A report commissioned by the Vatican and led by Cardinal Timothy Dolan on an Irish seminary in Rome has come under harsh criticism by Irish archbishops and has been slammed as both prejudiced and factually flawed.
David Gibson for The Washington Post reports on the mudslinging that has since ensued between Cardinal Dolan and Ireland’s four archbishops surrounding the report on the flagship Irish College in Rome, Italy.
In 2010, Pope Benedict XVI commissioned Cardinal Timothy Dolan and Boston’s Cardinal Sean O’Malley and other churchmen to review Ireland’s four archdioceses and to inspect Ireland’s Catholic seminaries to make sure they were preparing men properly for the priesthood. The team was assembled following the widespread shocking allegations of sexual abuse within the Church.
Cardinal Dolan’s report, which included his views on the new Irish College seminary in Rome, was sent to the Vatican earlier this year.
Ireland’s four archbishops issued a joint reply to the Vatican regarding Dolan’s report, and their reply was featured in The Irish Times on June 15th. In their reply, the four Irish archbishops asserted that Dolan’s report was marked by “a deep prejudice” that “led to the hostile tone and content of the report.” They added that the report contained “significant errors of fact.”
The Irish Times obtained a copy of the report in which Dolan accused Ireland’s archbishops of being “disengaged from college governance” in their role as trustees, and said the “general rule of governance is ‘Let’s keep doing what we have been for the last 35 years.’”
Further, the report - which only offered commentary from seminarians, and not by faculty or administrators- led by Cardinal Dolan said that the seminary’s staff was “critical about any emphasis on Rome, tradition, the magisterium, piety or assertive orthodoxy.” It said teachers were failing to prepare priests who have “a vibrant fidelity to Jesus and the teaching and tradition of His church.”
Dolan’s report also said that the Irish seminary “suffers from the reputation of being ‘gay friendly,’ however unjust such a reputation might be.” Dolan followed up in the report to say that he “did not find any evidence of rampant immorality or a homosexual subculture.”
While it is unclear whether or not the report obtained by The Irish Times was the final draft sent to the Vatican, it has still angered the four Irish archbishops. They in turn denounced Dolan’s report for stressing “its own view of orthodoxy, priestly identity, separation and devotion” and said its “harsh judgments on staff members” were “unsupported by evidence.”
Dolan responded to the Irish criticism on his report by saying that he stood by “the accuracy of the data we found.” He also criticized those who leaked the report and the response from the Irish prelates.
In a brief statement, Dolan said, “While obviously others do not consider themselves bound by the promised confidentiality — so necessary and understandable to assure a fair and honest gathering of information...I certainly do.” The Cardinal declined any further elaboration.
Since the leaking of Dolan’s report, the four Irish priests who were working at the Irish College in Rome have since vacated their positions. This led to a “national group of Irish priests to blast the Dolan report for relying on the comments of disgruntled students and for focusing on accusations of widespread homosexual activity despite a lack of evidence,” writes Gibson.
“If the accusations were not substantiated, why not just say so?” asked the Association of Catholic Priests. “Is this just incompetence or perhaps homophobia?”
The Irish priests said the Dolan report “has effectively destroyed the reputations of priests, who have given lifelong service to the Irish Catholic Church, without giving them a right of reply to the allegations made against them.”
“It is unacceptable that a report to the Pope, on a sensitive issue, should be conducted in such an incompetent fashion,” the priests group said. “No court of law would treat people in such a way. Is it too much to expect even minimal rights in law for priests in the Roman Catholic Church?”
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Switch to the desktop site to post a comment.Seanmor | Mar 25, 2013, 07:38 AM EDT
Cardinal Dolan's criticism of seminaries in Ireland is probably justified, at least to some extent. Educators in the thoroughly madern, politically correct Emedald Isle have become very accepting of the deciline of the nation's morality in receny years - even contributing to it. The prelates of the Roman Church have the duty and responsibility to abide by the teachings of the Holy Bilbe, even though such teachings may NOT be accepatable to those of otherr life styles.
Maureen Hawkins | Mar 19, 2013, 05:47 PM EDT
Just goes to show that Dolan & the hard-line conservative, misogynic, homophobic, pederast-protecting curia he represents is out of touch with the majority of Irish as well as Irish-American Catholics.
seanomelb | Jun 23, 2012, 09:20 PM EDT
Eiriamach your post is spot on. Unfortunately the truth is not what some people require. They only wish for guidance to justify their ignorance or bigotry
eiriamach | Jun 23, 2012, 05:49 PM EDT
I'm surprised no one has mentioned the Sandusky Case in the US, in which the jury returned last night with verdicts of guilty on 45 counts of pedophilia-related charges: sexual abuse, child endangerment, etc. Sandusky's wife of many years, along with his children, will probably continue to think of him as heterosexual despite the fact that all victims who testified against him were young boys at the time of the sexual exploitation. Most pedophiles are heterosexual, and many are married with children. Although some target same-sex children, this fact gives NO reason to smear homosexuals as likely to prey on children. Homosexuals are far less likely to commit sexual violence than heterosexuals. Check out the studies.
eiriamach | Jun 23, 2012, 03:43 PM EDT
Well, we tried, but Mairint has proven ineducable. It is often difficult to penetrate the solid rock wall of ideology that relies upon misinformation-- ultimately, lies and distortions that do harm by deepening homophobia and undermining efforts to remove pedophiles. "Pedophiles"-- those who abuse and attack CHILDREN. Homosexuals are not attracted to CHILDREN; pedophiles are attracted to children and exploit children. The ideologue counts nothing, no fact or statistics, as evidence against his or her view. "My mind is made up. Don't confuse me with the facts!" Hopeless.
dingle999 | Jun 22, 2012, 11:19 PM EDT
"if you prefer to support truth rather than express your hatred of the Church." I get it open my mind and express my hatred towards homosexuals. BTW do you know anything about Maynooth College in the 1980s ?
johnozed | Jun 22, 2012, 11:57 AM EDT
to mairint: why do so many pedophiles identify as being heterosexual? please explain oh wise one.
eiriamach | Jun 22, 2012, 11:36 AM EDT
I strongly recommend John McNeill's online article (DignityUSA web site) about "Objective Disorder" in RCC's teaching on homosexuality. Writing about the Vatican's public barring of homosexuals from the priesthood, he argues, "It is a political document issued in self-defense by the human and sinful hierarchy of the institutional church. The hierarchy, rather than accept their responsibility for this [sex abuse] crisis, decided to scapegoat gay priests and seminarians. Starting with the fact that the vast majority of the victims were young boys, some high officials in Rome and many in the United States [eg., Card. Dolan's 2011 John Jay Report] declared that the majority of the perpetrators were homosexual priests. They assumed without evidence that every same-sex act implies homosexual orientation. In fact, most empirical research evidence points to the opposite conclusion. The majority of men involved in child abuse are heterosexual. The motivation for most child abusers is not sex but power. A more probable explanation for the abuse, according to the vast majority of psychologists is the high number of priests who were immature, insecure about their tendencies and full of doubt and guilt."
jamieLM | Jun 22, 2012, 10:30 AM EDT
Agree with ciaradexy. The definition of a pedophile is "an adult with a sexual desire for children." This ABNORMAL condition is not based on the sexual preference of the adult. There are both heterosexual and homosexual pedophiles. @EphraimKibbey, good post.
ciaradexy | Jun 22, 2012, 07:13 AM EDT
What idiots dont know the difference between homosexual and paedophile??
EphraimKibbey | Jun 21, 2012, 11:51 PM EDT
@mairint - Why do people keep confusing homosexuality with pedophilia? @PiperMac52 - the problems all began for the RCC when bibles started being printed in the vernacular. People could read what Christ ACTUALLY preached.
eiriamach | Jun 21, 2012, 11:51 PM EDT
There are homosexuals in the priesthood, always have been, and the majority of them, like the majority of heterosexuals, are celibate. You cannot blame the sexual abuse of minors (pedophilia) on homosexuals. The sexual abuse studies tell a different story. Cardinal Dolan's war against homosexuals--both in and outside the priesthood--is a red herring, a political strategy, a distraction from a problem he cannot fix.
mairint | Jun 21, 2012, 10:50 PM EDT
If there is even a sniff of homosexuality going on in seminaries, or even the approval of it, it has to be stopped without delay. You folk who criticize this action must support the pederasty that got into the priesthood which lead to the abuse of minors. You cant have it both ways. To protect young people from sexual predators all organizations and institutions must put up parameters. Just look at the determined worming away at the Boy Scouts of America as homosexual activists continue to insist on their being allowed involvement with the boys. People are not stupid when they see through the not so 'Gay' campaign.
Nicoletta | Jun 21, 2012, 10:25 PM EDT
Ich don't think so!
jamthecat | Jun 21, 2012, 08:45 PM EDT
Why anyone cares what this criminal has to say is beyond me. He belongs in prison for helping pedophiles get away with their crimes, not "investigating" branches of the Catholic Church.
irishpjk | Jun 21, 2012, 06:58 PM EDT
wtf I find very comical how the liberal media flip flops from day to day, they were all over the bishops for not doing anything about the sexual misbehaviors of the priests. Now they are ripping the good cardinal for doing the same. Cardinal Dolan must be doing a good job, if there is evidence that he did not then bring it forth so we might decide for ourselves.
eiriamach | Jun 21, 2012, 06:40 PM EDT
That's not the irony, PiperMac. "Aggressive orthodoxy" is a potent political tool in Dolan's hands. His oversight of the 2011 John Jay Report ensured that it would falsely blame homosexual priests (and "the Woodstock" generation) for his NY's abuse scandal. Well, sure, aren't ALL 11-year-old boys post-puberty and therefore not of interest to pedophiles and enticing only to homosexuals? His "aggressive orthodoxy" has deepened homophobia among Catholics and kept discriminatory laws in place. Next, with "aggressive orthodoxy," he demanded that the Obama administration allow him the "religious" liberty to deprive female employees of their freedom of conscience to choose contraceptives covered by insurance --his campaign against the HHS Rule. Next, if "liberalized and culturally relevant" describes the work of American nuns who minister to the poor, the homeless, gay teens driven out by parents, pregnant teens, families trying to adopt, children whose only source of self-respect is their parochial school, and the 46 million Americans without health insurance who count on the nuns for health care, then yes, Cardinal Dolan is bringing the nuns "back in line" with his "aggressive orthodoxy" too. Don't forget his "charitable" Milwaukee pedophile buy-outs! The overwhelming irony is the harm done to the teens, the women, the sick poor, the sisters, the LGBT community, the sex-abuse victims, and the Catholic faithful, who are now more mean-spirited-- and further from Christ-- than ever as they follow this staunch defender of "doctrine and sacred tradition."
seanomelb | Jun 21, 2012, 06:33 PM EDT
The destruction of liberalism in the RCC church is almost complete.Time for the liberal theologians to form their own church.The time for schism is now.
PiperMac52 | Jun 21, 2012, 05:13 PM EDT
I find it ironic that the same media that continually demonizes the church over the sex abuse scandal, now laments the actions by the hierarchy to bring the many catholic institutions which have become liberalized and culturally relevant back in line with true catholic teachings and doctrine. Remember, the church is NOT a democratic organization. It is a hierarchical body as established by Christ himself. Truth is for too long the hierarchy has taken a hands off approach to dissidents and Nuns who have forsaken Catholic tenets for secular position which are the antitheses of doctrine and sacred tradition. Kudos to Cardinal Dolan and the Vatican for finally waking up.
PatriciaMarya | Jun 21, 2012, 04:35 PM EDT
With the exception of Wounded Knee, I am in complete agreement with the rest of the posters. I am a New Yorker and this man laughs way too much and way too often. I had heard of the Milwaukee debacle and it does seem as though he wants to follow Egan, another off-putting man. I guess the thrill of Prada shoes and all of that embroidery is the way these two gents wish to go. Too bad that the vow of Poverty that the Nuns must adhere to does not pertain to Cardinals. I also loved that sly unproved reference to the Irish institution being "gay-friendly" - always put out that sound-bite when you wish to create shadows. Disgusting example of blowhard and pompous authoritarian power in action. No wonder I proudly consider myself a catholic with a small "c."
WoundedKnee | Jun 21, 2012, 02:39 PM EDT
O'Shea: I'm an Irish Catholic, and, despite the crazy claim in your headline, I was not angered by Cardinal Dolan's comments. Get your facts straight.
Nicomax | Jun 21, 2012, 12:19 PM EDT
The Vatican and Syria have something in common- a death wish to hang onto power as long as possible, no matter what.
shamrocks | Jun 21, 2012, 12:18 PM EDT
When Dolan was in Milwaukee the joke was that he didn't need a flock; he only needed his mirror. Seems his pomposity has only become worse and he is on a self serving road to do whatever is needed to become closer to the Vatican and get his name as the "one in the know"... There is a reason that Pride is one of the Seven Deadly Sins. It is a shame that he seems to be the cardinal speaking for the US Catholics.
eiriamach | Jun 21, 2012, 11:37 AM EDT
Instead of attacking the reputations of the trustees and faculty of the Irish College in Rome, why didn't Cardinal Dolan simply offer them his "severance package," you know, the $20,000 plus lifetime pensions that he gave the Milwaukee pedophile priests to move off his block and go somewhere else? Or maybe he did offer them bribes, and they said no!
CitizenWhy | Jun 21, 2012, 11:09 AM EDT
The Dolan windbag operation deflates in Ireland but inflates in Rome, with the pope and his royal court, and that's all that counts to ecclesiastical ladder climbers. I have a wee bit of a suspicion that this report was part of a Vatican scheme to get back at Ireland for closing its grandiose Vatican embassy.
handsome68 | Jun 21, 2012, 11:00 AM EDT
I've always been grateful to a woman friend of mine, also a practicing Catholic, who told me what to say one time when I thought I was about to meet the last so-called Irish-American Cardinal of New York, Terence Egan. She said, "Just say, 'Good (whatever), your Eminence. It is time. Time to step down'."
eiriamach | Jun 21, 2012, 09:59 AM EDT
He considers himself bound by "the promised confidentiality" despite knowing the harm that confidentiality, secrecy, cover-ups, and shredding of documents have brought to his Church. Has he no sense of irony? The Irish bishops nailed his "assertive orthodoxy" and "homophobia." Really, in Card. Dolan's case it's not only homophobia but moral obtuseness, maybe even indifference, to the harm that his anti-gay campaign has caused. Moral obtuseness is what happens when a churchman allows "assertive orthodoxy" to replace human compassion for victims.
McNamara31 | Jun 21, 2012, 09:49 AM EDT
Ireland is the only country who has stood firm and spoke truth to the Vatican. If the Vatican truly cared about the people of Ireland the Pope would have come to this past week’s conference and tried to make healing amends; but he didn't. The Vatican is now sending its "political cardinals" around the world to do their intimidation for them. Too bad they didn't send these powerful cardinals to aid the children abused by pedophile priests and the Vatican system which protected them.
dev4 | Jun 21, 2012, 09:11 AM EDT
the truth hurts eh