CARDINAL NAPIER: Explained Nothing

Letter to

As a proud and practicing Catholic I was saddened and hurt with the interview I read with Cardinal Wilfred Napier in the Mail and Guardian of 12-18 April 2013. The interview was entitled “An explanation for everything”, except that Cardinal Napier explains nothing and indeed adds to the confusion.  The interview clearly displayed the Head of the Catholic Church in South Africa as a man out of touch with his own Church on the ground.  What His Holiness, Pope Francis I is trying to do, Cardinal Napier is almost nullifying.  Instead of coming out to the streets with the people, as Francis I is trying to do, Napier continues to sit on his backward-looking stance.

As the most important, largest and most relevant Christian Church, the time is over for semantics and technicalities when it comes to the horrifying abuse by Priests.  The Cardinal needs to move away from his legalistic stance.   If an abused person seeks comfort from the Church because one of its shepherds has used his position to abuse its flock; the Church needs to take it seriously and needs to investigate it; irrespective whether the abused person choses to formally report it with the Police or not.

It is true that the Church, in South Africa in particular, is doing much on this issue.  As a result such cases are dealt with quickly and efficiently.  This is the sad irony.  From the Mail and Guardian interview, for anyone who doesn’t know better, one would think very little is actually done.

The reality is that although Cardinal Napier is indeed the correct man theologically to lead our Church in South Africa, he is not a great communicator.

The Church needs men, or women, who are able to relay the Church’s message on issues in an easy-to-understand, modern and uncluttered manner.

Justifying and “explaining” paedophilia simply makes it worse.  Resorting to the oldest, greyest and most uninspiring trick in the communications book; blaming the media for misinterpreting or claiming to be quoted “out of context” is a thousand times worse.

The Church should simply, matter-of-factly explain and communicate what it is concretely doing on these matters.  Simple.