Archbishop criticises lazy narratives on Church

Archbishop Diarmuid Martin has called for an honest appraisal of the Church in modern Ireland after some 1916 commemorations have shown that fair historical debate is being hindered by false impressions of the role of Catholicism.

Referring to the recent RTÉ series Rebellion which re-enacted the events of the 1916 Easter Rising, the archbishop said the impression had been given that the Church’s only concern during the event had been to defend its own interests.

“When the fictional presentation flies flagrantly in the face of easily verifiable historical records, then one would be reasonably entitled to wonder if the search for truth might be being second-guessed to partiality,” the archbishop said.

He referred to a scene which appeared to characterise the then Archbishop of Dublin William Walsh condemning the Rising, calling the leaders “hooligans” and reminding a fictional priest that his main responsibility was simply to defend the interests of the Church.

Nationalist

However, Archbishop Martin defended his predecessor insisting “Archbishop Walsh was a strong nationalist” and pointed out how the rebels were in regular contact with Archbishop’s House at the time.

Speaking at the launch of 1916: The Church and the Rising – which is published by The Irish Catholic – Dr Martin referred to a recent speech by President Michael Higgins in which the President “made reference on a number of occasions also to the negative role played over the past 100 years by an at times narrow and over-dominant Church within Irish political culture”.

“Like every other component of Irish society, the Catholic Church in Ireland also is called to carry out an honest appraisal of its place in Irish society in the future,” the archbishop said.

Echoing his call, historian Gabriel Daly told The Irish Catholic that Church leaders have a responsibility to challenge “lazy narratives” about its past.

The University College Cork (UCC) lecturer agreed that there was an “onus” on the Church to undertake an “honest appraisal” of its role in 20th Century Ireland.

Wisdom

Insisting that “lazy narratives absolutely do exist” about the Church, Mr Doherty also urged the Church “not to accept the received wisdom from journalists and other commentators very frequently who have contemporary axes to grind and only look at the most objectionable aspects of what has gone in the past rather than the past in the round”.

“It’s one of the lessons of the last 10 to 15 years in terms of the number of damming external reports that if the Church doesn’t appraise its own role in an honest, open and transparent way then others will do so for it.

“That’s not to say that those external agencies shouldn’t continue to monitor what the Church is doing and the Church itself should act as a monitor on those other agencies, including the State itself,” Mr Doherty said.

“The onus must be from within the Church to produce that degree of honest appraisal. Honest appraisal is always necessary,” he said.