day. Ignorance is being listened to by those who should know better. Ignorance is now credible in the Church. When you see Bishops nodding at what they know is off the scale in terms of faith and morals then you know the depth of the problem that faces true renewal. Ignorance is breeding at an alarming rate, and it's voice is being heard above the silent prayers and devotions of those who are with Peter. Yet, we must have no fear. Yes, the current dominance of ignorance is a lot to put up and causes deep hurt, but it is transient. True and holy faith will remain when all else has passed. This has been proven over the centuries. So again we look forward with silent trust in God.
Shortly after I had read this headline and taster, I then read an entry from Fr Tim Finigan's blog "The Hermeneutic of Continuity" in which he reported on a open letter of support from some British Priests for the Holy Father and his visit to Britian. The letter was penned by Fr. Ray Blake and is open to Priests to add their signatures. In the letter Fr Blake mentions the possibility of setting up something along the lines of the Confraternity of Catholic Clergy which operates in Australia.
The ACCC is constituted under statutes in conforming with the 1983 Code of Canon Law under Canon 278.1, which states "Secular clergy have the right of association with others for the achievement of purposes befitting the clerical state." Now here's the best part. The Aims of the ACCC are to
give glory and honour to the Most Blessed Trinity
assist the eternal salvation and holiness of members
foster unity among Catholic priests and deacons with the bishops in loyalty
to the Supreme Magisterium
encourage faithfulness to priestly life and ministry
assist bishops, priests, and deacons in the fulfilment of their ministry of teaching, sanctifying, and ruling.
Isn't that so edifying?? I wonder why this association lasted and the Irish model died away??? And if you think that's good look at the next paragraph:
"Motions presented to the AGM shall be in total accord with the Code of Canon Law, with the Magisterium and the faith and morals of the One, Holy, Catholic, Apostolic and Roman Church, and in utter obedience to and reflecting respect for and reverence toward the authority, position and person of the Supreme Pontiff, the Vicar of Christ and Bishop of Rome, and the Bishops teaching in union with him."
Could you imagine the reaction to Irish clergy, religious or laity who stood up and said that they were going to form a group of clerics who espoused the above noble values? The ridicule, the mockery, the martyrdom....... noble fruits indeed. Could there be even a handful of priests, religious and laity in Ireland who are willing to stand up now, grab the rudder of the Irish Catholic Church and with all their strength steer the into the wake of the Barque of Peter? Yes the wake is a turbulent area but the course is set and the destination certain.
Now Priests of Ireland. We are at a watershed moment in the history of the Catholic Church in Ireland and you are being given a choice in the way you go forward from here. This is most definitely a sheep and goats moment. I wonder which side each would choose?