Cardinal O’Brien will certainly go down in history. One of only 24 cardinals who have offered their resignation since the fifteenth century- another was Cesar Borgia-, and seemingly the only one in the history of the Church to decline to vote in a consistory, he managed to alienate homosexuals and homophobes simultaneously. In passing, he may well have confirmed the deepest suspicions of other religions in Scotland about Romanism well into the foreseeable future . Scottish Catholics have to live with his activities, both personally and in the community , the latter being very important in a country where identification of another’s religion can be more important than the practice of one’s own. The “Tablet” magazine has this week confirmed some of the revelations that were suspected, and pretty damning they are.
There is no indication yet that the Scottish episcopate is willing to help. Why not a complete and open general description of the situation in the Church in Scotland over the last twenty years or so ? Given the difficulty of getting any of the bishops but one even to acknowledge receipt of a letter, perhaps this is far too much for us to expect. But The Emeriti, of course, if they had known about these things, must be asking themselves why they said nothing, although Archbishop Emeritus Conti did accuse the cardinal of blocking an enquiry into clerical sexual abuse. But they’re out of the firing line, forgotten but not gone.
The current bishops, more and more insulated from Catholics in Scotland , still hanging on to that most devastating of illusions that it Will Be All Right, have to watch, as we have seen in Edinburgh, congregations dwindling even more, with the number of alienated generations moving now from two to three. Why not face up to the fact that the Church in Scotland is a shambles ? A new and dynamic start, from scratch, may well still save the situation, as well as giving a lead to other tardy episcopates. Could we suggest Extending Ordination? The Bishops of Scotland- and most of those in England and Wales- will find in their files the very practical suggestions sent to them last year by To Feed The Flock.