Vatican's response to Irish Government



The Irish Times carries the video above of Archbishop Diarmuid Martin of Dublin giving his comments to the press on the Response of the Holy See to the Government of Ireland. Taoiseach (Prime Minister) Enda Kenny alleged in the Dáil (Irish parliament) that the Holy See had attempted 'to frustrate an Inquiry in a sovereign, democratic republic as little as three years ago, not three decades ago'. Foreign Minister Eamon Gilmore told Papa Nuncio Archbishop Giuseppe Leanza 'that the Vatican had intervened to effectively have priests believe they could in consicence evade their responsibilities under Irish law'.

The response of the Holy See is measured and lacking rancour. Archbishop Martin says of Mr Kenny's comments in the Dáil and the subsequent comments by is office 'merits explanation'.

I think that Mr Kenny's speech acted as a conduit for the anger that so many Irish people felt, including those who have stayed in the Church - and the Taoiseach spoke as one of them - and perhaps brought it home to some in the Vatican that this whole situation has done enormous damage to the Church and to its ability to carry out its mission.

Archbishop Martin notes favourably that the new Irish government is the first in the history of the state to set up a cabinet ministry for children. (The cabinet is constitutionally limited to 14 members).

I hope that this diplomatic row has cleared the air to some degree and that it will help Church and State to work together for the sake not only of those who have already been hurt but for the sake of children in the future. I hope too that all involved directly will listen to Archbishop Martin's plea that this not become another opportunity for polemics, which helps no one, least of all those who have been abused.

But more reports are on their way, that of the Diocese of Raphoe in the north-west of the country and one of the Garda Síochána, the Irish police force, that has been looking at records of their own going back 80 or 90 years.

The 'one or two bad apples' doesn't wash anymore. But I know that the vast majority of Irish priests are upright and honest men. We have seen from examples in Belgium, Austria and the USA that it is possible for a man to imprison and abuse his own children for years without the next door neighbours knowing. But it's also possible for a community to turn its eyes from awful abuse within families, as two recent examples in Ireland, where the perpetrator was the mother, have shown. Mr Kenny referred to one such case in his Dáil speech. There have been similar cases in England in recent years when social workers could have prevented the deaths of children but didn't.

And the awful reality remains that the victims of priests in Ireland are fewer that four percent of all victims of sexual abuse, according to the 2002 Savi Report, Sexual Abuse and Violence in Ireland.

'Ephphata! The Deaf Person, Herald and Witness of the Proclamation of the Gospel'

'Until they pointed it out to me, I didn’t even notice that Christ is speaking in sign language from the cross, saying “I love you.”' (Cardinal Seán's Blog).

Marge Tucker, a member of the Catholic Deaf community in Boston, presenting Cardinal O'Malley with the crucifix pictured at the top

I have been involved to a limited degree in working with the Deaf since 1992, after the death of Columban Father Joseph Coyle - we were not related - who was a pioneer in working with and for the Deaf in the Church in the Philippines. I regularly celebrate Mass in Sign Language. One of the tragedies in the Philippines is that young Deaf people are a very specific target of fundamentalist Christian groups with their roots in the USA. Young Deaf people here are easy targets for the simple reason that the Catholic Church has so far done very little to minister to them. This is not by design. Church leadership is generally on the side of the poor and those on the margins. So many are on the margins in the Philippines because of widespread poverty but the Deaf, most of whom are from poor families, are on the margins of the margins..

Cardinal Seán O'Malley OFMCap, Archbishop of Boston, celebrates Mass with the Deaf thereZenit.org carries this report on the recent Congress on the Deaf held in the Vatican. I've highlighted some parts and added [comments].

A congress on ministry with and for the Deaf was held in the Vatican recently and there are a couple of reports below.



Conclusions of Vatican Congress on the Deaf


"Herald and Witness of the Proclamation of the Gospel"

VATICAN CITY, JUNE 7, 2010 (Zenit.org).- Here is a translation of the executive conclusions adopted by the Congress on the Pastoral Care of the Deaf entitled "Ephphata! The Deaf Person, Herald and Witness of the Proclamation of the Gospel," which ended Sunday in the Vatican.


* * *


At the end of this Congress on Pastoral Care, entitled "Ephphata! The Deaf Person, Herald and Witness of the Evangelical Proclamation," organized by the Pontifical Council for Health Care Ministry, the instruments were defined for the realization of some priorities in the ambit of the integration of deaf persons in ecclesial life and more generally in society. [Deafness cuts off a person in a way that another disability doesn't. A person born deaf has no common language with his parents or with the community, including the Church community, unless he and they learn Sign Language. In my experience, the only 'native signers' I have come across are the hearing children of Deaf parents. The isolation of a deaf person is added to if his family lives in a relatively remote area and is very much added to by poverty.]

In this second stage of the dicastery's commitment to those affected by deafness, recommendations were received and began to be implemented which arose at the end of the International Conference "Ephphata! The Deaf Person in the Life of the Church," held last November in the Vatican. This result was obtained thanks to the active participation and support of exponents of the pontifical council and of other Vatican offices, of the Italian episcopal conference and of the dioceses of Rome, Bari, Brescia, Foggia, Chieti, Crotone, Padua, Patti, Vicenza, Bologna, Palermo, Sulmona, Aquila, Imperia, Agrigento, Teramo, Assisi, Florence, Foligno, Frosinone, Salerno, Milan, Trani, Modena, Tursi-Lagonegro, Venice, Messina, Perusa, Terni, Rimini and Pordenone. Added to them are the religious personnel, specialists and volunteers. A great contribution was also made by the representatives of the Church in America, Spain, Ireland, and Germany, who came to Rome for the Congress. [No Asian countries mentioned.]

These are, in synthesis, the priorities and instruments delineated during these working days:

1. To offer local and particular churches the instruments to begin to work "for and with" deaf persons, [Deaf people are not persons 'to be helped' but to be enabled, with their full cooperation, to become fully active members of the Church and of society, both giving and receiving] beginning both from specific elements for pastoral programming as well as multimedia subsidies. Among the latter, visual DVDs, which contain the translation in sign language, which will be used as an aid in the course of formation and participation in the life of the ecclesial community. [Hearing people need to be made aare of the needs of the Deaf and to be enabled to communicate with them.]

2. To take care and spread with particular commitment the "formation of formators," in the first place of future priests, of religious personnel and of all pastoral agents. [Some countries have Deaf priests and some have hearing pirests involved in full-time ministry with the Deaf. There are no deaf priests in the Philippines and very few priests in full-time work with the Deaf. By 'deaf priests' here I mean priests who were born profoundly deaf or became so while young, not priests who have grown deaf, ie, hard of hearing, as they grow older. though that can be isolating too its a different reality from that of the person born deaf.]

3. As it emerged in this congress, it is considered of essential importance that, for example, in seminaries it be possible to come close to the reality of deaf people by learning: the basis of sign language, their historical and personal experience, that is, the difficulties they meet in society and in school, as well as in the Church. Such an outline of formation, with the due adaptations, can be used everywhere. [I don't think that the average seminarian, or the average priest, has any idea of the situation of Deaf persons. This is not a condemnation of them but an observation. There are some priests and lay persons who consider a signing interpreter at Mass as a 'distraction'. When there are regular Masses with a priest who sings or with an interpreter hearing people gradually come not to notice while the Deaf are made part of the worshipping community.]

4. To make permanent, in the Pontifical Council for Health Care Ministry, the study group announced during the international conference. This organism will make possible the necessary qualities and uniformity of work carried out in this realm.

5. To create an Internet reference space, useful for the diffusion of initiatives, as well as for communication and exchange among those who work in the pastoral care of deaf persons. [The internet is a place where a deaf person can function on equal terms with hearing persons.]

6. To promote an ad hoc certification for those in the ecclesial realm translating into sign language. It is considered essential that a distinction be made between the "translator" and the "facilitator." The latter must have sufficient religious competencies to enable him to follow correctly, for example, the course of a Eucharistic liturgy, the course of the religious function.

Finally, all the participants in the congress committed themselves to see that these operative conclusions are quickly made concrete, in response to what has been requested by merit of His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI and recalled during the opening of the works of this congress by the president of the dicastery, Archbishop Zygmunt Zimowski.

Vatican City, June 6, 2010

[Translation by ZENIT]

Some of the Deaf giving the Sign of Peace, which we also use in Worldwide Marriage Encounter

Zenit.org also carried a report on 7 June, Archbishop: The Deaf Have a Place in the Church.

One paragraph in this reports reads: The prelate (Archbishop Zygmunt Zimowski) pointed out that it is important that Christians "recall the mandate received at baptism and work for the diffusion of the Gospel through personal commitment and witness, becoming true 'heralds and witnesses,' even if they cannot hear or are close to persons affected by deafness." [In other words, the Deaf have the same obligation as hearing persons to witness to the Gospel. but as tings are now, especially in the Philippines, hearing people have to enable the Deaf to claim their rightful place in the Church].

The crucifix given by the Catholic Deaf community in Boston to Cardinal Seán O'Malley

All photos from Cardinal Seán's Blog.

How the Church deals with cases of sexual abuse of minors by priests

Guide to Understanding Basic CDF Proceduresconcerning Sexual Abuse Allegations

VATICAN CITY, 12 APR 2010 (VIS) - Today the Vatican website, under the section called "Focus", published a guide to understanding the procedures of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith [CDF] on sexual abuse allegations towards minors. These are the regulations in force since 2001.

I have highlighted some parts of the document and added [comments].

The applicable law is the Motu Proprio Sacramentorum sanctitatis tutela (MP SST) of 30 April 2001 together with the 1983 Code of Canon Law. This is an introductory guide which may be helpful to lay persons and non-canonists. [The Code of Canon Law is the collection of the laws of the Church that have been enacted over the centuries in the Latin or Roman Rite of the Catholic Church. the varous laws were put together and promulgated in 1917, when the title Codex Iuris Canonici, Latin for 'Code of Canon Law', was first used. It ws revised in 1983. The Code deals with purely Church matters and is not in conflict with the civil laws of any country.]

A:  Preliminary Procedures

The local diocese investigates every allegation of sexual abuse of a minor by a cleric.

If the allegation has a semblance of truth the case is referred to the CDF.  The local bishop transmits all the necessary information to the CDF and expresses his opinion on the procedures to be followed and the measures to be adopted in the short and long term.

Civil law concerning reporting of crimes to the appropriate authorities should always be followed. [The Church, ie, Churth authorities, has been criticized, in many cases deservedly, for not reporting crimes to the civil authorities. The Dublin Report, published a few months ago in Ireland, was highly critical of a number of archbishops of Dublin for not applying canon law  well as not reporting crimes to the civil authorities. Had priests been punished by the Church very likely many minors would not have suffered as they did.]

During the preliminary stage and until the case is concluded, the bishop may impose precautionary measures to safeguard the community, including the victims. Indeed, the local bishop always retains power to protect children by restricting the activities of any priest in his diocese.  This is part of his ordinary authority, which he is encouraged to exercise to whatever extent is necessary to assure that children do not come to harm, and this power can be exercised at the bishop's discretion before, during and after any canonical proceeding. [In other words, no bishop needs Rome's 'permission' to do what he is supposed to do.] 

B: Procedures authorized by the CDF

The CDF studies the case presented by the local bishop and also asks for supplementary information where necessary.

The CDF has a number of options:

B1 Penal Processes

The CDF may authorize the local bishop to conduct a judicial penal trial before a local Church tribunal. Any appeal in such cases would eventually be lodged to a tribunal of the CDF.

The CDF may authorize the local bishop to conduct an administrative penal process before a delegate of the local bishop assisted by two assessors. The accused priest is called to respond to the accusations and to review the evidence.  The accused has a right to present recourse to the CDF against a decree condemning him to a canonical penalty.  The decision of the Cardinals members of the CDF is final.

Should the cleric be judged guilty, both judicial and administrative penal processes can condemn a cleric to a number of canonical penalties, the most serious of which is dismissal from the clerical state.  [This is a punishment by the Church. The Church can dismiss a man from the priesthood but can't put him in jail. The civil authorities can put him in jail for the same crime but can't dismiss him from the priesthood. There is no conflict between Church law and civil law.] The question of damages can also be treated directly during these procedures.

B2 Cases referred directly to the Holy Father

In very grave cases where a civil criminal trial has found the cleric guilty of sexual abuse of minors or where the evidence is overwhelming, the CDF may choose to take the case directly to the Holy Father with the request that the Pope issue a decree of "ex officio" dismissal from the clerical state.  There is no canonical remedy against such a papal decree. [In this situation the Church accepts the findings of the civil courts and dismisses a man from the priesthood without his having to go through a Church trial. Both State and Church punish according to the laws proper to them.]

The CDF also brings to the Holy Father requests by accused priests who, cognizant of their crimes, ask to be dispensed from the obligation of the priesthood and want to return to the lay state.  The Holy Father grants these requests for the good of the Church ("pro bono Ecclesiae").

B3 Disciplinary Measures

In cases where the accused priest has admitted to his crimes and has accepted to live a life of prayer and penance, the CDF authorizes the local bishop to issue a decree prohibiting or restricting the public ministry of such a priest.  Such decrees are imposed through a penal precept which would entail a canonical penalty for a violation of the conditions of the decree, not excluding dismissal from the clerical state.  Administrative recourse to the CDF is possible against such decrees.  The decision of the CDF is final. [For example, a priest may be forbidden from celebrating Mass publicly and from engaging in any pastoral work.]

C. Revision of MP SST

For some time the CDF has undertaken a revision of some of the articles of Motu Proprio [This can be translated 'on his own impulse' and is a document coming form the Pope's own initiative and signed by him. It may apply to the whole church or to a groupw within the Church.] Sacramentorum Sanctitatis tutela, in order to update the said Motu Proprio of 2001 in the light of special faculties granted to the CDF by Popes John Paul II and Benedict XVI. The proposed modifications under discussion will not change the above-mentioned procedures (A, B1-B3).

Holy See responds to New York Times on the 'Murphy Case' in Milwaukee

STATEMENT OF THE DIRECTOR OF THE HOLY SEE PRESS OFFICE, FR FEDERICO LOMBARDI, S.I., CONCERNING THE "MURPHY CASE"

On 24 March, the New York Times published a story under the heading Vatican Declined to Defrock U.S. Priest Who Abused Boys. The report included a link to a statement bythe Holy See Press Office in respons to documents shown by the NYT to them. I have highlighted parts of the statement and added some (comments).
The following is the full text of the statement given to the New York Times on March 24, 2010:

The tragic case of Father Lawrence Murphy, a priest of the Archdiocese of Milwaukee, involved particularly vulnerable victims who suffered terribly from what he did. By sexually abusing children who were hearing-impaired, Father Murphy violated the law and, more importantly, the sacred trust that his victims had placed in him. (A clear acknowledgment that the priest broke the law. I work with Deaf people and I see a particularly reprehensible aspect to the abuse that added to the trauma of young people who have a difficulty in communicating with the wider community).

During the mid-1970s, some of Father Murphy’s victims reported his abuse to civil authorities, who investigated him at that time; however, according to news reports, that investigation was dropped. The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith was not informed of the matter until some twenty years later. (The civil authorities did not pursue the case.)

It has been suggested that a relationship exists between the application of Crimen sollicitationis and the non-reporting of child abuse to civil authorities in this case. In fact, there is no such relationship. Indeed, contrary to some statements that have circulated in the press, neither Crimen nor the Code of Canon Law ever prohibited the reporting of child abuse to law enforcement authorities. (There is no conflict between civil law and canon law. The Dublin Report, done by the Irish State, was highly critical of three archbishops of Dublin for NOT following canon law, which requires a canonical trial for a priest accused of abusing children. If these trials had taken place so much harm would have been prevented. And a canonical trial would not in any way prevent the civil authorities of pursuing the matter in the civil courts.)

In the late 1990s, after over two decades had passed since the abuse had been reported to diocesan officials and the police, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith was presented for the first time with the question of how to treat the Murphy case canonically. The Congregation was informed of the matter because it involved solicitation in the confessional, which is a violation of the Sacrament of Penance. It is important to note that the canonical question presented to the Congregation was unrelated to any potential civil or criminal proceedings against Father Murphy. (Solicitation in the confessional means a priest asking a penitent to engage in sexual activity.)
In such cases, the Code of Canon Law does not envision automatic penalties, but recommends that a judgment be made not excluding even the greatest ecclesiastical penalty of dismissal from the clerical state (cf. Canon 1395, no. 2). (Some civil legal systems, eg, those of Ireland and of England, also allow judges great leeway in applying sentences). In light of the facts that Father Murphy was elderly and in very poor health, and that he was living in seclusion and no allegations of abuse had been reported in over 20 years, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith suggested that the Archbishop of Milwaukee give consideration to addressing the situation by, for example, restricting Father Murphy’s public ministry and requiring that Father Murphy accept full responsibility for the gravity of his acts. Father Murphy died approximately four months later, without further incident. (The man was near death and clearly was no danger to anyone at that stage, no allegations having been made for over 20 years. It can indeed be argued that dismissal from the priesthood would have been a clear sign to the victims that they had been listened to. But the decision not to do that did not put any yong person in danger.)

[00405-02.01] [Original text: English]

[B0167-XX.01]

Apology (?) of papal nuncio to Ireland

Archbishop Giuseppe Leanza, Papal Nuncio to Ireland, outside Irish Department of Foreign Affairs yesterday

The Papal Nuncio to Ireland, Archbishop Giuseppe Leanza, met yesterday with Irish Minister for Foreign Affairs, Micheál Martin. The meeting was at the request of the latter due to the failure of the nuncio, of his predecessor and of the the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF) to reply to letters from the Murphy Commission on the abuse of children by priests in the Archdiocese of Dublin.

Religious Affairs Correspondent Patsy McGarry reports in today's Irish Times:

Following a meeting with Minister for Foreign Affairs Micheál Martin in Iveagh House, Archbishop Leanza said: “I express my shock and dismay and certainly I understand the anger of the people and the suffering of those who were abused, so we certainly condemn this . . . If there was any mistake from our side we always apologise for this.”

Dr Leanza stressed there was no intention on the part of the Vatican not to co-operate with the Murphy commission and acknowledged that he himself should have responded to a letter from the commission.

Mr Martin said he had conveyed to the nuncio the Irish public’s “deep anger and outrage” over the Murphy report findings. He also insisted on full co-operation by the church with the ongoing inquiry by the Murphy commission into the handling of clerical child sex abuse allegations in Cloyne diocese.

At least the nuncio acknowledged that he should have replied to the letter sent to him. But his 'if there was any mistake from our side we always apologise for this' comes across to me as a non-apology.

RTÉ, Ireland's national TV and radio service, reports Vatican 'dismayed' at Murphy Report findings and there are links on that page to radio and TV reports. You will find links there to both audio and video reports.

Abusive priests teach, in effect, that Jesus is a child molester

I happened to come across one of the weekly columns that Canadian priest Fr Raymond de Souza (above) writes for the National Post and includes on his own website. This particle column, posted on 29 October, was The Vatican’s man in Canada . He was praising the outgoing nuncio to Canada, Archbishop Luigi Ventura.

What caught my eye was Father de Souza’s clarification of what a nuncio is and isn’t:

The apostolic nuncio is generally thought of as ambassador of one state to another, but that is not quite right. The Vatican City State does not have diplomatic relations with any country. Diplomatic relations are with the Holy See.

What’s the difference? The Holy See is the legal expression of the pope’s role as universal pastor of the Church. States maintain diplomatic relations with the supreme authority of the Catholic Church, which is recognized as a sovereign power in international law.

Mrs Mary O'Rourke TD (member of Irish parliament)

My reading of what Father de Souza wrote is that a nuncio represents the pope as pastor. That means that when the current papal nuncio to Ireland, Archbishop Giuseppe Leanza, who was appointed on 22 February last year, and his immediate predecessor, Archbishop Giuseppe Lazzarotto, now nuncio to Australia, refused to even reply to letters from the Murphy Commission, set up by the Irish government to look into the sexual abuse of children by priests in the Archdiocese of Dublin, they were, in effect, giving the ‘two fingers’ to these children – in the name of the universal pastor of the Church. Here is what the Dublin Report says about Rome’s refusal to cooperate:

Documents held by Rome

‘2.23 The Commission wrote to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF) in Rome in September 2006 asking for information on the promulgation of the document Crimen Sollicitationis (see Chapter 4) as well as information on reports of clerical child sexual abuse which had been conveyed to the Congregation by the Archdiocese of Dublin in the period covered by the Commission. The CDF did not reply. However, it did contact the Department of Foreign Affairs stating that the Commission had not gone through appropriate diplomatic channels. The Commission is a body independent of government and does not consider it appropriate for it to use diplomatic channels.

‘2.24 The Commission wrote to the Papal Nuncio in February 2007 requesting that he forward to the Commission all documents in his possession relevant to the Commission's terms of reference, “which documents have not already been produced or will not be produced by Archbishop Martin”. The letter further requested the Papal Nuncio, if he had no such documentation, to confirm this. No reply was received. The Commission does not have the power to compel the production of documents by the Papal Nuncio or the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. The Commission again wrote to the Papal Nuncio in 2009 enclosing extracts from the draft report which referred to him and his office as it was required to do. Again, no reply was received.’ (My emphases).

The CDF found time to complain to the Irish Department of Foreign Affairs about protocol but apparently didn’t give a damn about abused children in Dublin.

Irish Foreign Minister Micheál Martin

Last Saturday Paddy Agnew, The Irish Times correspondent in Rome wrote the following:

Last week I rang the Holy See press office looking for an official reaction to the Dublin diocesan report. The Vatican’s senior spokesman, Fr Federico Lombardi, patiently trotted out the standard Holy See line as to how such “matters” were the concern of the local church. The Vatican was aware of the seriousness of the report but did not want to interfere, added the spokesman.

Given that the report continued to greatly exercise and trouble minds in Ireland, I inquired next day if the Holy See had anything to add. This time, Fr Lombardi’s number two, Don Ciro Benedettini, answered the phone.

When he heard my voice, knowing what I would want to ask, Don Ciro began to laugh. It was a friendly, inoffensive laugh of the sort that said, “Come on, Paddy, We have nothing more to say on this matter.”

This to me indicates that the press people in the Vatican are out of touch. The lack of response of the two nuncios – acting officially in the name of Pope Benedict – and of the CDF show utter contempt. Do the two nuncios have the same contempt for Pope Benedict, whom they officially represent, as they do for the Irish people?

Archbishop Giuseppe Leanza, Papal Nuncio to Ireland

Archbishop Diarmuid Martin of Dublin (left) with Archbishop Giuseppe Lazzarotto, previous papal nuncio to Ireland

Last week in the Dáil, the Irish parliament, Mary O’Rourke of the main government party, Fianna Fáil, spoke scathingly of the current nuncio: ‘Consider the discourtesy of the head of the Vatican parading around Ireland in his wonderful glitzy clothes but not replying to letters.’ She reminded me of something our rector, Fr Joe Flynn, one of three brothers who became Columbans and a canon lawyer, said in one of his First Friday talks in St Columban’s College, Dalgan Park, back in the 1960s, ‘If I were pope for half an hour I’d get rid of all those red belly-bands’.

Today, Tuesday, Archbishop Leanza will be visiting the office of the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Micheál Martin, to explain why he and his predecessor refused to reply to the Commission. He has been summoned by the minister. (Mr Martin was very much personally involved in the recent successful efforts to obtain the release of kidnapped Irish Columban Fr Michael Sinnott in the Philippines). The nuncio, at his own request, met the secretary general of the Department of Foreign Affairs, last week.

Cardinal Seán Brady, Archbishop of Armagh

Paddy Agnew and Patsy McGarry report in today’s Irish Times that Cardinal Seán Brady of Armagh and Archbishop Diarmuid Martin of Dublin will meet Pope Benedict to discuss the whole situation. Nuncio Leanza will be there too along with ‘Senior Vatican Curia figures with specific competence in this area’.

The Irish Times report includes this, to me, strange paragraph:

They [‘Vatican insiders’] say Friday’s meeting is a direct intervention from the Holy See, and has been called by an increasingly frustrated Pope Benedict XVI. The sources say the pope will argue the Irish clerical sex-abuse crisis has gone on far too long and will urge Irish church leaders to find a definitive exit from the crisis.

Is this more concern for ‘the good name’ of the [institutional] Church?

Vincent Browne wrote in his column Vatican cannot escape blame in abuse scandal in the Sunday Business Post last Sunday:

One final reflection. This quite proper outrage over the bishops and the cover-ups and the lies disguises a larger phenomenon.The incidence of child sex abuse in Ireland is enormous.

According to that Sexual Abuse and Violence in Ireland (SAVI) report of 2002, around 320,000 people were raped in childhood, and there is little reason to believe the incidence of child rape has diminished.The incidence of child rape among the clergy is certainly greater than among the population at large, but only about 4 per cent of child rapes have been perpetrated by the clergy.

The government shows no interest at all, aside from the odd photo opportunity.

In her column Fighting to implement change in a positive way in last Saturday’s Irish Times in which she commented on the Dublin Report, Breda O’Brien has this throwaway line: Not to mention the discovery last February that 20 children have died in [State] care since 2000 – to which we seem supremely indifferent.

While I find the SVI figure of 320,000 being raped in childhood difficult to believe, I hope that the 20 children who have died in State 'care' in recent years and the 96 percent of children – whatever the actual figure - abused by others rather than by priests or religious will not be forgotten.

But one awful reality is that the priests 'configured to Christ' by their ordination, as Pope John Paul emphasised so strongly in Pastores Dabo Vobis, who abused the four percent in Dublin in effect taught these children that Jesus is a child molester. One, as if to emphasise this, used a crucifix in raping a young girl.

The Church in Ireland and Rome/the Vatican/the Holy See cannot sweep this under the carpet.

Vatican Conference for the Deaf

Jesus heals the deaf man

Perhaps the most isolating physical disability is deafness. A person who is born profoundly deaf shares no common language even with his own family, much less with the wider community. Here in the Philippines many deaf children never go to school. Only larger urban centers have schools or special education departments for deaf students.

Deaf persons are often perceived by others to be stupid, hence our English term 'dumb'. When I was growing up in Ireland we usually referred to deaf persons as 'deaf and dumb'. That term wasn't pejorative but it embodied another common false perception, that the deaf are unable to speak. They have the same speaking equipment as hearing people but because they don't hear they don't learn to speak in the way that hearing people do. But deaf children can be taught to speak. The term 'deaf-mute' is still widely used, embodying the same mis-perception.

The Catholic Church in the Philippines still has a long way to go in its ministry to and with deaf people. Those who are profoundly deaf often refer to their community as 'the Deaf', with a capital 'D'. They do not use the term 'hearing impaired'. I would be inclined to use that term for hearing peole whose hearing becomes somewhat impaired with old age, for example. The word 'deaf' is not an impolite term.

The Vatican Information Service carried a report on Tuesday of a CONFERENCE ON DEAF PEOPLE IN THE LIFE OF THE CHURCH. Here is the report:

VATICAN CITY, 17 NOV 2009 (VIS) - This morning in the Holy See Press Office, the presentation took place of the 24th international conference promoted by the Pontifical Council for Health Pastoral Care. The theme of this year's gathering is "Effata! Deaf people in the life of the Church", and the event is due to be held in the Vatican's New Synod Hall from 19 to 21 November.

Participating in today's press conference were Archbishop Zygmunt Zimowski, Bishop Jose L. Redrado O.H. and Msgr. Jean-Marie Mpendawatu, respectively president, secretary and under secretary of the Pontifical Council for Health Pastoral Care; Fr. Savino Castiglione of the Congregation "Little Mission for the Deaf", and Marco Radici, director of the ENT unit of the Hospital of St. John of God "Fatebenefratelli" in Rome.

There are 278 million people in the world who suffer from hearing impairment, of whom 59 million are profoundly deaf. Eighty percent of deaf people live in the less-developed areas of the planet. It is also estimated that there are around 1.3 million deaf people in the Catholic Church who, Archbishop Zimowski explained, "face particular difficulties in participating fully in religious practices".

The forthcoming conference - which will be attended by 498 people, 89 of whom are deaf - arises from the need to promote and improve commitment in this field of disability in order "to achieve true integration for deaf people", he said.

"According to the timetable", the archbishop continued, "the three days of the meeting will be subdivided into sections focusing on various aspects of deafness. The first day will examine the themes of: 'deaf people in the world, past and present'; 'the psychological world of deaf people'; the 'medical aspects of deafness', and 'experiences from the world of deafness'".

The second day, during which the participants will also be received by the Pope, will consider such themes as "the family and deaf people" and "pastoral care of the deaf".

The conference will come to an end on 21 November with a summarisation of the subjects discussed, roundtable discussions and the presentation of a final report.

Among those attending the conference will be Archbishop Patrick A. Kelly of Liverpool, England, and Terry O'Meara, respectively president and director of the International Catholic Foundation for the Service of Deaf Persons; Silvio P. Mariotti, an expert of the World Health Organisation, and Fr. Cyril Axelrod, a blind and deaf priest (in photo). [Read also here].

Also participating in the event will be Cardinal Javier Lozano Barragan and Cardinal Fiorenzo Angelini, presidents emeritus of the Pontifical Council for Health Pastoral Care, which is due to celebrate the 25th anniversary of its foundation on 11 February 2010. OP/EFFATA/ZIMOWSKIVIS 091117 (450)

Fr Savino Castiglione came to the Philippines from Italy in 1988 but is presently based in his own country. When we were both in Cebu he encouraged me to learn Sign Language, of which I have some knowledge, enough to celebrate Mass. However, I find it difficult to engage in conversation in Sign Language.

Archbishop Patrick Kelly of Liverpool, England, has been working with the Deaf for many years and uses Sign Language on public occasions, even when the majority are hearing people.

CBCPNews also has a report on the conference: Vatican officials say church must improve service to deaf community.

You can find a signed version of the Philippine National Anthem here. It's on the blog Filipino Deaf from the Eyes of a Hearing Person. The blogger made some very kind comments about your scribe after coming across a post I made on St Francis de Sales, patron of the Deaf.

Jesus heals a deaf man

Jesus heals a deaf man

Today's gospel shows us Jesus healing a deaf man who had a speech impediment. I grew up knowing those who were profoundly deaf as 'deaf and dumb', the term that some still use. However, 'dumb' has come to mean 'stupid', quite probably because people who were deaf were perceived as such.

Those who are profoundly deaf describe themselves as a group as 'The Deaf', wtih a capital 'D', not 'heaing impaired, which is not quite the same thing. Many become hearing impaired as they grow older. while they have difficulty in communicating, they have had a life-long experience of sharing a common language with those around them. The Deaf don't, not even within their own families. The only 'native signers' I have met have been children of one or two deaf parents, who learned Sign Language as they learned to speak.

Those of us who have all our faculties tend to think that blindness is 'worse' than deafness. But deafness is isolating in a way that no other physical disability is, as those born deaf cannot share the language of their family and community.

Father Joseph Coyle, a Columban who worked for many years in Negros Occidental here in the Philippines, pioneered pastoral ministry to the Deaf here. Though there is a small but growing number of priests who can sign Mass, including Auxiliary Bishop Gerardo Alminaza of Jaro, very few are aware of the Deaf among us. I know of priests and people who won't allow interpreters for the Deaf at Mass, as 'they are a distraction'. This is not general but it does happen.

St Francis de Sales is the patron saint of the Deaf - and of journalists - because of his friendship with a deaf servant, Martin. He came to know the great humanity and faith of Martin.

Father Joseph Coyle died in December 1991 but his work was continued and developed by Mrs Salvacion V. Tinsay. Tita Salving, as everyone knew her, died in August last year.

St Mark in today's gospel uses the Aramaic word that Jesus used in healing the deaf man, 'Ephphata!' 'Be opened', emphasising the importance of this event.

St Francis de Sales

Health Care Council Presents International Conference

By a happy coincidence, the Vatican announced a new initiative in reaching out to the hearing impaired - I guess it includes both those who are born deaf and those who become deaf later - as reported in Zenit:

Vatican to Focus on Hearing Impaired

ROME, SEPT. 1, 2009 (Zenit.org).-The Vatican recognizes that people with hearing impairments have muchto offer the Church, and will stop to consider this contribution duringa November conference.

Officials from the Pontifical Council forHealth Care Ministry presented their 24th international conference toBenedict XVI last Wednesday after the general audience, L'OsservatoreRomano reported today. The theme, drawn in part from Mark 7:34, is"Ephphata! The Deaf in the Life of the Church."

During thepresentation, Archbishop Zygmunt Zimowski, president of the health caredicastery, explained that the purpose of the conference is "to offer anopportunity to the Church to appreciate the contribution of deaf peoplein the various areas of apostolate."

Among the participants willbe Archbishop Patrick Kelly of Liverpool, Great Britain, president ofthe International Catholic Foundation for the Service of Deaf Persons.

Alsopresent will be the past two presidents of the Vatican's health carecouncil: , Cardinals Javier Lozano Barragán and Fiorenzo Angelini.

Thecongress will reflect, on one hand, on the medical, psychological andsocial aspects of deafness and, on the other, on the pastoral needs ofthis group.

Specialists from around the globe will contribute,as will catechists, priests, families and volunteers dedicated to thepastoral care of the deaf.

Among them will be Spanish FatherJaime Gutiérrez Villanueva, a priest of St. Mary of Silence church inMadrid, a parish created in 1973 by two deaf priests and a dozenfaithful with this impairment.

Mk 7:31-37 (RSV)

Then Jesus returned from the region of Tyre, and went through Sidon to the Sea of Galilee, through the region of the Decapolis. And they brought to him a man who was deaf and had an impediment in his speech; and they besought him to lay his hand upon him. And taking him aside from the multitude privately, he put his fingers into his ears, and he spat and touched his tongue; and looking up to heaven, he sighed, and said to him, "Ephphatha," that is, "Be opened." And his ears were opened, his tongue was released, and he spoke plainly. And he charged them to tell no one; but the more he charged them, the more zealously they proclaimed it. And they were astonished beyond measure, saying, "He has done all things well; he even makes the deaf hear and the dumb speak."