FORMER ARCHBISHOP of Westminster Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’Connor has spoken of encountering “a sense of betrayal” and “an awareness that things will never be the same again” in Armagh archdiocese over the past two weeks.
“I have also heard voices of faith and a determination to persevere in the building up of the Church in this diocese,” he said.
The Cardinal has been conducting an apostolic visitation to the archdiocese.
Pope Benedict announced last year the “apostolic visitation” to certain dioceses, seminaries and religious orders in Ireland to examine the handling of abuse allegations.
At a service of penitence and healing in St Patrick’s Cathedral, Armagh, yesterday, Cardinal Murphy O’Connor spoke of encountering “a sense of betrayal and being in a place of pain and most especially of the pain and the damage of those who have been abused,” in the archdiocese.
“There are broken dreams . . . things will never be the same again,” he said.
He had heard “voices of great pain and suffering of the survivors of abuse . . . voices of discouragement, voices of honesty and the integrity of the people and good priests”.
Above all he had listened to the voices of hope, “hope that the past will not be forgotten . . . and transparency in facing the issues of abuse.”
Catholic primate Cardinal Seán Brady asked “for the grace to accept, with gratitude and humility, the wisdom which will emerge” from the visitation.
