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Complete text of Pope Benedict's letter to Irish Catholic Church

POPE BENEDICT XVI,

Published Saturday, March 20, 2010, 2:10 PM

Updated Saturday, March 20, 2010, 2:30 PM

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The lay faithful, too, should be encouraged to play their proper part in the life of the Church. See that they are formed in such a way that they can offer an articulate and convincing account of the Gospel in the midst of modern society (cf. 1 Pet 3:15) and cooperate more fully in the Church’s life and mission. This in turn will help you once again become credible leaders and witnesses to the redeeming truth of Christ.

12. To all the faithful of Ireland

A young person’s experience of the Church should always bear fruit in a personal and life-giving encounter with Jesus Christ within a loving, nourishing community. In this environment, young people should be encouraged to grow to their full human and spiritual stature, to aspire to high ideals of holiness, charity and truth, and to draw inspiration from the riches of a great religious and cultural tradition. In our increasingly secularized society, where even we Christians often find it difficult to speak of the transcendent dimension of our existence, we need to find new ways to pass on to young people the beauty and richness of friendship with Jesus Christ in the communion of his Church. In confronting the present crisis, measures to deal justly with individual crimes are essential, yet on their own they are not enough: a new vision is needed, to inspire present and future generations to treasure the gift of our common faith. By treading the path marked out by the Gospel, by observing the commandments and by conforming your lives ever more closely to the figure of Jesus Christ, you will surely experience the profound renewal that is so urgently needed at this time. I invite you all to persevere along this path.

13. Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, it is out of deep concern for all of you at this painful time in which the fragility of the human condition has been so starkly revealed that I have wished to offer these words of encouragement and support. I hope that you will receive them as a sign of my spiritual closeness and my confidence in your ability to respond to the challenges of the present hour by drawing renewed inspiration and strength from Ireland’s noble traditions of fidelity to the Gospel, perseverance in the faith and steadfastness in the pursuit of holiness.In solidarity with all of you, I am praying earnestly that, by God’s grace, the wounds afflicting so many individuals and families may be healed and that the Church in Ireland may experience a season of rebirth and spiritual renewal.

14. I now wish to propose to you some concrete initiatives to address the situation.

At the conclusion of my meeting with the Irish bishops, I asked that Lent this year be set aside as a time to pray for an outpouring of God’s mercy and the Holy Spirit’s gifts of holiness and strength upon the Church in your country. I now invite all of you to devote your Friday penances, for a period of one year, between now and Easter 2011, to this intention. I ask you to offer up your fasting, your prayer, your reading of Scripture and your works of mercy in order to obtain the grace of healing and renewal for the Church in Ireland. I encourage you to discover anew the sacrament of Reconciliation and to avail yourselves more frequently of the transforming power of its grace.

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Irishjule | Oct 21, 2010, 03:06 PM EDT

I think it was abominable for priests to abuse children/young adults and for the hierarchy to cover it up. I am in no way excusing them, but when the scandal broke out, my first thought was that the Church wanted to keep it secret because of all the unjust criticism that we get as Catholics.

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justhimself | Sep 22, 2010, 10:55 PM EDT

The cover up, when it was obvious the same complaints followed the abuser, some of those abusers actually were promoted to bishop level, and God only knows if pedophiles made it higher up. WE NEED A NEW REFORMED IRISH CATHOLIC CHURCH, WITH A NEW SET OF REVISED CANON LAWS.

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McNamara31 | Mar 22, 2010, 05:37 PM EDT

Allan500 Talk about blind faith...Before you make another response you should read the court testimony of how the church obstructed justice in Boston, and in Ireland. Yes the church was complicit with these crimes; they knowingly moved predator priests from town to town and from country to country. Do you know, that Pope Benedict as Prefect of the Doctrine of the faith oversaw all abuse cases and told the bishops these matters must be handled in secrecy? Why didn't he notify them loud and clear, to turn the abusing priests over to the authorities? Also, look up the testimony of Fr. Doyle, Canon lawyer who first was sent by the Vatican to investigate the abuse situation in America over 25 years and 2.5 billion dollars ago. You really sound like you are blaming the victim here. What if it were your son?

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allan500 | Mar 22, 2010, 01:01 PM EDT

McNamara31, The Church "supported" criminal activity? That is absurd. Individuals made mistakes in dealing with other individual's sins. The Vatican had nothing to do with abusing children. The Church as a body did not abuse children. There are individuals who attempted to keep the mess from tainting the Church. It was there duty and right to do so. They understood that the Church as a body was not the culprit, but the individual who acted wrongly. It is not as black and white as you think. When a person is accused of a crime, he is merely accused of a crime. There is a process that must be gone through to determine if the accusation is true. One can suspect that if the moral climate of Ireland had not been in such disarray, the Commandments would have been more closely followed by Church members--including its priests and nuns. There is a certain silliness in calling this "child abuse" as many if not most were well past the age of reason. I know very well that when I was 12 years old and had an anointed member of Christ's Church attempted to touch me improperly, I would have asked him what the hell he was doing. Why did that red alert not sound in the mind of these young people? The stock answer that they were bewildered by a figure of authority and lost all judgement is too ridiculous to contemplate. Perhaps a diet of pornography and the sight of immoral living around them had sullied their moral compass. Further, the current state of discussion does not even allow the question to be posed, are some of these "victims" merely money-hungry frauds? People ought to be grateful that the flaws of Church members have been exposed so that alterations can be made. The proper response of Catholics is to help the renovation, not lament the past with stupid demands that the pope's apology include this or that, and it be stated in a certain way of not. It is beyond the scope of reality to include every nuance of every circumstance in a public statement.

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McNamara31 | Mar 22, 2010, 11:24 AM EDT

They can write a million words and none will rings true without accountability. For those politically minded Vatican officials and clergy who decided and sided with the lawyers and against the children, this letter fails to address them, and the heart of this global atrocity.

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McNamara31 | Mar 22, 2010, 10:51 AM EDT

??? "In recent decades, however, the Church in your country has had to confront new and serious challenges to the faith arising from the rapid transformation and secularization of Irish society. Fast-paced social change has occurred, often adversely affecting people’s traditional adherence to Catholic teaching and values" What in the world does this have to do with the criminal activity that the church and Vatican supported for the past twenty five years? Child abusers are in all walks of life. The "grave" sin here is the Vatican enabled them.

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allan500 | Mar 22, 2010, 10:37 AM EDT

The pope is a man of God, and as such, he wrote a realistic letter based on the principles of sound moral doctrine. I see from your poll that most think he did what was needed, but still some are disappointed. The pope does not owe, nor could he give more than he gave in his letter. The pope's point about the collapse of Irish Catholicism ought to be carefully pondered. There is an old saying of the saints that priests are only as good as their flock. Each Catholic has an obligation to pray for the Church and its ministers. That has not taken place. Rather, while the Church offered moral direction the flock mocked it by its actions with the liberalization of abortion, widespread use of pornography, flippant divorce laws, and abysmal mass attendance. We now find the Irish more likely to be irreligious bigots than devote Catholics. Many, as can be read here, are more concerned with protecting their favorite sins than protecting the Church built upon the Rock of Christ. Need I say, hypocrites? The pope did not molest your children. It was those among you, who share your mired moral habits and who are a product of your cesspool standards, who did it. Purify your society and you will see holy priests emerge from your ranks. Pray for the pope. He has a daunting task at hand. Change the moral environment of your hearts, of your cities, towns and villages--then you will change those in the Church, who come from those same cities, towns and villages, who have gone astray.

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kickstar | Mar 21, 2010, 09:32 PM EDT

Return To Sender.

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Godscre | Mar 20, 2010, 06:51 PM EDT

Visit Voice of the Faithful's website and you will learn a lot.

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LeClara | Mar 20, 2010, 05:39 PM EDT

I think it is criminal for the Catholic church make it mandatory for priest and nuns to abstain from sexual intercourse and forbid marriage. I was under the impression that God promoted marriage so men and women wouldn't have to suffer physically. I am a victim/survivor of sexual molestation of a priest but after reaching adulthood I was able to forgive him because he was a man who had urges as any man does. I blame the church and their rules. I think this will continue to happen until the Catholic church changes it's rules regarding marriage of priest and nuns.

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Godscre | Mar 20, 2010, 04:49 PM EDT

Sorry, please check out Romans 13:1-7 also. Peace to all.

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Godscre | Mar 20, 2010, 04:46 PM EDT

The leaders (Pope and Bishops)should lead by example and do the right thing and turn themselves in to the civil authorities. (Romans 8) No more cover up and no more blaming each other, no more saying that others have done it. Take responsibility. Someday God will hold all accountable for every creature - human and animal (Hebrews 4:13). Very simple.

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