Archbishop 'had no intention' of attacking Irish church
The Archbishop of Canterbury tonight said he “had no intention of criticising or attacking” the Catholic Church after an interview in which he appeared to suggest the Church in Ireland had lost all credibility over the child abuse scandal.
A spokeswoman for Dr Rowan Williams confirmed he telephoned Dublin Archbishop Diarmuid Martin to express his “deep sorrow and regret for difficulties which may have been created” by his remarks.
She said: “The Archbishop had no intention of criticising or attacking the Catholic Church as a whole.
“The Church in Ireland continues to work tirelessly to deal with the scandal of abuse.”
Archbishop Martin, who said he had been stunned by the remark, said Dr Williams rang him stressing he did not mean to offend or criticise the Irish Church.
A statement from the Dublin Archdiocese said: “The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, this afternoon telephoned Archbishop Diarmuid Martin to express his deep sorrow and regret for difficulties which may have been created by remarks in a BBC interview concerning the credibility of the Catholic Church in Ireland.
“Archbishop Williams affirmed that nothing could have been farther from his intention than to offend or criticise the Irish Church.”
Speaking on the BBC about the crisis gripping the Irish Catholic Church, Dr Williams said the sex abuse revelations had been a “colossal trauma” for Ireland in particular.
Speaking to BBC Radio 4 Programme Start the Week, to be broadcast on Monday, Archbishop Williams said: “I was speaking to an Irish friend recently who was saying that it’s quite difficult in some parts of Ireland to go down the street wearing a clerical collar now.
“And an institution so deeply bound into the life of a society suddenly becoming, suddenly losing all credibility – that’s not just a problem for the church, it is a problem for everybody in Ireland.”
Archbishop Martin’s Church of Ireland counterpart Dr John Neill said he listened to the remarks of Archbishop Williams with “deep regret”, while his fellow Bishop in Meath and Kildare, Richard Clarke, branded the comment careless and reckless.
Archbishop Martin expressed his thanks to the two clergymen for their supportive statements, which he said reflected the depth and warmth of ecumenical relations in Ireland.
Earlier, he said Archbishop William’s remarks would be immensely disheartening to those working to renew the Church and would challenge their faith even further.
The senior Irish clergyman – who has called for full accountability in the Church over child abuse – said he had rarely felt so personally discouraged.
“The unequivocal and unqualified comment in a radio interview of the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, that the Catholic Church in Ireland has ”lost all credibility“ has stunned me,” Archbishop Martin said.
“As Archbishop of Dublin, I have been more than forthright in addressing the failures of the Catholic Church in Ireland. I still shudder when I think of the harm that was caused to abused children. I recognise that their Church failed them.
“But I also journey with those – especially parents and priests – who work day by day to renew the Catholic Church in this diocese and who are committed to staying with their Church and passing on the faith in wearying times.
“Archbishop Williams’ comments will be for them immensely disheartening and will challenge their faith even further.”
Archbishop Neill said he supported Archbishop Martin and his work.
“It is with deep regret that I heard the remarks of the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Primate of All England, stating that the Roman Catholic Church in Ireland had lost all credibility,” he said.
Church of Ireland Bishop of Meath and Kildare Richard Clarke said he believed the remark was thoughtless and hurtful.
“Whereas it is clearly true that the Roman Catholic Church in this country (Ireland) is facing deep and serious challenges to its authority as a consequence of clerical abuse scandals, this careless and reckless use of language by Archbishop Williams is extremely unfortunate,” he said.
Bishop Clarke, Chairman of the Church of Ireland Commission for Christian Unity and Dialogue, said most Bishops, priests and religious of the Roman Catholic tradition minister faithfully and selflessly under very difficult conditions.
“All credibility has most certainly not been lost to the Church, and it is deeply hurtful to Roman Catholic clergy and laity alike, and indeed to those of other Christian traditions, that such a thoughtless remark should be made by Archbishop Williams,” he added.
The Catholic Church in Ireland has been rocked in recent months after revelations that paedophile priests got away with decades of horrific child sex abuse.
Pressure mounted this month on its leader, the Primate of All-Ireland Cardinal Sean Brady, after he admitted being at a meeting where children abused by notorious convicted sex offender Fr Brendan Smyth were forced to take a vow of silence.
The abuse scandal has also engulfed Pope Benedict, who faced claims he failed to properly investigate a serial abuser in a children’s home for the deaf in Wisconsin in the US in the late 1990s.
Yesterday, the Vatican provoked more controversy after the Pope’s personal preacher likened the criticism of the Church over the sex abuse scandal to “collective violence” suffered by the Jews.
The Rev Raniero Cantalamessa said in a Good Friday homily with the Pope listening to him in St Peter’s Basilica that a Jewish friend wrote to him to say the accusations remind him of the “more shameful aspects of anti-Semitism”.
Earlier this week, Archbishop Martin told worshippers the Church’s response to paedophilia had been hopelessly inadequate.
The Archbishop is due to celebrate Easter Sunday Mass in St Mary’s Pro Cathedral in Dublin tomorrow morning.
