|
Post by Askel McThurkill on Oct 5, 2022 13:15:12 GMT
This is a matter dear to Michael Kelly's heart. St John Paul II was supposed to visit the north, but the assassination of Lord Mountbatten derailed this (I am cynical enough to think this came into the 'anything you can do, I can do better' category: the INLA could get into a House of Commons car park earlier that year to plant a bomb which killed the then Conservative spokesman on Northern Ireland, Airey Neave, who was very close to Margaret Thatcher; the Provisional IRA needed to go bigger and better, so they hit at the Royal Family. Be that as it may). However, Michael Kelly brings to other scenarios into this. The prospect of a reigning pope visiting Northern Ireland was very much envisaged by the architects of the Peace Process. There were two opportunities for this to happen. One was the Eucharistic Congress in 2012. Popes don't normally attend these, but it would have been a good pretext for Benedict to visit the North. This was scuppered by a poisonous, petty, stupid, inadequate individual by the name of Enda Kenny whom the people of Mayo, members of Fine Gael and anyone who voted him in 2011 should be ashamed of (those who did so in 2016 could be beyond redemption). And don't give me the excuse about the sexual abuse scandals: Inda was well able to accept the benediction of the then Cardinal Theodore McCarrick at a dinner with Joe Biden. Enda's pathetic grasp on theology (which he outlined to Gay Byrne on TV) was probably informed by Tony Flannery (God, Garrett went to Rev Professor Enda McDonough). Then in 2018, Diarmuid Martin was absolutely adamant that Pope Francis shouldn't go north. No matter what Unionist politicians, Anglican bishops and Presbyterian moderators said, Dermo did not want the Pope leaving the state. He could arrange for him to address the self-style dignitaries that make up the Republic's body politic, God help us, but he avoided an opportunity to make real history at a time when this is necessary. It is very clear neither Enda Kenny nor Diarmuid Martin are men of vision. Anyone could have told me that in Kenny's case, but why people still cheerlead Dermo is beyond me.
|
|
|
Post by Alaisdir Ua Séaghdha on Oct 6, 2022 17:56:36 GMT
For anyone who mightn't have noticed the link: www.irishcatholic.com/pope-in-the-north-is-the-unfinished-business-of-reconciliation-project/ Yes, the fact Enda Kenny was Taoiseach is a matter for many people to go to confession because I heard a great many arguments for voting in their favour in 2011. The Phoenix attributed Enda's ' Elitist, narcissist, disfunction al' speech (geddit, spells "Enda") to conversations with Diarmuid Martin which he was less than discrete about.
|
|
|
Post by Beinidict Ó Niaidh on Oct 7, 2022 11:07:05 GMT
This looks like a place to discuss Diarmuid Martin, who was Archbishop of Dublin and Primate of Ireland between 2004 and 2021, which is long enough to have an effect.
I have heard people say that he was a good man and he certainly got a relatively easy ride from the media, with The Phoenix once regarding him as papabile. Of course, he is the brother of the former Irish Times Moscow correspondent Séamus Martin, so there is a sense that he was 'one of their own'.
But this is a place to act as advocatus diaboli.
Was Dublin in better shape after his tenure? No. Was it in worse shape than it would have been without him? I don't know. Bishops could be much worse.
The scandal of the day when he took over Dublin was sexual abuse of minors by priests and he made his reputation on that. But, remember that though new information arose in his term of office regarding legacy cases, no new cases arose. This was typical of general trends. This is in contrast to what Cardinal Connell faced. There had been no public history of it and the cardinal was very ill-prepared for what he was presented with. What he found very difficult was the fact priests were lying to him (I am talking about offenders), which goes with nature of paedophilia. He had to put the protocols and structures in place. Archbishop Martin came in with a squeaky clean record and he could pontificate. The retired Dublin auxilliary bishop Dermot O'Mahony wrote him an uncharacteristically forthright letter pointing this out. I know the National Board of Safeguarding Children gave Archbishop Martin a triple A rating, but it is less remarked on that Archbishop Neary of Tuam and Bishop O'Reilly of Kilmore got the same. I don't know the history in Kilmore, but I know a bit about Tuam. Michael Neary was an auxilliary there for a few years before being named archbishop (Diarmuid was coadjutor in Dublin). When Mgr Neary was enthroned in the cathedral in Tuam, a priest was arrested in the diocese for acts in St Jarlath's College over many years (one of his victims was a nephew of the then Chief Justice Liam Hamilton). So the new Archbishop had to build up the structures himself instead of finding them ready made. On the same topic, Archbishop Martin constantly looked over his shoulder at the media and people in authority, in ways that over-rode due process.
In terms of pastoral outreach, the main remark about Archbishop Martin was his distaste for confirmations. As he was not happy to work with auxilliaries, this was delegated to priests. Now the Archbishop was not old nor infirm and he could make exceptions such as doing the EF confirmation in St Kevin's, Harrington St on occasion (once at least) and also doing confirmation in German for St Kilian's School. However, this was the exception. Another thing was the fact he had the same team of adult (largely female) altar servers around him on a constant basis. I know the climate in Dublin did not encourage children to serve Mass (instinct would have me say boys). But neither was there any effort to involve those servers in the diocese to be included in events such as the Eucharistic Congress, the World Meeting of Families or the Papal Visit. This was simply remisss and short-sighted.
I don't have to say more about the Papal Visit than what's above. But both the Eucharistic Congress and the WMF were low-key apologetic affairs and one wonders why the effort was made. One sees why Ireland could never dream of hosting a World Youth Day.
He could also hold the French journal Le Croix up as a model, but he never supported the Catholic press. It was the opinion of The Phoenix that Enda Kenny's speech (referenced above) was substantially based on conversations with Dr Martin, whom he quoted in the speech. The magazine accused Kenny of indiscretion, but it has to reflect on the judgement of the archbishop too.
What probably will anger many people on this forum is the fact the archbishop was adamant that the Pope make no statements ahead of either the 2015 referendum on same sex marriage or the 2018 referendum on abortion. Some Irish bishops agreed, but he was the most forceful. I don't think Francis thanked him for not properly briefing him during his brief Irish visit. Ahead of the Dublin Castle speech, the Pope met Michael D Higgins in Áras an Uachtaráin - the President can speak Spanish, so they could talk and I understand they have a lot of common ground. Katherine Zappone attended (she was the only cabinet member who could speak Spanish or Italian). She brought up the Tuam Mother and Baby home. The Pope wasn't prepared and later he found that Dr Zappone wasn't giving him the full story. This sort of thing may have cost Diarmuid the covetted red hat.
Another factor, Cardinal Connell looked forward and attended the diocesan Lourdes pilgrimage as often as he could. When Archbishop Martin went, he just mixed with the crowd on the opening night and posed for a group photograph (the cardinal appeared individually in official photographs with many of the sick). The Archbishop Martin flew off to Geneva to address the UN. There are many remarks about the size of his carbon footprint and the Dublin clergy called him 'Martin of Tours'
|
|
|
Post by hibernicus on Nov 12, 2022 18:44:35 GMT
One of the contributors on OnePeterFive claims Archbishop Martin's opening up the diocesan files to the Murphy Commission, and the subsequent revelation of horrors, is seen in the Vatican as exemplifying what a bishop should not do. Allowing for OnePeterFive's tendency to use any stick to beat Pope Francis (though in this case the target seems to be the Vatican bureaucracy more generally) this speaks well for Archbishop Martin.
|
|
|
Post by Alaisdir Ua Séaghdha on Feb 7, 2024 12:56:55 GMT
I think the only thing we can give Diarmuid Martin credit on is his handling of sexual abuse cases, and that has to be seriously qualified - that he came with clean hands into a situation where the hard decisions had already made and the late Cardinal Connell took the bulk of the rap. Against that, it can be said that Diarmuid Martin used the sexual abuse as a career booster in a way which other bishops who effectively dealt with the crisis (as per mail above, Michael Neary in Tuam or Leo O'Reilly in Kilmore) never did.
Against that - delegating priests to do confirmations; using the diocesan Lourdes pilgrimage as a springboard to address the UN; messing up the Eucharistic Congress and World Meeting of Families: the occasion organised in Dublin Castle where the Pope addressed this country's so-called dignitaries which was absolutely shameful - interaction between the Pope and the civil authorities in Ireland should have been kept to the absolute minimum (if it was a state visit, it would have been different, but it was a pastoral visit; on the other hand, if a civic element was necessary, the thing to do was to arrange a trip to the North, as outlined in this thread. In this failure, and it was abject failure on Archbishop Martin's part, especially as with his background in the Secretariat of State he would have been well aware of the Holy See's commitment to the Peace Process, the Pope was deprived of an opportunity to achieve some good); in addition he could pronounce about vocations and the Catholic press, without promoting any initiatives about it. I haven't addressed the alleged whispers between himself and Enda Kenny which Goldvulture alleges was the basis of the 'ENDa' speech (elite, narcissistic and dysfunctional). Martin was either a poor judge of character, or else he knew Kenny all too well. Kenny's speech did Ireland a lot of harm because the diplomatic missions of the Holy See circulated copies of the speech with a detailed response to it. This was what the then Minister for Foreign Affairs, Éamon Gilmore, said was "very technical". The half wits up and down the country who complimented Enda Kenny on saying "what needed to be said" should reflect that someone in the position Enda Kenny occupied (though someone like Enda should never have been a consideration for that office) can and did do a lot of damaged by shooting his mouth off in unsubstantiated allegations in Leinster House in the manner of a barrack room lawyer in a rural pub.
As Archbishop of Dublin and Primate of Ireland, Diarmuid Martin, substantially failed to do anything other than to get himself a good press.
|
|