Press Releases13 Jun 05

Bishop of Cork welcomes government proposal for structured Church-State relations

At Saturday's Church of Ireland Diocesan Synod for Cork, Cloyne and Ross, the Right Reverend Paul Colton welcomed the Government plans to instate open, transparent and regular dialogue with the churches in Ireland. However, he also warned that it may not be as simple as all that.

Bishop Colton was referring to the announcement by the Minister for Foreign Affairs at celebrations marking the 75th Anniversary of diplomatic relations with the Holy See last November, and the Taoiseach?s subsequent answers to questions in the Dáil on 14th December last.

?Religion is still a significant dynamic in Irish society and religious institutions continue to play a creative role in many sectors: particularly education. Marriage law, healthcare and whole variety of charitable endeavours on which the welfare of many in our community depends,? the Bishop said.

The Bishop said: ?It is indeed time for the State to find new and structured ways of working with the Churches?.In this regard we have much to learn from the nature of these relationships in other European States.?

?The current anatomy of the relationship is no longer desirable: it is principally and unsatisfactorily based on informal or personal contact, local knowledge, occasional consultation, unwritten understandings, lobbying and social comment from a distance. The significant voluntary commitment of the churches in many sectors deserves better; and the State?s interests in the key areas I have mentioned are inadequately catered for by such informality also.?

The Bishop warned, however, that it may be a more complex exercise than everyone realises. There are many new and smaller churches that do not have the same access to Government at present:

?How is the State going to define religion? How will ?church? be determined? How and who will determine who will be included in the newly structured relationship? How, on the one hand, is the role of small minority interests to be protected and affirmed, and on the other is regard to be had for the significant commitment which larger religious bodies invest in their partnership with society??