NEW YORK BOSTON |#Popular: Irish Celebrity Gossip Irish in US Politics Irish Festivals Irish Roots Irish Entertainment Offbeat Irish

Home Page > Blogs > News blogs > People and Politics > Pope Benedict snubs Dublin's Archbishop Martin for new cardinal list

People and Politics by Patrick Roberts

Pope Benedict snubs Dublin's Archbishop Martin for new cardinal list

Posted on Friday, January 06, 2012 at 11:53 AM

Larger Text

E-mail

42 Comments

RSS

Archives

Archbishop Diarmuid Martin and Pope Benedict

Surprise, surprise, no red hat for Archbishop Diarmuid Martin, the outspoken head of the Dublin Archdiocese, in Pope Benedict's latest list of new cardinals.

Martin is far too honest, straightforward and unable to play the Vatican game to be made a cardinal of course.

No doubt if Martin had kept his mouth shut and made the usual apologetic noises without ever slamming the institutions of his own church he would have been seated in the next conclave.

That was never to be with Martin showing forensic honesty and addressing the root causes of the massive child abuse scandal that has so badly damaged the Catholic Church in Ireland.

In the process, Martin has become the most popular clergyman in Ireland, but a pariah within the corridors of power. The Vatican even walked back his decision to suspend two auxiliary archbishops for their roles in alleged cover ups.

Martin's forthright statement when the Cloyne diocese cover-up was exposed almost definitely ended his hopes pf promotion.

‘There may be a cabal in Cloyne’, admitted Dr Martin. ‘They may have friends in other parts of the Irish Church. They may have friends in Irish society. There may be friends in the Vatican. ‘The numbers that are involved in this are few. The damage that these people cause is horrendous. '
-----------------
Read more:
New York Archbishop Timothy Dolan elevated to cardinal by Vatican

More news stories on the Vatican from IrishCentral

Casey Anthony releases first YouTube video - no mention of daughter Caylee - VIDEO
-----------------
Reading the list of cardinals, it is striking how many are current members of the Curia, essentially civil servants, who have made all the right bureaucratic moves and have now reached the pinnacle of achievement outside of being named pope.

Ironically Martin was one of those Curia members before being dispatched to Dublin to stem the rising crisis there.

But once in Ireland he stopped being a man of the Vatican and became a man of the people instead.

Which is why he will never be a cardinal under this pope at least.

E-mail

42 comments

Next Previous Page 2 of 3 pages

Gearoid4 | Jan 09, 2012, 11:54 AM EST

What a load of ole warlocks concerning Vatican conspiracy about concealing early history of church.

Report abuse

IrelandNorth | Jan 09, 2012, 08:02 AM EST

Enda Kenny's Martin Luther impersonation in Dail Eireann re. Holy See Embassy was a payback bleet for British Exchequer loan. Who cares whether a Pro-consul is appointed to the Hibernian province of the Holy Roman Empire. The Tea-shock's Commonwealth Party is too busy angling for peerages rather than gaining Beatification or Canonisations.

Report abuse

warlocks | Jan 08, 2012, 11:30 PM EST

Hats off to Martin for speaking out. the Vatican hates the Truth , that old saying and the Truth will Set you Free . never went over with the Vatican. If the Followers knew the Real truth about the cover up in the Early History of the Church they would leave in Droves ! as it is little by little the Church is Decaying from within . Its a house of Evil Cards , about to crumble to Dust! its no longer a church that Jesus Built !

Report abuse

mamaginnty | Jan 08, 2012, 12:56 PM EST

When the going got tough Martin stood up, there was/are no innocent Cardinals, Bishops or Priests, they all knew what was going on for decades. A father told us years ago his son was going on for the priesthood, and was approached by a pedophile, the son said he punched the pedo and was not bothered by him again. They both went on to become priests, this son knowing that the other would go on to abuse children turned a blind eye to it all. It will never interest me on who gets a bloody red hat or not, as for nuns being allowed into the priesthood I thank the lord they did not, they have done enough damage to women and babies. Again the so called innocent nuns knew but played blind.

Report abuse

McNamara31 | Jan 08, 2012, 12:16 PM EST

Is anyone truly surprised that Martin was passed over and Dolan of New York was made cardinal? Every time Pope Benedict has the opportunity to do something to give "us hope" that he understands, he continues to hold to the Vatican corporate line. Very sad. The political/corporate minded bishops are promoted, and the good men of the church are often passed over.

Report abuse

seanomelbourne | Jan 08, 2012, 02:56 AM EST

How strange it is when the right takeover the RCC, the church falls apart.

Report abuse

patrickomalley | Jan 08, 2012, 02:45 AM EST

Benedict became pope by protecting pedophiles. If you don't protect pedophiles, you don't advance in the Catholic Church Of Child Rape.

Report abuse

Collette2 | Jan 08, 2012, 12:07 AM EST

Don't be too harsh on those who forgot that he told laspsed catholics unhappy with the church to "have the maturity to leave". Maybe they didn't see the article.

Report abuse

eiriamach | Jan 07, 2012, 07:38 PM EST

I see a sedevacantist had dropped by for our edification and enlightenment. And, irony of ironies, he complains about some imagined censorship! His Catholic "Truth" site censors, condemns, and crucifies all attempts since 1958 to bring the RCatholic Church into the modern world. The roundup of religious fanatics at the IC corral would not be complete without one of those, so here he is. Like we needed another one, right? IC is still a great idea, but it's also a magnet for the lunatic fringe.

Report abuse

AustinBarry | Jan 07, 2012, 07:15 PM EST

Maybe he didn't meet the kiddie-fiddling quota.

Report abuse

EditorCT | Jan 07, 2012, 06:11 PM EST

Where's my comment? No censorship, surely, not on a site run by "liberals"?????? Whatever next!

Report abuse

seanomelbourne | Jan 07, 2012, 05:25 PM EST

ThePapacy is run by the fascist "Opus Dei" there's no room for free thinkers with this mob.

Report abuse

EditorCT | Jan 07, 2012, 04:54 PM EST

You gotta be kidding. The Archbishop of Dublin is about as Catholic as Ian Paisley. He's featuring, right now, in the Catholic Truth newsletter(published in Scotland and read worldwide in both hard copy and on our website) where we report his disgraceful exhortation to the lapsed to effectively "get lost". So much for the Parable of the Lost Sheep. If this rebel archbishop had been given a red hat (if he is EVER given a red hat) it will be yet more evidence that the Church in the 21st century is every bit as apostate in Ireland as it is everywhere else. Such is the loss of Catholic Faith in Ireland,that a faithful bishop is now dismissed as a "YES MAN" (see JOHNTOBIN's post) God (please) help us all!

Report abuse

JOHNTOBIN | Jan 07, 2012, 04:19 PM EST

Another anti-Catholic rant by Irish Central.

Report abuse

Robbie69 | Jan 07, 2012, 04:09 PM EST

It's no wonder that Dublin's Archbishop Diarmuid Martin was not elevated to a cardinal. Dr. Martin is too honest. If he had become a "YES MAN" like Archbishop Timothy Dolan of New York, he would be getting his red cap and become a cardinal. But Dr. Martin was critical of the Vatican and its role in covering up the priest-pedophile problem. Martin said there could be a cabal in control of the church right now. I certainly think so. One of the few "conspiracies" I actually believe in is the murder of Pope John Paul I, the 33-day pope. John Paul I would have: sold all the Vatican treasures to "feed the poor and care for the sick" as Jesus had commanded; allowed nuns to become ordained priests; allowed married priests; blessed the unions of committed gay couples so they could adopt children; and allowed birth control, while ramping up the effort to stop abortions. All of this was too much for the Curia and Church conservatives. In one swift act, they had a coup d'etat, and went from the most progressive pope in Church history to the most conservative, all the time mocking approval of the first John Paul by taking his name. But John Paul II was anything but progressive as he swiftly moved to cancel the reforms of the Second Vatican Council, along with his henchman Ratzinger, now Benedict.

Report abuse

Next Previous Page 2 of 3 pages