For BBC ALBA’s latest Eòrpa documentary, The Catholic Church: Questions of Faith / An Eaglais Chaitligeach: Ceistean Creideamh, Anna Macleod reports from Scotland and Spain to get a sense of the state of the church today and where it’s heading under the stewardship of its first American Pope.
Pope Francis established a global church-wide consultation, bringing together views from across the Catholic community on issues that mattered the most to its members. The handling of abuse cases, the role of women in the church, the debate on whether priests should be allowed to marry and the church’s relationship with LGBT people were among the main issues raised.
In London, Anna meets Hugo Kennedy. Sexually abused by a teacher at the Fort Augustus Abbey Catholic School in the 1970s, he now campaigns for justice for survivors of abuse like him. For Hugo, a new Pope gives little reason for optimism that much will change.
Hugo says: “It’s best to have zero expectation. I find with the Catholic Church, Pope, Vatican, whatever, because generally they’re pretty consistently good at coming through for you on zero expectation, they deliver nothing.”
Cases of abuse continue to the present day.
In the north-western Spanish region of Galicia, lawyer Aida Blanco Arias has represented survivors of abuse by a previously-respected priest: “All the children, one after another, always said he was a role model, he was like a father, a friend who was always there.
“Some even explained that he had had dinner at their house. So, like victims of domestic violence, they don’t understand how someone they love can hurt them.”
The question of married and female priests was raised in many congregations worldwide during the synodal process. The ordination of women is banned by the church, but in past decades, there has been a global movement to ordain female priests.
In the city of Á Coruña, Anna meets Christina Moreira who shares why she felt compelled to ask to be ordained in a clandestine ceremony.
Christina comments: “In 2010, Pope Benedict XVI issued a decree on punishment for the most serious offences, for priests who harm children and women.
“Paedophiles and others. It is a decree which is called ‘the most serious faults’. Then, there was a second part. Women who are ordained priests, whoever ordains them and whoever participates in their ordination, will also be considered as committing the most serious, grave sin comparable to the one I had just read. Ordaining a woman cannot be as serious as raping a child.”
In South Uist, home to one of Scotland’s longest-established Catholic communities, Anna meets Father Colin MacInnes.
Father Colin, who is from South Uist, spent much of his priesthood in South America where he saw how vital women were in guiding congregations: “What does Jesus Christ want in the modern world? If He wants female priests, that’s not a problem.
“I worked in Equador and would put women in charge of a parish. They are good at parish work, prayer, and Bible readings. They do it beautifully.”
Reflecting on those she met and their testimonies, reporter Anna Macleod remarked: “The affection felt for the late Pope Francis was evident among many of those we spoke to – his attempts to reach out to marginalised communities was something that mattered to many members of the Church.
“Despite a decline in population the long-standing Catholic community of South Uist continues to nurture the faith, with the next generation taking a central role in Church life and there was a tangible sense of vitality there.
“But it’s also evident that the scandals surrounding the Catholic church – historical and current – and the way the Church hierarchy dealt with them have done immense damage to people for whom faith was very important. And despite the efforts Pope Francis made to modernise some aspects of the Church, change isn’t coming fast enough for some.”
Eòrpa is BBC ALBA’s flagship current affairs programme, covering a variety of domestic and European stories.
Eòrpa: The Catholic Church: Questions of Faith / An Eaglais Chaitligeach: Ceistean Creideamh will premiere on BBC ALBA and BBC iPlayer at 9pm on Monday 7 July (in Gaelic with English subtitles).
Watch live or on demand: https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episodes/b006mvwb/eorpa
