Foreign Minister Micheal Martin is to meet the Pope’s ambassador to Ireland after the Vatican’s refusal to deal directly with the Dublin Archdiocese child sex abuse investigation.
The Murphy report disclosed that two letters to the Papal Nuncio seeking information went unanswered.
A similar request to Rome led to a missive to the Department of Foreign Affairs claiming proper diplomatic procedures were not being followed.
One can’t help but feel a more pastoral approach would be in order, given the seriousness of the situation in Ireland. Most ordinary people are not interested in Vatican diplomatic protocols or language, they don’t want the church to be detached and distant in the face of human suffering, they look to the Church to show leadership in the quest for truth and justice. To be dynamic and courageous as we all strive to make sense of how the abuse of children was allowed to spread from parish to parish. To expect from leaders more humility and less defensiveness as we alow the truth to set us free.
