Local Boston news outlets, including the Boston Globe and Boston's TV station WCVB, have been reporting that Archbishop Sean Cardinal O'Malley, OFM CAP, has been appointed by Pope Benedict XVI, to be one of the Apostolic Visitors to the Church in Ireland. The Apostolic Visitation is charged with investigating the clergy abuse of children scandal that is ripping apart the Irish Catholic Church, and to recommend solutions to the Pope.
Once again, Cardinal O'Malley appears to be one of the Vatican's point men in dealing with this growing scandal, at least in the English speaking Church communities. While he has his critics, in my opinion, Cardinal Sean has done a lot to deal with the scandal here in Boston, and has begun the healing process. That process is no where near completion, nor has the process been perfect; but what he has begun is a lot better than all of the cover ups we in Boston suffered under previous Archbishops.
The task he and the other Visitors are undertaking will be daunting. They will be attempting to break through a wall of silence that has been built up over decades. And they will uncovering crimes, and tragedies; the dark underbelly of Irish Catholicism, that I am sure will challenge any person's faith. Hopefully, as things come to the light of day, as the painful healing process begins for the Irish Church, there will be a rebirth of the faith; as I hope there will also be in here in Boston and the rest of America.
Image from the Boston Globe
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