In his letter to the Catholics of Ireland, under the section 'To my brother bishops' the Pope said: ''Only decisive action carried out with complete honesty and transparency will restore the respect and good will of the Irish people towards the Church.''
The treatment of the resignations of Bishop Walsh and Bishop Field in Rome was neither decisive nor transparent, and the manner in which it has been handled since, would stretch the credulity of anyone calling it honest. The Vatican, we are told by Vatican Spokesman Fr Federico Lombardi SJ, doesn't comment on non-resignations - what a tidy and convenient answer, rich in bureaucratic correctness but lacking any respect for the laity. Bishops Eamonn Walsh and Raymond Field don't want to speak either and Archbishop Diarmuid Martin went on holidays after sticking the letter to his priests in the post.
Honesty can be found at the door of Bishop Moriarty. He spoke of a deeper truth while the rest of the bishops involved engaged in Church politics and continue to do so.
Bishop Moriarty freely admits that he had not considered resigning when the Murphy Report was published because he was not directly criticised. However after reflection he concluded that the Church cannot hope to touch hearts if people do not recognise ''the gentle, endless love of the Lord'' in the way Church leaders respond to pain and suffering. Something more than ''not I'' was required. His action was a benediction, not a contradiction for the Church and for the rest of us.
Sadly, the Church in Ireland at the highest levels remains entangled in contradictions when benedictions are sorely needed.
Why was it right that Bishop Moriarty go last April, yet soon after a decision was taken that Bishops Walsh and Field would not go? We deserve to know, and have a right to know, the level of what can only be called a volte-face to the papal call for transparency in how the Church does its business as this doesn't bode well for the Apostolic Visitation.
We must all remember that what is at stake is the fragile faith of so many people in the Church (as distinct from their Christian faith). These contradictions will continue to damage people's faith and the Church's credibility. Fundamentally, it threatens the spread of the Gospel. Contradictions are not Good News.
Bishop Moriarty said, when his resignation was accepted on April 22, 2010: ''When I announced before Christmas that I was offering my resignation to the Holy Father, I explained what I hoped it might achieve.
''I hope it honours the truth that the survivors have so bravely uncovered and opens the way to a better future for all concerned.''
He told The Irish Catholic at the time: ''Ultimately, I came to the conclusion that we needed a new beginning and that I could play my part in opening the way.''
As is the norm with the prophets in the Church, they are soon out on their own, crying in the wilderness, with no-one listening. The respect and goodwill of the Irish people is unlikely to be restored anytime soon.
