(remember, the bishops of Ireland recently concluded their ad limina visit in Rome, in which the topic of clerical sexual abuse came up)
It was the pope’s first public statement on the sexual abuse crisis since his election in April 2005, and it played to largely positive notice in the Irish press, especially in light of the fact that a government commission is presently examining sex-abuse complaints lodged against the clergy of Dublin between 1975 and 2004. Its official charge is to look for “any evidence of attempts on the part of those authorities to obstruct, prevent or interfere with the proper investigation of such complaints.”
In that context, the pope’s words were widely taken as a mandate for the church to cooperate with the inquiry.
Martin said that Benedict’s abhorrence of sexual abuse by clergy seemed clear in their conversation, with the pope expressing astonishment, for example, that priests could engage in such conduct and then celebrate Mass.
On other matters, Martin said that Benedict had expressed keen interest in how the church in Ireland is engaging the worlds of culture – art, literature, and the intellectual life of the country. The pope asked, for example, about the university founded by Cardinal John Henry Newman, and what impact it has had on shaping Irish culture.
Martin said he has made the point that while it’s easy to become consumed in the problems of day-to-day church management, the pope’s line of questioning is a reminder that none of that matters if it’s not in service to the deeper challenge of evangelizing the culture.
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