Further details of the Apostolic Visitation emerged this week with the announcement of the senior prelates who will lead the investigation into Church life in Ireland. The panel of Visitors has been described as somewhat of an 'A-Team' by veteran Vatican-watcher John L. Allen in The Irish Catholic this week (see page 8).

There are varying degrees of expectation being expressed in relation to the visitation. The initiative has been broadly welcomed in Irish ecclesiastical circles and Church leaders here have been eager to express their willingness to welcome the Visitors with open arms.

While the visitation is obviously a welcome sign of the seriousness with which the Holy See is responding to the crisis in Irish Catholicism it would be quite wrong to see it as a panacea for all of our ills or expect that the conclusion of the visitation will lead to an automatic renewal in the Church here.

The real importance of an Apostolic Visitation rarely lies in immediate changes. What it can offer, though, is the opportunity for a particular Church beset by difficulties to recalibrate itself against the Gospel standards of love and mercy and the Church's mandate to be a communion of believers united by faith in Christ and the belief that Christianity has something radical and necessary to offer our modern age.

It is a sign of the seriousness with which the task is being considered in Rome that the Holy See has chosen such a high-profile team to undertake the visitation to Ireland. It is gratifying too that the aspect of the Apostolic Visitation that will deal with men and women religious will be undertaken by members of religious communities who are known for fiercely guarding the necessary and vital independence of consecrated life.

However, if the Apostolic Visitation is to have real meaning and significance for the life of the Christian community in Ireland it will be necessary to engage as many voices as possible, and certainly not all institutional voices. Mechanisms and structures will have to be found to hear the voice of the People of God in Ireland about the future of their Church.

Accepting what the Sacred Scriptures and theologians describe what might be called the 'priesthood of all believers' necessitates the certain belief that the Holy Spirit speaks not just through hierarchy or institutions but also through all men and women who take on a unique dignity by virtue of their baptism.

For the Apostolic Visitation to be a success and contribute towards the vital process of renewal these voices will need to be heard.