The Vatican very happy that Irish bishops mess is being sorted out - Papal Nuncio Archbishop Charles Brown skips a generation of leaders

Cardinal Sean Brady (center) with Monsignor Eamon Martin (left) and Papal Nuncio Charles Brown (right) on the steps of Armagh Cathedral on Jan 18 2013. 

The Vatican is moving to completely transform the face of Irish Catholicism led by the dynamic Papal Nuncio Archbishop Charles Brown.

The New Yorker and Notre Dame grad has quickly worked out a strategy for the Irish church leadership beset by sex abuse cover-up allegations.

That strategy was unveiled in full by the announcement late in the week that Monsignor Eamon Martin of Derry would leapfrog a generation of bishops and would be bishops and become the future leader of the church.

Martin is a toddler in ecclesiastical terms, a mere 51 years old, and Brown has undoubtedly taken the step to recommend him as the future Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of Ireland to end once and for all the hideous in fighting that has consumed the church leadership.

There is apparently a poisonous atmosphere among the top clergy, caused in the main by the implications of the cover-ups and the failure of one leader, Dublin Archbishop Diarmuid Martin, to go along.

Diarmuid Martin is fearless, but a deeply divisive figure among his fellow bishops because of his outspoken comments. In terms of public approval he would be by far the most popularchurch figure in Ireland but popularity is not where the Vatican is at.

Cardinal Sean Brady, head of the church in Ireland, has become a massive liability after it became clear that he had participated in some manner in the cover-up of abusive priests.

So he had to go, hence the move now by Brown and the Vatican to move beyond this tainted generation of church leader and choose a bright new star, untainted by child abuse scandals.

It is operation ‘clean hands’ and is already being referred to as such. There are many other senior appointments to come and we can expect more of the same.

The gamble for the Vatican is that young Eamon Martin may be out of his depth which would mean they have picked a lightweight who may be in situ at least two decades.

Brown however, appears to be a shrewd and clever playmaker who has seen the need to skip a generation and start afresh and who thinks the gamble on such an inexperienced prelate is worth the risk.

That remains to be seen but there will be a long sigh of relief in the Vatican that the Irish mess is on its way to being sorted out.

Former Bishop of Derry Edward Daly spoke for the majority when he said “He does not carry any baggage from the past with him,' Daly told the BBC.

'It's a challenging time for the church in Ireland. He has been asked to lead that church.'

A heroic Vatican priest who saved Jews from the Nazis -- New book tells amazing story of Monsignor Hugh O’Flaherty - VIDEO

Monsignor Hugh O’Flaherty

Monsignor Hugh O’Flaherty may be one of the greatest Irish men who ever lived, yet his story is hardly known.

Growing up in Ireland I never heard his tale, but I suspect I know why. He was the heroic Monsignor, based in the Vatican, who saved thousands of Allied soldiers from the Nazis and also saved hundreds of Jews from the death camps.

Perhaps because he was helping the British in the war effort his story drew a veil of silence in Ireland but it should not have. World War II was a time for people of all backgrounds to choose sides
between a monstrous evil and a force to battle that evil.

A new book I have just finished reading outlines in great detail the heroic and extraordinary efforts of a great humanitarian and Irish history.

The book is entitled “Hide and Seek” The Irish priest in the Vatican who defied the Nazi command by BBC journalist, Stephen Walker.

Though an intensely proud Irishman and deeply nationalist after seeing the Black and Tans in operation during his years in the seminary, Monsignor Hugh O’Flaherty realized early on that he needed to be
on the side of the good guys.

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That contrasted sharply with the position taken by Pope Pius XII who dithered while the Nazis over ran Europe.

Flaherty organized the escape route for allied troops who had escaped POW camps or had been shot down but survived.

Through an incredibly close network of friends and confidantes he set up safe houses all over Rome and in the Vatican itself where his work soon drew grave suspicion from the Nazis.

The book is a fascinating account of the stand off between Flaherty and the head SS man in Rome, Herbert Kappler.

Kappler suspected O’Flaherty and had him under surveillance at all times. O’Flaherty comes across as a Michael Collins however, hiding in plain sight, appearing each morning on the steps of Saint Peter's and meeting with those who were organizing the freedom runs.

He helped everyone who sought refuge, including many Jews, which infuriated Kappler. The SS commander tried to have O’Flaherty kidnapped with a view to summary execution but somehow O’Flaherty always managed to survive, earning him the nickname of the “Scarlet Pimpernel”.

Once, having left the neutral confines of the Vatican for a freedom route meeting, the Nazis raided the house and O’Flaherty, who was hiding in the cellar, was saved by sheer luck when two coal-men came to drop their supplies and he “borrowed” one of their outfits and strolled past the SS wearing the outfit and carrying a sack.

After the war he was celebrated all over the world but refused most of the honors. Kappler was tried and found guilty of war crimes. Amazingly O’Flaherty visited him frequently in prison and Kappler converted to Catholicism. O’Flaherty retired to his native Kerry for his final days and passed away there in 1963.

In a poem to celebrate his life, poet and fellow Kerry man Brendan Kennelly wrote of O'Flaherty:

"There is a tree called freedom and it grows
Somewhere in the hearts of men
Rain falls, ice freezes, wind blows
The tree shivers, steadies itself again."

The Israeli government planted a tree in his honor in 1973.

Was there ever a more courageous Irishman?

A clip from "Scarlet and the Black". The true story of Monsignor Hugh O'Flaherty:

Catholic vote is key to 2012 presidential election -- Barack Obama controversy on contraception a huge issue

President Barack Obama shakes hands with Pope Benedict XVI

In nine of the past ten US presidential elections the majority of the Catholic vote has gone to the person who won the election.

Little wonder then that the furor over the Bishop’s attacks on President Obama’s contraception plan created such waves.

In five of those elections, the Catholic vote was within a point of the overall margin of victory, a clear indicator of how vital the vote is.

There is a massive push on for the Catholic vote in both political parties this election season.

As the critical swing vote in key states, they will sway the election.
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The Reagan Democrats, the Irish, Italian, Polish, Catholic blue collar vote, so prominent in Ohio, Pennsylvania and key Midwest states, has chosen the winner a stunning 90 per cent of the time.

Little wonder that in 2008, Barack Obama trumpeted the support of now US Ambassador to Ireland Dan Rooney, Chairman of the Pittsburgh Steelers and as Irish Catholic as you can get.

Rooney campaigned widely for the president and was seen as a vital factor in Obama’s victory in Pennsylvania.

Obama won the Catholic vote by 54 per cent to 46 per cent nationally against John McCain though it must be noted that number includes Hispanic Catholics.

Catholic voter make up a quarter of the electorate and as Gerald Seib wrote in The Wall Street Journal this week “They rank right up there with Ohio as a bellwether of presidential-election outcomes.”

It is not surprising then that the furor over the Obama contraception debate has become so heated. There is a huge amount on the line.

The Catholic Bishops have vehemently opposed his plan but the key question is whether their flock is behind them?

Opinion polls of Catholics indicate they are not.

Several polls show Catholics, by a wide margin, feel that contraceptive care should be covered in any health care plan regardless of where that plan is for.

That would hardly be surprising Bishops oppose contraception but 98 per cent of Catholics use them, likewise the bishop’s stances on gays and abortion are supported far less by the ordinary rank and file Catholics.

That fundamental disconnect has only grown larger since the church sex scandals has removed much of the authority of the bishops.

Parishioners now feel less inclined than ever to take their cue from Rome, especially when it involves matters of sexuality.

At the same time there is hardly overwhelming support for the Obama position either, and it begs the question of who will eventually end up winning out on this debate?

Will the contraceptive issue hurt Obama in November or will the Church leaders once again prove they are out of touch with many ordinary Catholics and how they live their lives?

It may not matter much if the latest opinion poll from The New York Times showing Rick Santorum ahead of Mitt Romney in a national poll of Republican voters is to be believed.

Santorum, a deeply conservative Catholic, is simply too extreme and would prove a disaster for the Republican Party.

Ironically, with a Catholic candidate running, it may be the one time their vote is not critical.

Shock closure of Irish Embassy in Vatican Announced -- Further evidence of deep problems between Ireland and Holy See

Plaque outside the Irish Embassy in the Vatcian

The closure of their embassy at the Vatican by the Irish government is a startling move.

While they couched it in terms of it saving money, the fact is that the Vatican posting, in particular, was considered one of the most high prestige posts in the world.

It is easy to see why. The Papal Nuncio, the Holy See Ambassador in Dublin, was always considered dean of the diplomatic corps there and given extra respect and access.

It would have been inconceivable a few years ago that Ireland would turn its back on its Vatican outpost.

It is a measure of how sadly diminished the Catholic Church is in Ireland that a government now feels enabled to take this step.

Eamon De Valera even enshrined the church's special position in the Irish constitution.

Years ago such a move would have resulted in a belt of the crozier sufficient to put the government back in line very quickly.

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There will be no such threat this time.

The Vatican has previously withdrawn their Nuncio in Dublin, Giuseppe Leanza, after the Irish government had criticized them over the sex abuse scandals.


New Prime Minster Enda Kenny quickly made his mark when he accused the Vatican of taking part in the cover up over abusive priests.

He was applauded by a scandal weary nation for doing so.

Those abuse cases have sucked the fight out of the church.

A recent survey conducted by a religious group showed that 50 percent of the Irish people no longer trusted the church.

That is an incredible number for a church that once had over 90 per cent mass attendance and the ear of every major politician.

The closure of the embassy is another extraordinary step in the evolving relationship between Dublin and the Vatican.

The Holy See will not be pleased at this move, signaling as it inevitably does a lessening of their influence in Ireland.

It will be interesting to see their response.