Meeting with Archbishop Prendergast
On Tuesday, December 14th, Brendan Hoban, Colm Kilcoyne and myself, Tony Flannery, met with the Apostolic Visitor to Tuam, Archbishop Prendergast.
It was a very good meeting. We were with him for about forty five minutes, during which time he listened very closely to what we had to say.
While the particular focus of the visitation is on the issues area CSA, he did not put any limit to what we could say to him; so we also spoke about the need for reform and renewal in the Irish Church.
But mostly we reported on the concerns of priest around the implementation of the guidelines in relation to allegations against priests. We got plenty of time and opportunity to relate to him the points that had come up at the various meetings of the ACP over the past few months.
Our hope now is that members of the ACP from the different regions would have similar meetings with the other Apostolic Visitors when they arrive. We believe that we have a particularly useful message to give, and that we are probably in a position to be a little more independent in what we say than the local diocesan groups might be.
All in all, we considered it a very satisfactory exchange.
It is very encouraging, at many levels, to know that your meeting with Archbishop Prendergast took place. Maybe there is the possibility of an Irish Catholic Church where decisions and input are not the privilege of the few. Our Church has so many interested, committed, wise and prayerful people who don’t get heard.