Millstones

The New York Times article about the Pope's letter to Ireland, published on March 20, was the first news heard here in NH. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/21/world/europe/21pope.html?scp=5&sq=Pope's%20letter%20to%20Irish%20Catholics&st=cse

It bothered me to rely on sending it along, because it was what somebody else said the Pope said, particularly in the constant use of the personal pronoun "I" rather than the Papal  "We", a/k/a the Royal "We". I checked Google on the "We" and noted that Pope John Paul II made a point of dropping the "We" in favor of "I". Pope Benedict XVI brought "We" back in his way of referring to himself as the Pope. That urged me to check the Vatican website for the original official letter to Ireland. http://www.vatican.va/resources/index_en.htm

"I", not "We",  is in the original throughout. It is clearly and precisely defined in its first usage: "I write to you as Pastor of the universal Church. "

Perplexed, I googled "Pastoral Letter."

"Definitions vary and I'm aware of not knowing much about Church distinctions in these matters, but it appears to be: "A Pastoral letter, often called simply a pastoral, is an open letter addressed by a bishop to the clergy or laity of his diocese, or to both, containing either general admonition, instruction or consolation, or directions for behaviour in particular circumstances." [http://www.answers.com/topic/pastoral-letter]

It differs from "Encyclical," which is defined as "encyclical, originally, a pastoral letter sent out by a bishop, now a solemn papal letter, meant to inform the whole church on some particular matter of importance. " [http://www.answers.com/topic/encyclical]

Still perplexed, I googled next "Pastor of the universal Church" and found this:

"By virtue of his wide-ranging ministry evident in the New Testament and preserved in tradition, Peter is considered to be pastor of the Universal Church. History reveals that the single most notable representative of this ministry of Peter toward the Universal Church has been the Bishop of Rome, the city whose church was founded by Peter and where Peter and Paul are buried. The Pope, as Bishop of Rome and successor of Peter, is the visible and perpetual foundation of unity among the bishops and among Christ's faithful. The Bishop of Rome has, by virtue of his role as the Vicar of Christ and as Pastor of the entire Church, a full, supreme and universal authority. The college of bishops, when united to the Pope, has a similar authority." [http://www.catholicmissionleaflets.org/leafpope.htm]

 I confess I just don't know what the Pope's letter to the Catholics of Ireland says or whether it offers any help at all in resolving the crisis first announced as "news" in 2002. It sounds like an apology. But apologies from celebrities or powerful figures have become a new genre in the media, to the point that we the people expect a written or spoken apology -- rather than justice -- for the wrongdoing that itself spawned the public display of an "I'm sorry, people."

Once a public figure does apologize, however, the media begins its fine-tooth analysis of where such an effort ranks on a scale of 1 to 100 for sincerity, trustworthiness, humility, accountability, and et cetera, et cetera. Senators, Congressmen, Governors, Pro Golfers don't score much beyond 9 or 16 on that scale.  Wonder where B16's attempt will land, or flop.

The two abuses -- sexual on minors and cover-up by bishops -- is a crisis of long standing in the Church. The silent wringing of hierarchical hands could well be the solution of the Zen koan: the sound of one hand clapping. B16's Pastoral Letter also reminds me of an ostrich with its head lifting out of the sand, breaching up for air, or at least a quick breather.

Aware that I am way out of my field in matters of ecclesiology, church governance, I hope that our great thinkers here will focus on the original Pastoral Letter and share their opinions. It is one thing to scoff and keep on keeping on. It is another to become aware of and fulfill our responsibilities as Christ's men and women, i.e. The Church.

Traditionalists, relying on just talking about our Church's glorious past, sound like Pope Benedict XVI's name-dropping of just two -- "Saint Columbanus and Saint Oliver Plunkett". 

A website says "There are hundreds of Irish saints. Here they are by name alphabetically, or by feast day. Many of these saints were canonized in the early middle ages, and not much is known about them except for their names and possibly a feast day." [http://www.namenerds.com/irish/saint.html#c]

Columbanus isn't listed. He was born in Ireland and was a missionary to France and Italy. He died in Bobbio, Italy, in 615, CE, where he had founded a penitential monastery. [http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/04137a.htm]

Comments since the famous Pastoral Letter are not particularly praiseworthy of this German lad who wanted so much to be monarch of a Roman church. Many of the remarks show that the people are by now very well aware that the crisis is not celibacy, nor sex, nor lonely curiosity.

It is about power when our early Presbyters and Elders knew they could be High Priests, once Emperor Constantine made the Church part of the Roman Empire in 315, CE. That initial grasp of power escalated constantly over the next 1,700 years, in which they pretended to abandon for themselves the most fundamental of the five senses, touch, and fondled with it in their episcopal closets. Protected by the absolute secrecy of absolute power.

Millstones . . .