| Message for Lent 2010 |
Message for the Beginning of LentDear Brothers and Sisters,
“Come back to the Lord with all your hearts; turn to God with tears and fasting” (Joel 2:13).
On Ash Wednesday I returned from the meeting of the Irish Bishops with Pope Benedict in Rome, deeply conscious that Lent is a holy season of repentance, renewal and review in our lives. Lent is above all a time of penance in which we humbly acknowledge our past failings – as the ancient Lenten hymn puts it: “Turn to us with mercy, Lord, for we have sinned against you”. We repent because we have allowed evil and sin to cloud the clear call of the Gospel. The words of the prophet Joel are particularly poignant for us this year. “Let the priests and ministers of the Lord lament before his altar and say – spare us Lord; spare your people” (Joel 2:17).
Over the past months, survivors of abuse have left us in no doubt about the dreadful betrayal of trust that they experienced. You, the People of God, have expressed to me and other Bishops that you feel angry, disappointed, shocked and saddened. You have rightly been asking us: how could this have happened? You feel that the leaders of the Church have let you down. Many generous, hard-working priests and religious also feel very demoralised.
At our meeting in Rome, we “examined the failure of Irish Church authorities for many years to act effectively in dealing with cases involving the sexual abuse of young people by some Irish clergy and religious. All those present recognized that this grave crisis has led to a breakdown in trust in the Church’s leadership and has damaged her witness to the Gospel and its moral teaching” (Press Release from the Vatican after the Meeting). The Meeting took place in a spirit of prayer and unity, providing guidance and encouragement in addressing the situation back home in Ireland.
In today’s gospel St Luke tells us how Jesus was led into the wilderness by the Spirit to be 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 human reality of the Church. Where there is great good, evil can often exist close at hand. But Jesus reveals a way contrary to that of Satan – the way of humble service and of complete obedience to God’s word.
On Ash Wednesday, as we received the ashes on our foreheads, we heard the words: “Turn away from sin and be faithful to the Gospel”. Jesus has shown us the way to free ourselves from selfishness and the abuse of power. If we are to be open to renewal of the Catholic Church in Ireland, we have to be prepared to stand up to evil. To humbly admit our failures and beg forgiveness for our sins of neglect and mismanagement. We have to be open to conversion, purification and the guidance of God’s Spirit. Therefore, this Lent, let us renew our commitment to holiness of life through intimate knowledge of Christ in the Scriptures, in the sacraments and in prayer.
We are determined that the mistakes of the past will never happen again. Since 1996, we have regularly evaluated and reviewed our national policy and procedures for safeguarding children, to ensure that they continue to represent best practice. We are co-operating fully with the statutory authorities and with the National Board of Safeguarding Children to ensure that our procedures are being completely implemented. We have been encouraged by your tremendous support and partnership in implementing fully all civil and Church obligations in the area of safeguarding children. Many volunteers have been trained at Parish level to help keep children safe in every Church activity. Only through close collaboration between priests, religious and lay faithful, can we restore confidence and credibility in this critical area.
The journey of renewal has only begun. We will read what Pope Benedict has to say in his Pastoral Letter. He will encourage us in our reflection and dialogue, but this journey of renewal is primarily the work of the People of God in Ireland, inspired by the Holy Spirit. Lent is an appropriate moment: “Behold, now is the acceptable time; behold, now is the day of salvation” (2 Cor. 6:2).
The Holy Father has asked that this Lent be set aside as a time for imploring an outpouring of God’s mercy and the Holy Spirit’s gifts of holiness and strength upon the Church in Ireland. We take the first steps on that journey, confident in the blessing of God’s forgiveness as we prepare to celebrate the joy of Christ’s resurrection at Easter time. Our journey therefore becomes a journey of hope, always conscious of the words of Paul to the Romans in today’s second reading: “If you believe in your heart that God raised Jesus from the dead, you will be saved”.
+ Philip Boyce OCD Bishop of Raphoe |