Monday, August 08, 2011

Climate of `undeclared heresy' in Irish Church - Archbishop

Archbishop Diarmuid Martin has warned of a climate of ''undeclared heresy'' in the Church in Ireland brought about by a crisis of passing on the Faith.

In an interview with Italian daily newspaper La Stampa in the wake of the Cloyne Report Dr Martin also said the Taoiseach Enda Kenny's failure to give credit to the ''radical reform'' of procedures introduced by Pope Benedict XVI was ''unfortunate''.

He said: ''the crisis of the Irish Church is not simply a crisis related to sexual abuse of minors. These are symptoms of a deeper crisis.

''The crisis goes much deeper. It is a crisis of Faith, a crisis of transmission of the Faith and in many cases a lack of understanding of the nature of the Church,'' he said.

The archbishop added: ''Ireland is now a highly secularised society, and many look to the Church through a secularised lens to the point that, in a sense, one could speak of what I call 'a climate of undeclared heresy' that pervades many dimensions of understanding of Faith among Catholics''.

On the Taoiseach's speech in the Dáil in which he attacked the Vatican Archbishop Martin said ''unfortunately,'' Mr Kenny, ''failed to mention the radical reforms made to Church procedures under the guidance of the Pope.

''There is no doubt that the Irish Church today is a far safer place for children than it was just a few years ago,'' he said.

He said Pope Benedict's norms ''have undoubtedly been a great support in encouraging the Church in Ireland and elsewhere, in an attempt to follow a clear cut and consistent course of action against paedophilia.''