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Catholic Irish priest still finds great joy and fulfillment in Church

Despite the clerical sexual abuse scandal Irish priest feels honored to be a priest

CATHY HAYES,

IrishCentral.com Staff Writer

Published Monday, August 8, 2011, 5:02 AM

Updated Monday, August 8, 2011, 5:02 AM

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St. Colman’s Cathedral, in the Diocese of Cloyne, County Cork

Photo by Google Images

Father John McCarthy, a priest at St. Colman’s Cathedral, in the Diocese of Cloyne, County Cork, has spoken out about the “great honor” he still finds in being a member of the clergy in Ireland.

He said “It’s still a great honor, a very humbling honor at that, to be a priest of Jesus Christ. In fact, no earthly joy can even come close to that joy that you receive from being a priest of Jesus Christ.”

Last month a 400-page report on clerical abuse and the cover-up of this abuse was released. The release of this report which focused on the diocese of Cloyne and Bishop John Magee also led to calls by politicians for the imprisonment of priest who refuse to break the seal of the confessional having heard admissions of abuse.

Also the Taoiseach (Prime Minister) Enda Kenny spoke in the Dail (Parliament) saying that Ireland was no longer a country “where the swish of a soutane smothered conscience and humanity, and the swing of a thurible ruled the Irish-Catholic world.”

McCarthy told EWTN News “Of course it’s impossible to be a priest and not take stock or notice of these scandals. Most people are still very supportive and hugely appreciative of your availability, that you were there are key moments in their families life, that you showed them a small act of kindness.”

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Walking out on the Catholic Church - A readers response

Photo of Bishop John Magee removed from parish church in Mitchelstown

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McCarthy has been a priest for 18 years. He made the decision to enter the priesthood having completed a science degree and a teaching diploma.

The Cork priest said “I’d say to any young man considering the priesthood that it’s a wonderful gift and a great privilege if Christ is calling you. It’s also a great opportunity for personal fulfillment and personal holiness.”

“There are many graces flowing for the heart of Christ in this modern secularized world, particularly in personal devotion to Christ in the Blessed Sacrament.”

The Cloyne priest spoke to the Catholic News Network on August 4, the feast day of St. John Vianney, a 19th century French cleric and the patron saint of priests. In 2009 Pope Benedict XVI gave his this position and declared the 150th anniversary of his death as the beginning of the Catholic Church’s “Year of the Priest”.

He said “St. John Vianney is the great model of the priesthood. He is the great example of priestly holiness, simplicity, zeal for souls and care for people. Someone who radiated the love of Christ and drew people to Christ particularly through his preaching and time spent in the confessional.”

“In fact, he’s a great reminder of the dignity of the priesthood and of getting back to priestly basics when it can be so easy to be sidetracked by activism or administration."

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eiriamach | Aug 31, 2011, 04:20 PM EDT

Jacers, Returning here today, I find your comment. I answer that sometimes anger is the appropriate reaction. I'm not alone in that belief. In just the two weeks since you wrote your posting, look at the changes that have happened. Following the lead of the Association of Catholic Priests of Ireland, another association of priests has formed. It consists of priests from Chicago (Illinois), Evansville (Indiana), Milwaukee and Madison (Wisconsin), St Paul (Minnesota), Savannah (Georgia), Richmond (Virginia), Toledo, Cincinnati, and Cleveland (Ohio), Davenport (Iowa), Detroit (Michigan), St Louis (Missouri), Greensburg and Philadelphia (Pennsylvania). More and more people inside the Church have decided to work on reforming it, seriously reforming its structure, because they share the same anger over revelations of continued criminality. "Better to light one candle than to curse the darkness." As more priests join in reform campaigns, the abuse of priests that you complain of will diminish, I'm sure. But those who do the name calling here-- yes, Gearoid and snakehips engage in mean-spirited name-calling -- and they carp about pedophilia in other institutions, which is irrelevant to pedophilia in RCC-- they are doing no good at all and prolonging the anguish of watching the Church deteriorate. Jacers, before "RCC authorities ... protect the innocent priests" they must first cooperate with civil authorities to bring justice to the innocent children (many of whom are now adults and some of whom have committed suicide) they refused to protect from abuse. The question should be not why I'm angry, but why you are not angry! So I stand by the words I wrote: "**Change** that culture-- don't try to defend it!"

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jacersagain | Aug 14, 2011, 09:04 PM EDT

Back from holidays, I’m only joining this discussion now. @eiriamach – I’m hugely disappointed with yr too-quick angry response to Gearoid4. That’s not like you. The comments by Gearoid4 are, imo, perfectly correct, esp relating to JuneAnnette’s, who interminably still shows herself to be an indoctrinated person *God! Pls help her to be free someday*. Pls re-read Gearoid’s comments, they have merit that you should, w/ yr great talent for appreciation, recognise. >> On the topic... I watched A/Bishop Dermot of Dublin on Irish TV news after the report on Cloyne was published. His eyes watered heart-brokenly as he spoke about some priests who were attending the burial of a fellow deceased priest in a cemetery the day before... a group of people passing by from another burial in the cemetery shouted and screamed at the six priests around their colleague’s grave “You should be ashamed of yourselves! Go to Hell!”. The A/Bishop said that he knew the six priests individually and not one of them was in anyway involved in church scandals. Yet these passers-by shouted abuse at them. As the A/bishop said, what do you do when people assume too much? What do you do when untainted priests are abused? What do you do when RCC authorities refuse to protect the innocent priests?

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jacersagain | Aug 14, 2011, 09:02 PM EDT

Back from holidays, I’m only joining this discussion now. @eiriamach – I’m hugely disappointed with yr too-quick angry response to Gearoid4. That’s not like you. The comments by Gearoid4 are, imo, perfectly correct, esp relating to JuneAnnette’s, who interminably still shows herself to be an indoctrinated person *God! Pls help her to be free someday*. Pls re-read Gearoid’s comments, they have merit that you should, w/ yr great talent for appreciation, recognise. >> On the topic... I watched A/Bishop Dermot of Dublin on Irish TV news after the report on Cloyne was published. His eyes watered heart-brokenly as he spoke about some priests who were attending the burial of a fellow deceased priest in a cemetery the day before... a group of people passing by from another burial in the cemetery shouted and screamed at the six priests around their colleague’s grave “You should be ashamed of yourselves! Go to Hell!”. The A/Bishop said that he knew the six priests individually and not one of them was in anyway involved in church scandals. Yet these passers-by shouted abuse at them. As the A/bishop said, what do you do when people assume too much??? What do you do when untainted priests are abused?

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JimMcGarity | Aug 09, 2011, 11:07 PM EDT

I see another school teacher has had sex with a 16yr old kid. I sure hope his parents sue the teachers union for all it's worth. Because they do move teachers around to cover up.

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snakehips | Aug 09, 2011, 01:14 PM EDT

my dear eiriamach, I think we said the same things, except for the fact that your issues with the pope, filled with your obvious need for anger management as respects the Roman Catholic Church clouded the subject at hand. Cheers!

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eiriamach | Aug 09, 2011, 06:17 AM EDT

If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the problem! And when you indulge in name calling, like "fundamentalist claptrap" and "Catholic Haters," you're a major part of a major problem. The problem: the pope's vision of the priesthood as aloof from secular society dooms the Church to more cycles of predation and cover up. This pope foolishly praises priests who get "back to priestly basics when it can be so easy to be sidetracked by activism...." "Activism," which is rarely "easy," would mean involving themselves in the social and economic problems which make children vulnerable to pedophiles, problems like the breakdown of families, the loss of employment of parents, alcoholism and drug addiction. It would mean getting out of the rectory and putting effort into true Christ-like caring for "the least of these." It is tiresome to read the insipid, illogical retort that "bishops are not the only institutional leaders who have tried to cover up like horrific crimes." When you have no defense, you point a finger at others who are also sinners. But it is IRRELEVANT how many other institutions have similar problems; the existence of pedophiles outside the Catholic Church in no way diminishes the problem of pedophiles INSIDE the Catholic Church! If you wanted to improve the image of priests, you'd be working on reform, not name-calling. As Fr. McGuane, quoted in the Independent, says, the Church needs "to totally transform itself and guarantee greater transparency," and the difficulty he sees is this: priests deal with "a culture of cover-up and dictatorship." **Change** that culture-- don't try to defend it!

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snakehips | Aug 08, 2011, 03:38 PM EDT

The scandals in the Roman Catholic Church are horrifc beyond belief, there is no doubt. Anyone involved in the commission of these crimes should be punished and brought to justice, no doubt. Having stated this, however, these scandals have also presented an opportunity on the part of "Catholic Haters" to take their shots at the Roman Catholic Church. There are sexual molestors everywhere and anywhere in which there is easy access to their victims;in churches of other faiths, schools, youth programs etc. Does the fact that these animals exist everywhere where children are diminish all the missions and good works of these institutions over the years as well as some of the good people that serve in them? The bishops are not the only institutional leaders who have tried to cover up like horrific crimes. How many celebrities claim that they were molested as children, how many people have kept child abuse to themselves in silent torture outside of the Catholic Church? Let's solve the problem of this sickness in our society and stop beating up on only the Catholic Church and some of it's good and noble clergy who are trying to live the mission that it's founder created. Don't throw out the baby with the bath water

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supersurvivor77 | Aug 08, 2011, 03:06 PM EDT

CATHOLICABUSESURVIVORSNI.COM---- many religions of the world such as catholicism use the name jesus christ such as the fr mc carthy in his condesending manner at victims of the cloyne report here.such as jehovahs witnesses, mormonism,and many protestant traditions, unless a son of adam has recieved the son of god it matters not, and fr mc carthy avoids this free to all men concept but beguilingly covets his paedophile church with the two goverments up held in ireland.

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Peggy P | Aug 08, 2011, 03:02 PM EDT

It's God who will judge those priests who did not keep his commandants. The good priests who have sacraficed and kept their vows, which include the seal of confession, should be commended and not ridiculed. The more I read the Irish Central the more I believe it has an anti-catholic agenda.

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Gearoid4 | Aug 08, 2011, 02:48 PM EDT

Ah, please stop with the fundamentalist claptrap and biblical verses taken out of context and consequently distorted. The Catholic priesthood is dedicated to the progression of Christ's Kingdom on Earth and for the life to come. This vision has been sullied by the criminal activity of a minority of priests across the world but it's radical nature still appeals to those who still want to give up literally everything to bring the Good News to their communities.

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glorybe1929 | Aug 08, 2011, 02:40 PM EDT

I would appreciate seeing my posts on your comment page. I was a roman catholic for over 65..yrs and no more! I expect that my opinion would be appreciated. Iam also an Irish American. Have been to the country of my ancestors and will not go again , as I aging and I feel you don't respect your elders.

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Ms.Gail | Aug 08, 2011, 12:45 PM EDT

I have great sympathy for the good Catholic pirests that seek to do good and not evil, those that condemn the evil around them and are brushed with the tar of the wicked.

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JuneAnnette | Aug 08, 2011, 12:35 PM EDT

ROME BURNS and her PRIESTS FIDDLE . .This priest has his head buried in the sand and is under the misguided delusion that if they just don't talk about it, the SCANDAL will go away, a mentality that is rampant in the RCC . . See no evil; Speak no evil; Hear no evil! If he would truly be like Jesus, he would speak out about the unparalleled evil in his "church" and echo the call for JUSTICE for the VICTIMS of R.C. Clergy Abuse with his colleague, Joseph McGuane!***RELATED: Article: Cloyne cleric urges his fellow priests to defy 'culture of fear' / Source: Independent.ie / Monday August 08 2011***A PRIEST in the scandal-hit diocese of Cloyne has urged his fellow clerics to speak out and defy the "culture of fear" that pervades the Catholic Church. Fr Joseph McGuane has become the first ordinary cleric in Cloyne to comment on the child abuse controversies that have rocked the diocese and the entire church in Ireland. Fr McGuane -- who is a chaplain in St Raphael's Centre, a community hospital in Youghal -- said that ordinary people were very angry that "justice has taken a back seat". "It would be a great help if my peers spoke out -- sadly, I am the only one.*** God's Word . . Matt. 10:26 “Fear them not therefore: for there is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed; and hid, that shall not be known.”***God's Word - Eccl. 3:7: ". . .a time to keep SILENCE, and a time to SPEAK."***". . "Deliver us from evil.” (Matt. 6:13)

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Gearoid4 | Aug 08, 2011, 12:23 PM EDT

Amidst the noisy din coming from the media and others to criminalize the whole Church, we get a voice of reason and sanity which explains in a very heart-felt way, one man's selfless motivation upon which his whole priesthood is based. This motivation happens to be Jesus Christ who is the perfect Model for him to follow in drawing ever closer the members of his flock to the gospel-based life.

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joan1954 | Aug 08, 2011, 11:21 AM EDT

I have had the pleasue of meeting many good priests in my lifetime, some who were there at trying times especially at the death of my mother and of whom my convert father had enormous respect for. May this priest mentioned know great joy and peace and know that there are those who pray for our clergy.

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