[Archbishop] Martin against 'fast-track healing' over abuse

[Yellow_Belle]

Archbishop of Dublin Diarmuid Martin has said he cannot agree with Catholics who want the Church to ‘move on’ from grief about the child abuse scandals.

He said that there was ‘no way’ his diocese could ‘impose fast-track healing’ on victims…
‘Renewal must begin and take deep root in our parishes’, he said.

Archbishop Martin said: ‘Shameful abuse took place within the Church of Christ. The response was hopelessly inadequate.’

'I do not wish to give the impression that I want to go on forever hammering home a message of grief about the past, that I am obsessed with the past. Some ask me: “Can we not leave all that aside now, proclaim closure and move on?”

'I cannot agree. There can be no overlooking the past. There is no short-cut in addressing the past.

'The credibility of the Church in this diocese of Dublin will only be regained when we honestly recognise the failures of the past, whatever our share of responsibility for them.

‘There can be no rewriting history. There is no way we should impose fast-track healing on those whose vulnerability was abused’, he said…Where do we go from here? We can work on strategies and programmes, but in the first place we must turn to Jesus. He alone has words of eternal life. He alone is the way the truth and the life. Renewal must begin with knowing Jesus and deepening our relationship with Jesus; he alone will give us the strength and the confidence to renew the Church.

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Full text of Dr Martin’s homily

 

[whatevergirl]

*Oh my gosh, that is beautiful, I have tears in my eyes. This is the right response, and God bless him for the courage to say this…it’s not easy to say this. He is right…we must turn to Christ. Thank you SO much for sharing with us. *

 

[Seno_Ryan]

I fully agree with the Archbishop, there are no shortcuts to the healing process. We need to allow Jesus to lead the way and I firmly belive in His words that Gates of Hell will never prevail against the Church. It will take sometime for the Church to renew itself from this horrific scandal.