Bishop Leo O’Reilly’s Message for Lent 2010

In his Lenten Message this year Pope Benedict says: “Each year, on the occasion of Lent, the Church invites us to a sincere review of our lives in the light of the teachings of the Gospel”. Those words of the Pope were particularly relevant to us as we met with the Pope during the week and examined the crisis in the Church in Ireland and how our own failures as bishops have contributed to that crisis. Lent is a time of penance in which we humbly acknowledge our past failings. We repent because we have allowed evil and sin to cloud the clear call of the Gospel. The words of the prophet Joel speak to us in a special way this year: ‘Let the priests and ministers of the Lord lament before his altar and say: spare us Lord; spare your people’.

Over the past months the Bishops have been engaging in a listening process with survivors of abuse, the lay faithful, religious and priests. Survivors have left us in no doubt about the dreadful betrayal of trust that they experienced. You, the People of God, have expressed your anger, bewilderment, shock and sadness. You rightly ask, how could this have happened? You feel that the leaders of the Church let you down. Many generous, hard-working priests and religious also feel very demoralised.

In today’s gospel St Luke tells us how Jesus was led into the wilderness by the Spirit and tempted by the devil. The story reminds us starkly about the reality of evil. The battle between good and evil goes on within each of us and in the Church itself. Where there is great good, evil can often exist close at hand. Jesus shows us a way to overcome the power of Satan – the way of fasting, prayer and complete obedience to the Word of God. Lent invites us to embark once more on the journey of repentance and renewal.

Our meeting with Pope Benedict was a very fruitful meeting although it is only the beginning of a process. The Holy Father spent a full day and a half listening to our contributions on all aspects of the problem. There was straight talking, openness and dialogue. He was clearly pained and saddened by what he heard.

What did we talk about? Obviously the impact on survivors dominated the discussion. But we also spoke about the impact on all the faithful Catholics who struggle to go on believing and practising; the impact on priests and religious; on vocations to the priesthood and religious life; on the Church’s involvement in education. We spoke about the need for training for bishops in dealing with this problem; the need for better training for students for the priesthood and for greater involvement of lay people and women in the structures of the Church. We talked about celibacy, about a culture of clericalism and secrecy in the life of the Church.

There was great disappointment about the Statement issued by the Vatican after the meeting because it didn’t contain an apology or concrete proposals. There is not the slightest doubt that the Pope is devastated by the abuse that has taken place and has often expressed his sorrow about it. I am quite sure that his letter will address that in due course. The fact that he gave so much time and listened so attentively shows that he is totally committed to rooting out this evil from the heart of the Church. The journey of renewal has only begun. We will read what Pope Benedict has to say in his pastoral letter. The Holy Father will encourage us, but this journey of renewal is primarily the work of the People of God in Ireland, inspired by the Holy Spirit.

We are determined that the failures of the past will not happen again. Since 1996, we have regularly reviewed our national policy and procedures for safeguarding children. We want to have best practice in this area. We are co-operating fully with the statutory authorities and with the National Board for Safeguarding Children to ensure that our procedures are being fully implemented. We have been encouraged by your tremendous support and partnership in implementing all civil and Church obligations in regard to the safety of children. Many volunteers have come forward and been trained in all our parishes to help keep children safe in every Church activity. It is only by working together that we can restore confidence and credibility in this critical area.

I pray that this process which has just begun may lead us to be a more humble, loving and caring Church. May this Lent be a time of repentance and renewal for all of us.

Leo O’Reilly

Bishop of Kilmore.