Bishops should sup with a long spoon

Sunday November 28th 2004
THE Catholic bishops ought to bring a long spoon when they sit down to sup with Bertie Ahern and his ministers. Current overtures by the government to the bishops, proposing "structured dialogue", may not be quite what they seem at first sight. Time has turned the tables on the prelates in the matter of church-State relations.

In fact, last week's news that Dublin councillors are eyeing church properties as possible cheap sites for social housing should serve as a clear warning to religious organisations and the bishops to tread carefully.

Their graces were badly wrong-footed by Mr Ahern in the last abortion referendum, and any new form of dialogue with Irish politicians needs to be open and transparent for their sakes and for the sake of their congregations.

It was supposed to be property speculators and builders providing, by now, affordable social housing in return for their privileges and profits. That has yet to happen, and it is too easy to turn instead on religious bodies to demand they surrender their land in order to meet the shortfall.

Politicians across the spectrum may now see the Catholic church as "easy pickings", weakened as it is by sex abuse scandals and uncertainty over its future. The Government's promise to provide social housing as a part of all new developments remains to be delivered, and the Catholic church may be used as a way of getting the state off the hook.

Politicians from all parties can posture as rebels by restricting the development zoning of institutional lands, forcing them to be sold only for social and affordable housing. Why should the State not cash in on the Catholic church's difficulties, just as Brian McFadden has cashed in on child abuse scandals by recording a sensationalist song and video?

There are those who will welcome last week's reports that the diocese of Ferns, for example, is having to sell off property because it is running out of cash to settle child abuse claims. There is a kind of public gratification in the humiliation of the formerly great and powerful bishops.

This is not lessened by the hierarchy's failure to capture the public imagination by anything much that looks like serious reform or imaginative new initiatives.

If the Catholic church comes to the table of government in a way that compromises its integrity then it will further contribute to its own decline in Ireland. Anything that looks like wheeler-dealing will be a disaster. Instead, the bishops should seize the opportunity to reposition themselves, and to create a greater space in society for alternative voices and options.

It is generally a good idea for politicians and religious bodies to have structured forms of dialogue. At one level, Foreign Minister Dermot Ahern was doing nothing more than echoing European policy when he said in Rome this month that, "The Government believes that such arrangements would be of value in Ireland".

Those who cast a backward glance may view "such arrangements" as a cause of alarm or consolation, depending on their perspective. On the left, Labour's Michael D Higgins, immediately said it was "important that the Minister would clarify what he means by dialogue". On the other hand, some Catholics may hope that this initiative could see a turning back to the days when a call from the bishop's palace was not just listened to but acted upon. However, any new arrangement will be quite different.

Dermot Ahern was pictured bowing down to the ailing Pope in Rome. But his government will not be bowing its knee anytime soon in Maynooth or Armagh. For one thing, the Government is already making it clear that any system of structured dialogue must involve non-Christian religious bodies, as well as the mainstream churches.

For another, Bertie Ahern may style himself a socialist but he is unlikely to adopt the budget policies of the Conference of Religious of Ireland. He is also unlikely to start taking orders in relation to family law, even if bishops were still inclined to give such orders.

Before the last general election, Bertie designed an abortion proposal that saw the bishops tied up in knots as they backed an amendment that allowed abortion between the moments of conception and implantation. They lost the vote, but he still won by being seen to deliver on his earlier promise of holding another abortion referendum. It stood him in good stead at subsequent elections.

Bertie is keenly aware of the benefits of keeping the churches happy. For one thing, structured dialogue may draw the sting of any criticism from religious bodies. Given the growing influence of religious bodies from the US to the Middle East, there is nothing to be lost for a political leader in listening to religious leaders who are respected by much of the population.

Besides, while many may be deserting the Catholic church, that does not mean it is a spent force or that people will not find new ways of expressing their beliefs through the same or similar bodies.

Speaking in Rome about the challenge that any new structured discussions with the government will present, Archbishop Diarmuid Martin of Dublin this month recalled that, "In the past, relations were so direct that there was very little-felt need to envisage structured relations between church and State. The bishop knew the local TD, the archbishop knew the minister: what more could you need? And of course the minister knew the archbishop and the local TD knew the bishop for communications of the reverse order."

He added, "The visitors' book at archbishop's house in Dublin contains a long list of well-known callers whose mission remains to this day undocumented and unexplained. And I am sure that not all callers were asked to sign, nor would they have been happy to sign, a visitors' book which one day might be open to historical scrutiny."

Archbishop Martin recognises that those days are gone for good. He says, "We now need new forms of structured dialogue between church and State which are consonant with the Irish Constitution and the praxis of mature modern pluralist democracies." He promised, "The Catholic church does not seek a position in today's world which asks for a privilege which would not be given to other religious communities."

If that is the attitude that the bishops bring to the table, then there is little reason for citizens to fear the effects of their proximity on government. Indeed, those of faith may be more concerned about the proximity of government ministers to their bishops.

Dr Colum Kenny lectures in communications at DCU

Colum Kenny

? Irish Independent