Why I will be saying no to the Pope

I SUPPORT the #SayNopeToThePope campaign for a number of reasons.

Before I go into these, I want to make it very clear that I am pro-religious freedom for all religions. I have no objection to the Pope’s visit to Ireland but I do see #SayNopeToThePope as a form of peaceful protest.

For me, faith and the Church organisations are two very different things. Faith is a private matter for individuals and people are entitled to their beliefs and to worship their gods.

Church organisations are, in general, public and accountable to their congregations. I don’t believe the Catholic Church has been held accountable, nor has it held itself accountable, for the actions of some of its representatives.

It is this lack of accountability, lack of action, lack of recognition and retribution for wrongdoing, that I am opposed to.

The Church’s stance on a number of issues both historically and currently is questionable.

Its doctrine teaches of a loving, all encompassing God, who accepts his people as they are.

However, the reality of this ideology and practice is quite different. In practice the Church is a wealthy organisation with a poor attitude to and a history of poor treatment of women, children and the LGBTQ+ community. It has failed to acknowledge and respect those who suffered, and are permanently affected by its numerous abuse scandals and crimes.

Recently, former President Mary McAleese called the Church misogynistic. It is hard not to agree with her. The role of women throughout the history of the Church and up to the present day has been one of discrimination. Women have been consigned to subservient roles in the organisation. There is no gender equality, only a male-dominated organisation.

Why does the Church not ordain women as priests? Why is this role the preserve of men only? Why is the traditional role of women to clean the church and arrange the flowers?

Some progress has been made. Women are allowed to dispense Communion and read the readings, though not the Gospel, but the Church must do better.

As an advocate of gender equality, I find it worrying that there is a general universal acceptance of this lesser role for women in the church body.

Society has evolved and women can now take up the same roles as men. In order to stay relevant to society, the church must evolve too. However, it seems there is a lot of work to be done on this, given that Mary McAleese and two other women were denied the opportunity to speak inside the Vatican by Irish Cardinal Kevin Farrell, at an event to mark International Women’s Day.

A further example of the Church’s effort to have power and control over women is their attempt to deny women control over their reproductive rights. In the past they incarcerated non-conforming women in the infamous Magdalene Laundries and took away their babies while at the same time denying them a reproductive choice. This was a widespread abuse facilitated and later covered up by the Church.

To this day, some women and children have not been able to access the records and documentation which are rightfully theirs. Some never even left the institutions.

Throughout the years in Ireland, cases of child abuse by clergy have been reported widely in the media. The Church’s lack of co-operation in investigations and its tendency to move perpetrators to different parishes made it difficult for victims to get justice. It must take full ownership and responsibility for the actions of some of it’s clergy.

Recently, Pope Francis stated that “a man and woman” is the only family model. This statement is highly offensive to all alternative family units. It is an outdated view on family structures and models.

The Church has made no public attempt to change this view or it’s teachings on family and is indicative of how ‘out of touch’ it is with public opinion. It needs to reinvent itself in order to stay relevant to modern society.

The Catholic Church is a very wealthy organisation with assets of more than €4 billion. Media reports suggest it could cost the Irish people €20 million for this visit. This vast amount of money is funded by the Office for Public Works whose parent department is the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform. This is taxpayers’ money. At a time when our health service is failing the sick and vulnerable, our education system is struggling, homelessness is on the increase and very little social housing is being built, is the cost of this visit a waste of public money?

For all these reasons, a silent, peaceful protest is the right thing to do. The Catholic Church must be made aware that, if it is to survive, it must meet the needs of the people who believe in it, and want to remain part of it.

It needs to interact and engage in difficult conversations which acknowledge the hurt caused to people across Ireland. It must not only apologise but must rectify its wrong doings. It must stop hiding behind its stature and reinvent itself to become a Church for all.

This is why I’m saying #SayNopeToThePope

* Sophie Healy-Thow is an advocate for gender equality and zero hunger. She is a trustee of Action Aid UK and studies International Development and Food Policy in UCC. These are her personal views and are not attached to any organisation she works with