Screaming Pope? I hope so!

So, today wandering around Galway City, on the west coast of Ireland. Two signs attracted my attention. One was on the glass door of the Galway Pastoral Centre (linked to the nearby cathedral, no doubt). ‘Pregnancy Crisis Centre’. The second was in the cathedral itself: ‘Called to the priesthood?’, with information on how to follow up on this calling.

Hmm – as a strongly Catholic country, Ireland remains a jewel in the crown of what is the oldest international organisation in the world – the Catholic Church. Abortion is still illegal here, and women wanting a termination are forced to travel to the UK. The notion of pregnancy being a ‘crisis’ is a reality for some of course, but in a country where there is overwhelming pressure not to terminate because of religious mores, a church-based ‘crisis centre’ has uncomfortable overtones.

The second sign I saw – the call to Priesthood – brings to mind the current firestorm over ‘Priest paedophiles’, stoked by official reports received by the Irish Government recently, confirming that hundreds of children were abused by Priests throughout the country. Seeing the sign, I was surprised some local, dark-humoured wag had not added the strapline, ‘And enjoy working with children?’. But maybe that’s too cynical.

The Pope’s apology for the abuse, unique in the history of the Catholic Church, for many still does not go far enough. How much of a cover up was there? Why is the issue of sexuality still taboo? A BBC report states one guilty Priest defended his practice saying he assumed because his ‘activities’ weren’t with a woman, it wasn’t sinful.

There are no doubt many caring and principled people working in the Catholic church, but like all institutions, rooting out those who transgress basic moral codes should be dealt with according to laws – extant throughout the European Union – designed to protect the human rights of all citizens. Just because the Catholic Church claims to be nearer to ‘God’ is no excuse.

Ireland. SO many changes over the last 20 years, and perhaps this is the final sacred cow to be hauled into the 21st century.

I’m reminded of Irish-born Francis Bacon’s 1953 picture, based on an earlier 1650 work by Valasquez of Pope Innocent X. Bacon rather formally called this ‘Study after Velázquez’s Portrait of Pope Innocent X’, but it’s known colloquially as the screaming pope (see below). I bet – I hope – there is some screaming from Pope Benedict XVI in the Vatican at the moment. At least it will show he’s finally aware of what’s going on, and that the Church can no longer hide behind a veneer of respectability or ‘holiness’.