Maman Poulet

No Red Cap for Drumcondra

So there will be no red cap for Archbishop Martin in Pope Benidict’s first consistory. Auds reflected earlier this week that Martin’s pronouncements since arriving in Dublin were ‘on the safe side of wibbly wobbly wonders’! This will be one of the rare occasions (I think) when Auds and I will generally agree on something.

Many lgbt activists/individuals viewed Martin’s arrival  in Dublin with great suspicion given his track record as Vatican ambassador to the UN. However since arriving he has lent support to recognition of same sex relationships and condemned violence against lesbians and gay men (the latter pronouncement made during a homily given at a mass to mark the passing of John Paul II.)  He also told Ursula Halligan on TV3 recently that the most asked question put to him by young people is about why the church hates gay people and that the Church has to work on the impression given on their opinions on the issue.

I still don’t trust him probably as much as Auds does not like him for his wibbly wobbly moments. But I also don’t envy him his job and look forward to seeing how his continuing efforts to involve the laity in the running of the church evolve in years to come. And also the forthcoming investigation into the way the church handled child sexual abuse in Dublin will also see new challenges for him as the acts of his predecessors are uncovered.  I noted somewhere earlier this week that new claims  of abuse are still being reported to the commission.

posted by Maman Poulet @ 2/23/2006 01:27:00 a.m.