On 21 September, in Saint Mary’s Pro-Cathedral, Dublin, Archbishop Dermot Farrell delivered a homily during the celebration of Vigil Mass for Safeguarding Sunday. The Primate of Ireland addressed the subject and legacy of safeguarding children and vulnerable adults, and highlighted six key points:
- The ordinary faithful of our land have named the abuse crisis for what it is: an open wound.
- Until the abuse crisis is fully addressed, there will be no authentic, enduring renewal and reform of our Church.
- It is vital that we come to recognise the dynamics of denial, and address them.
- Until we truly own what has happened, the necessary change of heart will remain on the surface—and a superficial ‘change of heart,’ is no change of heart.
- Accountability worthy of its name cannot be mere lip service. Apparent accountability is not only offensive, it is a lie, and a lie which compounds the denials of the past, and intensifies the pain of survivors.
- If we are ever to move beyond episodic progress in the face of abuse, Irish society—all of us in all our different traditions and layers—will have to come to terms with the legacy of our complex history.
To read the full text of Archbishop Farrell’s homily, see the website of the Catholic Bishops here.
ENDS
