Madam, – Hans Küng’s open letter to the Catholic bishops (Front page and Opinion, April 16th) is a timely challenge to all of us Catholics, particularly in the context of the threatened Vatican visitation of the Irish church.
Prof Küng calls on the bishops to come together as a group, to honestly face the many problems in the church, and to develop an independent voice. He reminds them that, though they took a vow of obedience to the pope, the ultimate obedience of all of us must be to God. May I join my voice with his in calling on our bishops to begin to act in a new way?
The situation we are confronted with is radically different to anything the church has faced for many centuries, and it calls for new thinking and new ways of behaving. Automatic submission to Rome, particularly when these visitors arrive, will simply allow them to impose their solution on us. But who believes the way out of our problems will be found in the Vatican?
Our bishops now have a great opportunity, in collaboration with the people, to lead all of us in trying to find, as Prof Küng suggests, regional or national solutions to our difficulties.
As for us priests, we are in a sad state. We have no structure, no organisation, to give us a voice at this urgent time. – Yours, etc,
Madam, – Far be it from me to minimise the Catholic child sex abuse crisis. Indeed, I have raised my own concerns with the hierarchy. But all such crises inevitably bring out the usual suspects; ultra-liberal fringe professional church critics, and the most usual of all, is Prof Hans Küng.
The very few of us, of whatever perspective, who follow Prof Küng’s cyclical hissy-fits, have heard his gripes so many times, we could write letters, such as that in The Irish Times (April 16th) for him.
Not only do most of his repeated “issues” have little or nothing to do with the sex abuse issue, they have nothing to do with church polity as it is, or is ever apt to be. He makes this letter sound “important” by addressing it to all of the world’s bishops, but it is doubtful that many will even read it and certain that not one will act upon it. Perhaps more important, Prof Küng’s rantings have nothing to do with the life of the people in the pews. Most don’t even know he exists.
Your own “liberal agenda” is also hackneyed by now, to the point of cliché. But, in all other areas, you are responsible journalists. One wonders if your responsible journalists’ ethos will ever overcome your predispositions in this area. But I guess that is as likely as that anyone in the hierarchy (or the pews) will ever take Prof Küng seriously. – Yours, etc,