Ireland’s closure of the Vatican embassy was the correct decision
Embassy closure sparks debate
By Irish Voice Editorial,
The Irish government decision last week to close its Vatican Embassy in Rome was the correct one.
It has ignited some controversy in Ireland, where many have claimed it is payback time for the Vatican interfering in the church abuse scandals in Ireland.
Taoiseach (Prime Minster) Enda Kenny has stated that the closure was no such thing, but that might be taken with more than a grain of salt.
So what if it is? Someone needed to make clear to the Vatican that their action in blocking a legal Irish investigation into pedophile priests was criminal activity in itself.
The Vatican, because of its lofty role in the world, has tried to portray itself as above any such considerations, but it is a tale being retold far too often around the world.
The church as an institution is still on the back foot on this one, unable or unwilling to recognize the damage done and act accordingly.
Only in recent times, and thanks to inspirational figures like Archbishop Diarmuid Martin in Dublin and Cardinal Sean O’Malley in Boston, have we seen church elders stand up and take responsibility for the horrific acts that were done by professed priests.
The lives of thousands of children were destroyed by sexual predators, and many in the Vatican saw no evil.
Amazingly, it was this current Irish government that spoke up loudly and clearly soon after they took office.
Kenny’s speech in the Dail on the matter has already gone down in history as one of the most important he will ever make.
It established a marker that such behavior would not be tolerated in the future, and that the Irish government was no longer prepared to turn a blind eye to Vatican complicity in a cover-up.
The fact that Ireland is the Vatican’s longest standing satellite and where the church had by far the greatest influence makes that move all that more courageous.
Now the Irish government has taken the next obvious step. The closure of the Vatican Embassy is, no doubt, a direct result of the child abuse cover-ups.
The backlash made such a closure possible, and there has been remarkably little negative comment apart from the usual hierarchy suspects to it in Ireland.
The Vatican has no one to blame but its own institutional rules and determination to protect the privileged at all costs.
We are seeing the corrosive effects of that child abuse across Irish society where, in times of economic hardship, the church had a major role as bulwark of the community and society.
A recent opinion poll showed that barely 50% of the Irish people had any faith anymore in church institutions.
Currently we are witnessing the church making superfluous changes to the language of the Mass, and portraying the move as some kind of major initiative.
Would it not be better to get its house in order on issues like sex abuse, deeply consider why such a catastrophe befell the church, and try and find a new way in the future to become more open and responsive?
Nero, Rome and fiddling come to mind when reading about the new language for the Mass, which seems right now to be the church’s greatest priority.
Read more: http://www.irishcentral.com/news/Irelands-close-of-the-Vatican-embassy-was-the-correct-one--133560718.html#ixzz1dNe71IPQ
Vacating the Vatican
Sir, – The Conference of Religious of Ireland (Cori) is surprised and disappointed with the Government’s decision to close the embassy to the Holy See. We ask the Government to reconsider this decision, for which no reasonable justification has been offered.
An embassy exists in the first place, not for economic or market reasons, but to keep the Government in the home country informed on issues and secondly to cultivate good relations with the host country and other serving diplomats stationed in that country.
There are close to 80 ambassadors accredited to the Holy See and based in Rome with a further 100 located elsewhere. This extensive network provides unparalleled opportunities for exchanges on a range of issues. In addition to this the Vatican has over 200 embassies worldwide.
Last week, Russia raised its embassy to the Vatican to ambassadorial level. We need every possible international connection and good relationship in these difficult times – and closing an embassy, which has served us well over the decades, seems like a retrograde and unnecessary step. – Yours, etc,
MARIANNE O’CONNOR OSU,
Director General,
Cori, Bloomfield Avenue,
Donnybrook, Dublin 4.
Sir, – Vincent Twomey (Opinion, November 10th) seems confused about the difference between Church and State, both in Ireland and the Vatican. The Pope, unique among religious leaders, is both a head of state (or should I say statelet) and head of the Roman Catholic Church. The International Eucharistic Congress in 2012 is an Irish Catholic Church event and the bishops can invite to it anyone they want to. The Pope can attend it as head of the Catholic Church as the previous Pope did in Scotland in 1982 where he made a pastoral visit. The Government can make it a State visit if it wants to, but I doubt if there is a public appetite for that.
By the way, now that we have closed the embassy to the Vatican, will the Angelus on RTÉ be the next thing to go? I certainly hope so. – Yours, etc,
TOM FULLER,
Old Finglas Road, Glasnevin,
Dublin 11.
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