Apostolic Visitation of Catholic Church in Ireland Begins

In response to sexual abuse in the Church in Ireland, Pope Benedixt XVI has sent three groups of apostolic visitors to survey the Church there. These three groups will be divided as one group visits the four metropolitan archdioceses, another group will visit the houses of religious life, and the last group will visit the Irish seminaries. Their mission is to "directly address the problem of sexual abuse that prompted the Pope's letter to Irish Catholics, along with charges that Irish bishops acted to conceal cases of abuse against disclosure or prosecution". The apostolic visitors are made up of religious sisters, priests, and (notibly) Archbishop Timothy Dolan who will visit the seminaries (St. Patrick’s College, Maynooth; the Pontifical Irish College, Rome; Saint Malachy’s College, Belfast; All Hallows College, Dublin; Milltown Institute of Theology and Philosophy, Dublin which will be visited only in regard to its academic programmes). Here is detailed information about the visitation.

The apostolic visitors will meet with victims and their families, as well as see how affectively the Irish Church's 2009 guidelines for child protection have been implemented (and what areas still need improvement). Furthermore, the Pope has recommended that the four archdioceses schedule penitential services to occur with the dates of the visitations. The Irish bishops have already announced campaigns of prayer, fasting, and charity thus acknowledging the failure of many in leadership positions. The expected conclusion date is Easter 2011. Here is a press release by the Vatican, marking the beginning of the apostolic visitation.

My thoughts: This needed to happen, and it happened pretty quickly (about a year after the Murphy Report). A few people will say that it was too long, but those people fail to realize how much work goes into starting an apostolic visitation: who's going to go? You want strong people that are prepared and desire to help the Catholic Church; who/what needs to be investigated? Is it just the diocese, or the seminaries? The religious hosues, or the schools? You don't want to investigate areas of the Church that would just be a waste of time and money, but at the same time you don't want to overlook an important institution.

A year really isn't that long, especially when time doesn't stand still for the sexual abuse crises. Something that people seem to not realize is that there are other things going on. There are other children of the Church that needs care, not just the victims. The Holy Father still has to make those trips to other countries, write sermons and speeches, and generally run the Vatican and Catholic Church.

I have high hopes for this apostolic visitation. A lot rides on its findings and whether this is just for show, or a serious attempt at taking care of the problem.